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One Less Bell to Answer
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Wikipedia article
"'One Less Bell to Answer'" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally written in 1967 for Keely Smith, the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for the 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the group's 1970 debut album for Bell Records, 'Portrait'. Lead vocals on the single were sung by Marilyn McCoo.
"One Less Bell to Answer" was a platinum record. The song reached number two on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart, behind "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. On other US charts, it went to number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, as well as No. 4 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Use in media
The 5th Dimension version of the song was prominently featured at the same time in an episode of the Robert Wagner TV series 'It Takes a Thief'.
Other versions
Bacharach himself included a version of it as the closing number, with Cissy Houston singing, on his own 1971 eponymous A&M album.
Rosemary Clooney had a national easy listening chart record of this song in 1968 (US #34). Barbra Streisand partially covered the song in the medley "One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not a Home" on her 1971 album 'Barbra Joan Streisand'. Also in 1971, Rita Reys recorded the song for her album 'Rita Reys Sings Burt Bacharach', which won her an Edison Award. Dionne Warwick recorded a version of the song on her 1972 Warner Bros. album 'Dionne'; Bacharach and David produced their track for Warwick. Another 1972 cover was by Shirley Bassey on her album 'I Capricorn'. Vikki Carr, Michael Ball, Vanessa Williams from 'Everlasting Love' (2005), Trijntje Oosterhuis, and Sheryl Crow also have performed covers, and the song (specifically the Streisand medley version) was performed by Matthew Morrison and Kristin Chenoweth in an episode of the American television series 'Glee'. In 2012 Steps covered the song on their album 'Light Up the World'.
See also
*List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1971 (U.S.)
References
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