A Taste of Honey (song)
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| “A Taste of Honey” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass | ||
| Album | Whipped Cream and Other Delights | |
| Released | April 1965 (LP); 1990 (A&M Records CD); March 2005 (Shout! Factory CD) | |
| Recorded | 1965 | |
| Genre | Jazz; Instrumental pop | |
| Length | 2:43 | |
| Label | A&M Records; Shout! Factory | |
| Writer | Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow | |
| Producer | Herb Alpert; Jerry Moss | |
| Whipped Cream and Other Delights track listing | ||
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"A Taste of Honey" is a pop standard written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. It was first performed by Scott, and its title may have been inspired by the 1958 English play A Taste of Honey which reached Broadway in 1960.
The most famous version of this song was the instrumental cover by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass on their album Whipped Cream & Other Delights, becoming a top ten hit in 1965 and winning the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. While this is the best remembered version, two others had competed in the charts in 1962: both Martin Denny and The Victor Feldman Quartet had minor hits with their takes on the song. The only vocal version to chart was the 1964 minor hit for Tony Bennett. The newest version recorded as a single release was by Howard Bailey. Sticking close to the Herb Alpert version, Bailey played all the main brass melodies on the guitar.
[edit] Beatles' version
It was covered by The Beatles on their debut album Please Please Me. It was a favourite of Paul McCartney's, and was included in the Beatles' repertoire in 1962. John Lennon sometimes played around with the title, calling it "A Waste of Money".[citation needed] (Satirist Allan Sherman actually recorded a parody song called "A Waste of Money".) The Beatles performed "A Taste of Honey" on many BBC radio shows, including Here We Go, Side by Side and Easy Beat.
[edit] Credits
- John Lennon – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Paul McCartney – bass, double-tracked lead vocals
- George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – drums
[edit] Movie
Shelagh Dalaney's script A Taste of Honey was filmed in 1961 by Tony Richardson and starred Liverpool actress Rita Tushingham. As part of the pioneering wave of British northern “kitchen-sink” literature from that period (see also: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and A Kind of Loving) the genre also seemed to fit in well with the Beatles' own outspoken image, and reflected the social changes in attitude that were then taking place within the UK.
