Make It Easy On Yourself
Encyclopedia
"Make It Easy On Yourself" is a popular
song
written
by Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
which was first a hit for Jerry Butler
in 1962 and has since been a Top 40 single for the Walker Brothers
- for whom it was a #1 UK hit - and Dionne Warwick
.
head a&r man Calvin Carter
brought back "Make It Easy on Yourself" from a trip to New York City scouting song publishers. Carter played the demo
of "Make It Easy on Yourself" — featuring Dionne Warwick
's vocal — for Vee-Jay artist Jerry Butler who commented: "Man, it's a great song, and the girl who's singing it, and the arrangement, is a hit." When Carter explained that Florence Greenberg, the owner of Scepter Records
who'd recently signed Warwick, was not interested in "Make It Easy on Yourself" Butler recalls being "ecstatic" and, wanting the same arrangement featured on the demo flew to New York City to record the song in a session overseen by Burt Bacharach (although Bacharach's official credit was limited to arranger
). "Make It Easy on Yourself" was released in June 1962 to reach reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100
that August; the track's R&B chart
peak was #18.
suggested that the Walker Brothers make a recording of "Make It Easy on Yourself". The track was recorded in a June 1965 session at the Philips studios in Marble Arch
arranged by Ivor Raymonde
who conducted his orchestra
with production credited to Philips
' owner Johnny Franz
; session personnel included Vic Flick
and Big Jim Sullivan
on guitars and Ronnie Verrell
on drums. In 2001 the Walker Brothers' "Make It Easy On Yourself" was sampled
extensively by the Northern Irish
band
, Ash
, on their single "Candy
".
's session work
on the Drifters
' track "Mexican Divorce" - recorded February 1962 - brought her to the attention of Burt Bacharach who subsequently had Warwick regularly provide vocals on demos of his songs beginning with "Make It Easy on Yourself". On the strength of her vocals on another demo: that of "Is It Love That Really Counts", Warwick was signed by Florence Greenberg of Scepter Records although Greenberg gave the last-named song to the Shirelles
as a B-side
while rejecting "Make It Easy on Yourself" altogether leading to that song's being shopped to Jerry Butler. Warwick had assumed "Make It Easy on Yourself" would serve as her own debut single; on learning from Bacharach and co-composer Hal David that Jerry Butler was recording the song a keenly disappointed Warwick dismissed the composers' assurance of providing her with an equally potent song with the words: "Don't make me over, man" - ie. "Don't con me". Bacharach and David in fact utilized Warwick's pessimistic response (with a shift in meaning) as the title for "Don't Make Me Over
" the song which would indeed launch Warwick's hitmaking career.
Warwick's demo version of "Make It Easy on Yourself" was featured as an album track on Warwick's 1963 debut album Presenting Dionne Warwick
but the track which became a hit for her was a recording of a live performance featured in a concert which took place at the Garden State Center in Holmdel NJ in the summer of 1970. As with Warwick's 1966 hit "Message to Michael
" the non-involvement of Bacharach and David in the track (beyond writing the song) is evidenced in its producers credit reading "a Blue Jac Production", Blue Jac Productions being the name Bacharach/David and Warwick had incorporated under in 1962 (officially Blue Jac Productions rather than Warwick personally were signed to Scepter Records). Warwick's sole live track released as a single, "Make It Easy on Yourself" served as the advance single for Warwick's final album (of new material) for Scepter, the December 1970 release Very Dionne; the single charted that autumn with chief support from easy listening
radio as indicated by its #2 peak on that format's chart making moderate crossover
to Pop - at #37 the final Top 40 hit of the first phase of Warwick's career - and R&B (#26).
The Carpenters
included "Make It Easy on Yourself" in a medley
of Bacharach/David songs featured on their May 1971 album release Carpenters
.
The 1972 Johnny Mathis
album Song Sung Blue - produced by Jerry Fuller
- featured a version of "Make It Easy on Yourself"; issued as a single the track reached #16 on the Easy Listening chart and "bubbled under the Hot 100
" with a #103 peak. In the UK Mathis' Song Sung Blue album was released with the title Make It Easy on Yourself.
In 1997 "Make It Easy on Yourself" was featured on the album A Short Album About Love
by the Divine Comedy
.
"Make It Easy on Yourself" has also been recorded by Rick Astley
, Long John Baldry
, Tony Bennett
, Cilla Black
, Glen Campbell
, the Four Seasons, Connie Francis
, the Three Degrees
, Jackie Trent
and - in medley
with "Baby I'm Yours" - by Bobby Vee
.
In 2011, Ronan Keating
recorded the song for his album "When Ronan Met Burt
".
The song was sampled by Northern Irish rock group Ash
for their 2001 album Free all Angels
on the track Candy (Ash song)
There is a French cover of that song, under the title Mais n'essaie pas de me mentir (But whatever you do, don't try to lie to me) by Claude François (co-author of My Way)
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
which was first a hit for Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler is the name of:*Jerry Butler , American soul singer and Chicago politician*Jerry Butler , former NFL wide receiver*Jerry Butler , professional ice hockey player...
in 1962 and has since been a Top 40 single for the Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...
- for whom it was a #1 UK hit - and Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
.
Jerry Butler
Chicago-based Vee-Jay RecordsVee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
head a&r man Calvin Carter
Calvin Carter
Calvin Carter is the brother of the founder of Vee-Jay Records Vivian Carter. Born May 27, 1925. He joined the company in 1953 and became the principal producer, in charge of the recording sessions. He is a songwriter and composer of jazz and popsongs....
brought back "Make It Easy on Yourself" from a trip to New York City scouting song publishers. Carter played the demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of "Make It Easy on Yourself" — featuring Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
's vocal — for Vee-Jay artist Jerry Butler who commented: "Man, it's a great song, and the girl who's singing it, and the arrangement, is a hit." When Carter explained that Florence Greenberg, the owner of Scepter Records
Scepter Records
Scepter Records is a record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. She had just sold Tiara Records with The Shirelles for $4000 to Decca Records. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a...
who'd recently signed Warwick, was not interested in "Make It Easy on Yourself" Butler recalls being "ecstatic" and, wanting the same arrangement featured on the demo flew to New York City to record the song in a session overseen by Burt Bacharach (although Bacharach's official credit was limited to arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
). "Make It Easy on Yourself" was released in June 1962 to reach reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
that August; the track's R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
peak was #18.
The Walker Brothers
The most successful Pop version of "Make It Easy on Yourself" was the 1965 single by the Walker Brothers which reached #16 on the Hot 100 that December; this version had been a #1 hit in the UK in September 1965. Although based in London, the Walker Brothers were familiar with the original 1962 hit by Jerry Butler (which had been overlooked in its concurrent UK release) and group member John MausJohn Walker (musician)
John Joseph Maus , known professionally as John Walker, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the founder of The Walker Brothers, who had their greatest success in the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom.-Early life and career:John Maus was born in New York City, the...
suggested that the Walker Brothers make a recording of "Make It Easy on Yourself". The track was recorded in a June 1965 session at the Philips studios in Marble Arch
Marble Arch
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...
arranged by Ivor Raymonde
Ivor Raymonde
Ivor Raymonde was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s.-Life and career:...
who conducted his orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
with production credited to Philips
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
' owner Johnny Franz
Johnny Franz
Johnny Franz was a UK record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. Although his name is not recognized by many Americans, Franz was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s...
; session personnel included Vic Flick
Vic Flick
Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
and Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
on guitars and Ronnie Verrell
Ronnie Verrell
Ronald 'Ronnie' Thomas Verrell was an English jazz drummer. He played in two of the United Kingdom's "most famous" big bands, The Ted Heath Orchestra and The Syd Lawrence Orchestra. Verrell also worked extensively in television, including as a drummer in Jack Parnell's ATV Orchestra and Sunday...
on drums. In 2001 the Walker Brothers' "Make It Easy On Yourself" was sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
extensively by the Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, Ash
Ash (band)
Ash are an alternative rock band that formed in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland in 1992. The band has sold 8 million albums worldwide.-Band beginning, Trailer and 1977 :...
, on their single "Candy
Candy (Ash song)
"Candy" is a song by Ash, released as the fourth single from their album Free All Angels on October 1, 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7" vinyl , as well as on DVD format...
".
Dionne Warwick
Dionne WarwickDionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
's session work
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
on the Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
' track "Mexican Divorce" - recorded February 1962 - brought her to the attention of Burt Bacharach who subsequently had Warwick regularly provide vocals on demos of his songs beginning with "Make It Easy on Yourself". On the strength of her vocals on another demo: that of "Is It Love That Really Counts", Warwick was signed by Florence Greenberg of Scepter Records although Greenberg gave the last-named song to the Shirelles
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an African-American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens , Doris Coley , Addie "Micki" Harris , and Beverly Lee...
as a B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
while rejecting "Make It Easy on Yourself" altogether leading to that song's being shopped to Jerry Butler. Warwick had assumed "Make It Easy on Yourself" would serve as her own debut single; on learning from Bacharach and co-composer Hal David that Jerry Butler was recording the song a keenly disappointed Warwick dismissed the composers' assurance of providing her with an equally potent song with the words: "Don't make me over, man" - ie. "Don't con me". Bacharach and David in fact utilized Warwick's pessimistic response (with a shift in meaning) as the title for "Don't Make Me Over
Don't Make Me Over (song)
"Don't Make Me Over" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which marked the recording debut of Dionne Warwick in 1962.-Dionne Warwick version:...
" the song which would indeed launch Warwick's hitmaking career.
Warwick's demo version of "Make It Easy on Yourself" was featured as an album track on Warwick's 1963 debut album Presenting Dionne Warwick
Presenting Dionne Warwick
Presenting Dionne Warwick, the debut album by American singer Dionne Warwick, was released in 1963 on Scepter Records. The LP, produced in New York by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, appeared as number 508 in the Scepter catalog....
but the track which became a hit for her was a recording of a live performance featured in a concert which took place at the Garden State Center in Holmdel NJ in the summer of 1970. As with Warwick's 1966 hit "Message to Michael
Message to Michael
"Message to Michael" is a 1966 Top Ten hit by Dionne Warwick, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The song's lyrics are addressed to a bluebird by a woman in Kentucky whose sweetheart is vainly pursuing musical stardom in New Orleans; the woman asks the bluebird to take a message to Michael,...
" the non-involvement of Bacharach and David in the track (beyond writing the song) is evidenced in its producers credit reading "a Blue Jac Production", Blue Jac Productions being the name Bacharach/David and Warwick had incorporated under in 1962 (officially Blue Jac Productions rather than Warwick personally were signed to Scepter Records). Warwick's sole live track released as a single, "Make It Easy on Yourself" served as the advance single for Warwick's final album (of new material) for Scepter, the December 1970 release Very Dionne; the single charted that autumn with chief support from easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
radio as indicated by its #2 peak on that format's chart making moderate crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
to Pop - at #37 the final Top 40 hit of the first phase of Warwick's career - and R&B (#26).
Other versions
"Make It Easy on Yourself" served as the title cut of a 1969 album by Burt Bacharach with the track featuring Bacharach's vocals as well as his piano playing.The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
included "Make It Easy on Yourself" in a medley
Medley
-Sports:*Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles*Medley relay races at track meets-Music:*Medley , multiple pieces strung together*"Medley" -People:...
of Bacharach/David songs featured on their May 1971 album release Carpenters
Carpenters (album)
Carpenters is the third studio album by the Carpenters. Released on May 14, 1971, the album was successful, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and #12 in the UK...
.
The 1972 Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
album Song Sung Blue - produced by Jerry Fuller
Jerry Fuller
-Biography:Jerry Fuller was born in Fort Worth, Texas to a musical family, his father having been a singer with Bob Wills' Light Crust Doughboys. Jerry Fuller and his brother Bill performed as a duo in their home state, recording for the local Lin label, before Jerry branched out on his own and...
- featured a version of "Make It Easy on Yourself"; issued as a single the track reached #16 on the Easy Listening chart and "bubbled under the Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
" with a #103 peak. In the UK Mathis' Song Sung Blue album was released with the title Make It Easy on Yourself.
In 1997 "Make It Easy on Yourself" was featured on the album A Short Album About Love
A Short Album About Love
A Short Album About Love is the fifth album by The Divine Comedy, released in 1997.-Track listing:* All songs written by Neil Hannon except where stated.# "In Pursuit Of Happiness" – 3:31# "Everybody Knows " – 3:48...
by the Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy (band)
The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Ireland, fronted by Neil Hannon. Formed in 1989, Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation bar drums. To date, ten studio albums have been released under the Divine...
.
"Make It Easy on Yourself" has also been recorded by Rick Astley
Rick Astley
Richard Paul "Rick" Astley is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries...
, Long John Baldry
Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, the Four Seasons, Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, the Three Degrees
The Three Degrees
The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group. Formed in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,, the group has always been a trio though there have been a number of personnel changes and a total of fourteen women have represented the group so far. The original members were Fayette Pinkney,...
, Jackie Trent
Jackie Trent
Jackie Trent is an English singer, songwriter, and actress.-Career:Trent's first stage appearance was as a ten-year-old ingenue in the pantomime Babes In The Wood, but her primary interest was a career in pop music...
and - in medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
with "Baby I'm Yours" - by Bobby Vee
Bobby Vee
Robert Thomas Velline , known as Bobby Vee, is an American pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine, Vee has had 38 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20.-Career:...
.
In 2011, Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Keating debuted on the professional music scene alongside Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately, in 1994 as the lead singer of Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999, and...
recorded the song for his album "When Ronan Met Burt
When Ronan Met Burt
When Ronan Met Burt is the eighth studio album by Irish singer-songwriter and Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating. It was produced and composed by Burt Bacharach.-Background:...
".
The song was sampled by Northern Irish rock group Ash
Ash
- Products of fire, incineration or combustion :The solid remains of fires, such as:* Ash , the compounds that remain after a scientific sample is burned; commonly reported as a percentage on pet food labels...
for their 2001 album Free all Angels
Free All Angels
Free All Angels is the third studio album by Ash, which was initially released on 16 April 2001, through Infectious Records. The name of the album is taken from a T-shirt worn by a Hells Angel....
on the track Candy (Ash song)
Candy (Ash song)
"Candy" is a song by Ash, released as the fourth single from their album Free All Angels on October 1, 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7" vinyl , as well as on DVD format...
There is a French cover of that song, under the title Mais n'essaie pas de me mentir (But whatever you do, don't try to lie to me) by Claude François (co-author of My Way)