"Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams),[1] and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It's You" was by the band Smith, who took the track to No.5 on the US charts in 1969.[2]
The Shirelles' original version
The song was produced by Luther Dixon. When released as a single in 1961 in the US, it became a Top 10 smash on the Pop and R&B Charts. It reached No.3 on the R&B chart, peaked at No.8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and was No. 18 in Canada.[3][4] It later appeared on the album Baby It's You,[5] named to capitalize on the success of the single. The vocal arrangements on this version proved influential in subsequent ones, including that by the Beatles. One notable feature of the song is its minor-to-major key chord changes on the verses.
The British rock band the Beatles performed "Baby It's You" as part of their stage act from 1961 until 1963, and recorded it on February 11, 1963, for their first album, Please Please Me, along with "Boys", another song by the Shirelles.[7] The American label Vee-Jay Records included it on Introducing... The Beatles and Songs, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles. Capitol included it on The Early Beatles. The Beatles' version differs from the Shirelles' in that it repeats the second verse instead of the first.[8]
A live version was released on Live at the BBC in 1994. Here, Lennon does not repeat part of the second verse after the solo (as he did on the studio recording), but repeats part of the first verse, which is the way the Shirelles sang the song.[9][self-published source?] The song was issued as a CD single and a vinyl E.P. in 1995 in both the UK and the US, the Beatles' first in nearly a decade. Both versions have four tracks, as was the norm on CD singles at that point. The three additional tracks, while from BBC recordings, did not appear on Live at the BBC. "I'll Follow the Sun" and "Boys" were later included on On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, but this recording of "Devil in Her Heart" remains unique to this release. The single reached No.7 in the UK and No.67 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A live music video was released in 1994 to promote the single. It consisted of a combination of the Beatles dancing and still photographs, and was later included on a DVD or Blu-ray with the 2015 release 1+.
Smith's version appeared on their debut album, A Group Called Smith. The single was released on Dunhill Records (4206) in 1969. It was their first and most successful release. This version, arranged by Del Shannon who "discovered" the group, alters the traditional vocal arrangement as performed by the Shirelles and the Beatles in favor of a more belted, soulful vocal.[citation needed] The single hit No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100,[21] and was ranked No.28 in Billboard's year-end chart of 1969.[22] The Smith version was used in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.[23] Smith's version is referenced in season 10, episode 6 of Friends, "The One with Ross's Grant", wherein the band is not referred to by name but as a "popular British Invasion Band".
In 1962, the song was adapted into French by Guy Bertret and Roger Desbois as Baby c'est vous and performed by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan and was released as a single in July 1962 as the second single off of her debut album Sylvie.[26][27] Vartan's version received a "Tip" position in the French Belgian charts in 1962.[28]
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