100 GREAT SONGS FROM THE BRITISH INVASION: ‘ANYONE WHO HAD A HEART’- CILLA BLACK

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Cilla Black – Anyone Who Had A Heart (1964, Vinyl) - Discogs

Time: 100 Great Songs From The British Invasion: 1963-1966. ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’- Cilla Black. Cilla Black was born Priscilla White in 1943- in Liverpool. In the first edition of Mersey Beat she was mistakenly referred to as Cilla Black- and she decided to take that name. She has a very important Beatles connection- it was John Lennon who persuaded Beatles manager Brian Epstein to audition Cilla- and she ended up signing with Epstein. She was very successful in the UK where she had 19 Top 40 hits including two #1 hits- one of which was ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart.’ She only had one Top 40 hit in the US- ‘You’re My World’ #26 in 1964. “Anyone Who Had A Heart’ was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick- and she had a #8 hit in the US with it– meanwhile in the UK- someone introduced the song to Cilla’s producer George Martin- as a song for Shirley Bassey to record. Martin saw it though as a song for Cilla- and her version- when released crushed Dionne Warwick’s- going to #1- while Warwick’s stalled at #42. Cilla’s version was nearly identical to Dionne’s- and with Cilla’s success in the UK with it- according to Cilla- Dionne never forgave her for it maybe she sicced her psychic network on her? Cilla Black died following a fall in 2015- at the age of 72. Upon her death a greatest hits package of hers went to #1 in the UK and New Zealand- her first #1 album.

Single: ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’- Cilla Black/ Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David/ Record Company- Parlophone/ Time: 2:50/ Produced by George Martin/ Released January 31, 1964/ Did not chart in the US. Peaked at #1 in UK Singles Chart.

9 responses to “100 GREAT SONGS FROM THE BRITISH INVASION: ‘ANYONE WHO HAD A HEART’- CILLA BLACK”

  1. She was another reliable charter over here for most of the 60s.’ Cilla’s ‘Surround Yourself With Sorrow’ is sadly one of those songs that has everything in it that has me clawing at my ears, praying it will stop. Sounds like Dionne can hold a grudge!

  2. Listen to Dionne’s version after listening to Cilla’s. Dionne is a little more controlled than Cilla. Cilla’s is a little more raw, more forceful. Both are, or were, wonderful singers, and both did a lot of Bacharach and David.

    • Bigger in the UK- I have always heard the name more in association with The Beatles in their early days- than her as an artist.

  5. Cilla’s voice gets a little shrill there in bits. I prefer Dionne’s version, but yes, the two versions are very similar. The strings are what give it that special oomph.

  6. In the US, Dionne was almost the go-to arttist for Bacharach and David. But in the UK it was Cilla. I think there was no globalisation at that time. After she stopped recording, Cilla was the host of a few mega-popular tv shows (did you have Blind Date there?) so she was still in the public eye. Not surprising that she was missed when she edied.

    I always thought she had a beautiful voice when used softly, but all too often she used to belt tracks out, and I didn’t like how harsh she sounded.

  7. I loved Cilla’s song You’re My World. She also seemed like a genuine person. This song, Anyone Who Had a Heart, I didn’t hear as much back then, and was probably actually hearing Dionne’s version here in the US. I wasn’t ever a fan of Dionne’s music.

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