(Burt Bacharach - Barney Williams - Mack David)
Australia
#21 Melbourne #11 Brisbane #34 Perth
The first and most successful of eighteen singles released 1968-1981 by Jeff Phillips, a singer and TV personality from Western Australia who compered a number of TV shows in the 60s and 70s (Club 17, Sounds Like Us, Happening ’71). He released some singles on Philips and United Artists in the UK from 1973, and went to Los Angeles for a time before returning to Australia in the 80s and appearing in the musical Cats. In the early 90s he compered Star Search on the 10 Network.
References: Terry Stacey’s research; Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of
Australian Rock & Pop.
Further reading: Wikipedia article on
Jeff Phillips.
(Burt Bacharach - Barney Williams - Mack David)
USA
Later version
#5 USA #39 Sydney
As Richie Unterberger puts it, this was a drastically revised version by a mainstream pop/rock band with hard rock and soul-influenced arrangements. (All Music Guide)
(Burt Bacharach - Barney Williams - Mack David)
USA
Original version
#8 USA #36 Melbourne
Single on Scepter, arranged by composer Burt Bacharach, produced by Luther Dixon. The lyricists were Mack David – brother of longtime Bacharach collaborator Hal David – and Barney Williams, a promo man at the record company.
One of the earliest and most representative examples of what would become known as the Girl Group sound of the pre-Beatles 60s, The Shirelles had a string of hits 1960-1963, including Goffin & King’s Will You Love Me Tomorrow (#1 USA 1960), the Five Royales revival Dedicated To The One I Love (#3 USA 1961) and Soldier Boy (#2 USA, 1962).
Essential reading: The detailed commentary on Baby It’s You by
Mick Patrick and Malcolm Baumgart, reprinted at Spectropop, from their
notes to the CD reissue of The Sound Of Bacharach (1965)
Further reading: For the full extent of the Bacharach oeuvre see, for example, the list of hit recordings and discography at BacharachOnline.com.
See also: Noeleen Batley – Forgive Me (1963) at this site.
(Burt Bacharach - Barney Williams - Mack David)
UK
Influential version
On The Beatles’ first album Please Please Me (UK, 1963) and on Introducing The Beatles (USA, 1963)
In 1995, a live radio version of Baby It’s You, recorded in 1963, charted as a track from the 1994 CD Live At The BBC (#7 UK #26 Melbourne #28 Brisbane #13 Adelaide #26 Perth).
Reference: Baby It’s You page and discographies at Dimitry Murashev’s excellent DM’s Beatles Site.
(Leslie Knauer - Benny Knauer)
USA
Red herring
#2 Sydney #2 Melbourne #2 Brisbane #2 Adelaide #2 Perth #1 NZ
Same title but not the same song as ‘Baby It’s You’ by Jeff Phillips.
Single by siblings Leslie, Jed & Benny Knauer, popular mainly in Europe and Australia.
Reference: Wikipedia article on Promises.
(Mark Anthony)
USA
Red herring
#27 Melbourne #30 Brisbane
Not to be confused with ‘Baby It’s You’… although at least one standard reference does just that. Track on pre-Monkees self-titled album on Colpix. Charted in 1967.
(Dawkins - Dixon - Mason - Thomas - Underdogs)
USA
Red herring
#22 USA #8 Perth
Same title but not the same song as ‘Baby It’s You’ by Jeff Phillips.
‘Kid rapper’ Bow Wow joins
young R&B singer JoJo (b. 1990), a graduate of America’s Most
Talented Kids. Single from JoJo’s
self-titled debut album.
(Burt Bacharach - Barney Williams - Mack David - Guy Bertret - Roger Desbois)
France
French-language version on EP Délivre-moi on BAM label by French singer-songwriter-actor from Lille (1938-2014). One of the earliest French female rock’n’rollers, her on-and-off recording career 1957-1968 also took in the early-60s twist craze. She also recorded under her real name, Geneviève Cognet, and wrote songs for other artists.
Also recorded by:
• Sylvie Vartan – Baby, C’est Vous (Baby It’s You)
(Bacharach-Williams-David-Bertret-Desbois)
1962 On EP by enduring Bulgarian-born singer and actor from the yé-yé era (b.1944, to France in 1952), once married to French rock star
Johnny Hallyday;
• Burt Blanca – Baby, C’est Vous (Baby It’s You)
(Bacharach-Williams-David-Bertret-Desbois)
1962 On EP and single recorded in Paris by prolific
Belgian rock singer-guitarist, in fact multi-instrumentalist (b.1944, Norbert Blancke).
Sites dating the single as 1961 are apparently in error.
YouTube: Gélou, Sylvie and Burt.
References, further reading: 1. Gélou page at Ready Steady Girls! 2. Gélou at Wikipedia France where her discography includes Gélou and Geneviève Cognet, and compositions recorded by others. 3. Full credits for Gélou version with sleeve and label shots at Discogs.com. 4. Sylvie Vartan bio and discography at Discogs.com; see also French Wikipédia. 5. Burt Blanca at Rock & Country and French Wikipédia.
Merci à Philippe.
Pop Archives
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Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2024. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Philippe Edouard, Dave Overett.., More…