CILLA BLACK - “Anyone Who Had A Heart”
(29th February 1964)
“Anyone who had a heart would love me too”. When Cilla Black sings it, this is not a request. Dynamic to be sure, but this song requires its singer not to lose the vulnerability when they turn up the volume, and Cilla never pulls that off. Her demand to be loved is almost bullying in its stridency. And the British public listened, making this the best-selling single by a British woman and making Cilla Black a star.
And there’s the trouble. On paper the story of the hat-check girl turned pop star is wonderful, in the real world it ends up at Blind Date, which of course as a sensitive boy I despised. (And even now I’ve sluiced out most of the virginal bile that prompted such hate, the thought of the program makes me wince). It’s terribly unfair on the Cilla of ‘64 to hold the Cilla of ‘89 up as prosecution evidence, but I can’t help it. Playing this song I don’t just hear a young woman with a remarkable ability to shift voices, I hear Cilla Black accessing her own future, the full-on parts a preview of the prime-time caw that blighted my Saturdays. 4
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Anonymous on March 27th, 2005
Have you ever listened to Dionne Warwick’s version? It’s total crap compared to Cilla’s. I hear what you’re saying about Cilla’s strident voice - but Dionne’s in comparison is totally insipid!!! Personally, I love the Cilla version. It totally deserved to be the huge hit it was.
Cheers :-)
Anonymous on January 26th, 2006
Doctor Mod says–
To whomever made the previous comment I can only respond with bewilderment. Dionne Warwick was surely one of the finest singers of the 1960s, and certainly Burt Bacharach choice to sing the song. She set the standard for it.
If you’d rather hear a Brit girl singing it, try Dusty Springfield. I’d give her a slight edge over Dionne–Dusty’s rather more impassioned. But Dusty didn’t have to sound as if she were strangling herself in order to convince us of deep feeling like Cilla did. Let’s face it–Cilla screeched and shouted through most of her material. But then, she never claimed to be a great singer. It was personality that sold her–and a bit of the svengali-treatment from Brian Epstein.
Indeed, Sandie Shaw’s curious cover version with BEF offers a much superior interpretation than Cilla could ever muster.
bramble on September 8th, 2006
How anyone can think Cilla Black’s version is better than Dionne Warwick’s is beyond me -in all her covers, Cilla Black tries to copy Dionne Warwick’s phrasing but dismally fails. She was the flavour of the time because she was Liverpudlian, knew the Beatles and could front Saturday night TV variety shows
Scott on November 25th, 2006
I preferred Dionne Warwick’s version ,as it was the original and Dionne had a much better voice and had higher standards!
EricMontreal on December 1st, 2006
From allmusic:
In the UK a number of Bacharach-David-Warwick songs were covered by UK singer Cilla Black, most notably “Anyone Who Had a Heart”, which went to #1 in the UK. This upset Warwick and she has described feeling insulted when told that in the UK, record company executives wanted her songs recorded by someone else. Warwick even met Cilla Black whilst on tour in the UK. She recalled what she said to her - ” I told her that “You’re My World” would be my next single in the States. I honestly believe that if I’d sneezed on my next record, then Cilla would have sneezed on hers too. There was no imagination in her recording.” [1]
Marcello Carlin on December 1st, 2006
That having been said, Cilla’s Alfie >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dionne’s Alfie.
Phil on December 1st, 2006
There has always been a conflict over whos version of ‘Heart’ was the best, it comes down to the audience it appealed to, Cilla’s more intense version suited the British music at the time, whilst Dionnes is more smooth and soulful and suited the American market more. Both versions have their merit and both have stood the test of time. As for ‘Alfie’ then I have to say that Cilla wins this one, at first she didnt want to record it but when Burt Bacharach came over to London to supervise it then she was won over.
Phil on December 1st, 2006
Further to my previous comment, I am a lifelong Cilla fan, but I am so glad she didnt bother covering ‘Walk On By’ as it is a fab record by Dionne, I cannot imagine anyone ever topping her version of it, it made the UK top ten but deserved much more.
FT's tez on September 3rd, 2007
im so sick of hearing dionne warwick say that if she had coughed so too would cilla, cillas phrasing, voice and production on ‘anyone who had a heart’ could not be more different. cillas version is gutsy and passionate, and anyway, at that early stage in the sixies a british girl would never have had a hit in america, america was very unforgiving on many of our artists before the beatles, so whats wrong with cillas manager giving her ‘heart’ to release in the uk, i believe shirly bassey was thought of by george martin to offer the song to, but epstein wanted it for cilla, im shaw warwick would not have a go at bassey, she prob wouldnt live to tell the tale. also ive heard a recording of cilla singing ‘walk on by’ on her 1968 show, and its fab. cillas voice in the 60s was rich and dark and full of feeling, if you listen to her version of ‘ol’ man river’ or ‘fever’ she was fab. she was an individual she had bright red bobed hair, a big nose, crooked teeth, but she was still sexy, the public wouldnt accept a girl like her now, she wouldnt fit our vein criteria and that sort of modern generic caberet voice thats so popular now days, all our girls, cilla, sandie, dusty and lulu were very original. although cilla is still popular i think she is tainted by the modern post nose job blind date comedien that most know, if people got to see all the unreleased clips of her from back then then they would see how great she was, and is
Marcello Carlin on September 4th, 2007
Possibly the worst Bacharach/David injustice in the sixties UK singles chart: “Don’t Make Me Over” was a hit here, not for Dionne, but for…Swinging Blue Jeans, The. Dearie lord God rest my soul etc.
rubbersoul on September 18th, 2007
http://www.thegirlfromabbeyroad.blogspot.com listen to cilla’s decent stuff from the sixties and lwt cilla will fade away. cilla; why the f*** did you cash in your rock n roll chips?..
Nigel Egg on March 8th, 2008
I’ve only ever heard Cilla sing it so far. Dionne Warwick is Burt Bacharach’s muse - I’ll find her version. But I’ve remembered Cilla these many years and enough to learn the song today for singing myself. Amazing how simple and complicated it is.