The Look Of Love by Dusty Springfield

The Look Of Love by Dusty Springfield - Songfacts

The Look Of Love
by Dusty Springfield

Album: The Very Best of Dusty Springfield (1967)

Charted: 22

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Burt Bacharach, who wrote this song with Hal David, told Record Collector magazine: "I had Dusty sing that very sexy. Dusty was very open to suggestions. To listen to the vocal back with her she'd have to go into a control room to hear it. She wanted to hear it alone. She was very tough on herself. But she did a great job."
"The Look Of Love" was written by Bacharach and David for the movie Casino Royale, a spoof of the James Bond films. In the same Record Collector interview he discussed writing specifically for a film: "When I'm scoring a picture, whether it's Butch Cassidy or Casino Royale or What's New Pussycat?, all those melodies that turned into what became hit songs came from what I saw on the screen when I was scoring and what I heard. The first thing is you service the motion picture. If you're lucky enough and you have a theme that turns into a hit whether it was Dusty (Springfield) singing 'The Look Of Love' in Casino Royale, what was most important there was the sexuality of Ursula Andress wearing very little clothes and making very sexy theme with the saxophone playing the melody of 'The Look Of Love.' Then we put Dusty on. First and foremost is it's written for the picture, you don't force it in."
Mike Myers credits the song for inspiring his Austin Powers character, which he introduced on Saturday Night Live in the early '90s as the leader of a faux mod band, then as a '60s-era spy for the 1997 film. "I was driving home from hockey practice in Los Angeles one day, shortly after my father had passed away, and 'The Look Of Love' came on the radio, and I instantly felt the character and the movie of Austin Powers enter my brain," he said. "Peter Sellers was my dad's hero, and that scene with Sellers and Ursula Andress in Casino Royale when 'The Look Of Love' is playing just delighted my dad, because it was a combination of Sellers, James Bond and Burt Bacharach."

The first film in the series, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, also features a cameo appearance from Bacharach.
"The Look Of Love" wasn't released as a single in Springfield's native UK, but in America it was a modest hit, climbing to #22. Her best-known songs include "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "Son Of A Preacher Man."
This was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song, but lost to "Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle. At the ceremony, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 performed "The Look Of Love" and it got a great reaction. Released as single, their cover went to #4 in America, outpacing Springfield's original.
A number of other artists have covered this song, including Isaac Hayes on his 1970 album ...To Be Continued - his version charted at #79 in America. Ashanti's 2003 transatlantic Top 20 hit "Rain On Me" samples Hayes' version.
Springfield might have been the only one who noticed, but she said that she hit a lot of flat notes in the song, which she recorded at 10 o'clock in the morning.

Comments: 10

Tressa from MichiganWho played the saxophone on Dusty Springfields ‘Look of Love’ ?
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1968 {June 16th} "The Look of Love" by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 peaked at #2 {for 5 weeks} on Billboard's Easy Listening* Top 40 Singles chart, for the five weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for those five weeks was "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert...
And also at the time, "The Look of Life" was at #5 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, two weeks later it would peak at #4 {for 1 week}...
Between 1966 and 1987 the Brazilian group had twenty eight records on the Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, nine made the Top 10 with two reaching #1, "Fool On The Hill" for six weeks in September of 1968 and "Never Gonna Let You Go" for four weeks in June of 1983...
They just missed having a tenth Top 10 record when their "Constant Rain" peaked at #11 in 1966...
Sérgio Santos Mendes celebrated his 79th birthday four months ago on February 11th, 2020...
* And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, the remainder of the Easy Listening' Top 10 on June 16th, 1968:
At #3."A Man Without Love" by Engelbert Humperdinck
#4. "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel
#5. "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" by Hugo Montenegro
#6. "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" by Dionne Warwick
#7. "Love In Every Room" by Paul Mauriat
#8. "Sweet Memories" by Andy Williams
#9. "My Shy Violet" by The Mills Brothers
#10. "Apologize" by Ed Ames
Jennifur Sun from RamonaWhat is that weird sounding instrument they used in this song?
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 5th 1968, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66's covered version of "The Look of Love" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #77; eight weeks later on June 30th, 1968 it would peak at #4 {for 1 week} and spent 14 weeks on the Top 100...
And on June 16th, 1968 it reached #2 {for 5 weeks} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart; for the 5 weeks it was at #2 the #1 record was by fellow A&M Records label mate Herb Alpert, his "This Guy's in Love with You" was in the top spot for those 5 weeks...
Between 1966 and 1969 Sergio Mendes had ten Top 100 records; with two making the Top 10, his other Top 10 record was "The Fool on the Hill", it peaked at #6 in 1968.
Omtatjuan from Northern CaliforniaIf someone sings that song to you... I say marry them!
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 19th 1967, the MGM movie 'Casino Royale' had its North American premier...
Five days earlier on April 14th its world premier was in London, England...
Three months later Dusty Springsfield's version entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 on July 4th at position #98; and on October 29th it peaked at #22 (for 1 week) and spent 15 weeks on the Top 100...
One year later on June 30th, 1968 Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's version reached #4 (for 1 week) and spent 5 weeks on the Top 10...
In 1971 Isaac Hayes' covered version reached at #79 on the Top 100...
On May 28th, 1967 the movies' theme song by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass peaked at #1 (for 2 weeks) on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
And two different songs with the title of "The Look of Love" have made the Top 100; Lesley Gore (#27 in 1965) and ABC (#18 in 1983).
Rotunda from Tulsa, OkBack in 1967 I bought this single because it sounded so sexy & was a great song. I'd always play this record when my boyfriend would visit me - hoping he'd get all worked-up & horny, but he never did!! Turned out that he was only interested in the boy nextdoor!! Well, here it is 2014 now & I hear this song on oldies radio a lot now. Dusty sure had a voice. Anyway, '67 eventually turned out good because later that year I met my first husband! See - The Look of Love did work out.
Camille from Toronto, OhA fabulous classic tune.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyLost the Oscar to "Talk to the Animals" from the movie 'Doctor Dolittle'!!!
Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, Caone of Burt's best tunes! viva Burt and Dusty, who adds a fantastic dimension to it...
the single version released in America was not arranged by But, but emulates it..it is fantastic

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