Burt Bacharach "Something Big"

[Harry]

Until today, I had no idea that Burt Bacharach's song "Something Big" was a theme to a movie. Even the movie was called SOMETHING BIG, and the whole thing is available on YouTube at the moment.

The song in the movie is sung by Mark Lindsay. Movie score is by Marvin Hamlisch.


It appears to be a comedy western with Dean Martin and Brian Keith from 1971.

When I first got the LIVING TOGETHER album, I really liked the song "Something Big", but nowhere in the credits is there any mention of "(From the motion picture...)" that you sometimes find on song titles.

 

[Bobberman]

You can call this a Lost or Forgotten Movie theme.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Wow I didn't know this either.... never even heard of the movie before. I can use the excuse that the movie came out before I was in the movie business (by about 6 years) and it must have been a real flop.

Bacharach's own version of the tune is definitely better than the version in the movie. That's always been my favorite track from the Living Together album and one of my favorite Bacharach songs overall.

 

[Rudy]

Grab a copy of The Reel Burt Bacharach, released 1999 on Hip-O, as it has this theme song and others on it.

1    –Burt Bacharach    Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head    2:31
2    –Dusty Springfield    The Look Of Love    4:09
3    –Shawn Phillips (2)    Lost Horizon    2:32
4    –Mark Lindsay    Something Big    2:19
5    –Marvin Hamlisch    The April Fools    3:57
6    –Dionne Warwick With Glenn Jones    Finder Of Lost Loves    4:40
7    –Tom Jones    What's New, Pussycat?    2:20
8    –Burt Bacharach    A House Is Not A Home    3:32
9    –Richard Chamberlain    Rome Will Never Leave You    2:30
10    –Gene Pitney    (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valence    3:00
11    –Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass    Casino Royale    2:37
12    –Trini Lopez    Made In Paris    2:23
13    –B.J. Thomas    Long Ago Tomorrow    4:00
14    –Gladys Knight & The Pips*    Seconds    3:59
15    –Christopher Cross    Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)    3:53
16    –Chris DeBurgh*    Love Is My Decision    4:07
17    –Burt Bacharach    The Best Of Times    4:20

The Mark Lindsay version is the best one I've heard of this track (sounds much better than the choppy film version); ditto most of the movie versions on this set, except for Hamlisch's cover of "The April Fools" which is pretty much drenched in Muzak strings. The Gladys Knight track "Seconds" is a rare demo version of the track which was going to be used in the film version of Promises, Promises, which of course was never made. (And which makes no sense since the play was based on that great Jack Lemmon/Shirley MacLaine film "The Apartment" originally.)

This one is out of print, and I only came up with four copies here. One at Discogs, the others on eBay. Amazon doesn't even list it, far as I can tell.

The Reel Burt Bacharach (Soundtracks Anthology) 3700368443224 | eBay

Various - The Reel Burt Bacharach



I probably mentioned this compilation way back when it was released. I remember playing it in the car a lot during 1999 or 2000. The Lindsay track is one of the highlights on the set. Others for me are "Long Ago Tomorrow" (BJ Thomas), and of course the best version of "The Look of Love" by Dusty Springfield (who IMHO is the only vocalist who has ever pulled off the correct mood on this tune, especially in context of the film). And it's always a treat to hear Dionne do a Bacharach tune.

 

[Harry]

Y'know, I bought that compilation - still have it, but I don't believe I ever looked at the liner notes. Looking at it back then, it just seemed to be another of the many Burt Bacharach compilations that were popping up around that time, and I most likely picked it up because of the Herb Alpert "Casino Royale", always looking for the supreme version on a CD.

I can't say I ever listened to the disc straight through, but I surely played the Mark Lindsay track as well as "Long Ago Tomorrow" by B.J.Thomas, as I always liked that song. Now, today, I never realized that THAT song was from a movie, yet all of these are - it's the reason for the compilation!

Color me "thick".