"A Taste of Honey" is a pop standard written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. It was originally an instrumental track (or recurring theme) written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey which was also made into the film of the same name in 1961. The original and a later recording by Herb Alpert in 1965 earned the song four Grammy Awards.
| "A Taste of Honey" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cover of the 1965 single
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| SinglebyHerb Alpert's Tijuana Brass | ||||
| from the album Whipped Cream & Other Delights | ||||
| B-side | "Third Man Theme" | |||
| Released | August 1965 | |||
| Recorded | March 10, 1965 | |||
| Studio | A&M Studios, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 2:43 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow | |||
| Producer(s) | Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss | |||
| Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass singles chronology | ||||
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A vocal version of the song proved successful for Lenny Welch in mid-1962.
The original recorded versions of the song "A Taste of Honey", "A Taste of Honey (refrain)" and "A Taste of Honey (closing theme)", appeared on Bobby Scott's 1960 album, also titled A Taste of Honey, on Atlantic 1355. The composition won Best Instrumental Theme at the Grammy Awards of 1963.
The first vocal version of "A Taste of Honey" was recorded in 1961 by Billy Dee Williams from his album Let's Misbehave.[4]
| "A Taste of Honey" | |
|---|---|
Cover of the 1964 Germany single
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| Songbythe Beatles | |
| from the album Please Please Me | |
| Released | March 22, 1963 |
| Recorded | February 11, 1963 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 2:01 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter(s) | Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
The Beatles performed Lenny Welch's adaptation as part of their repertoire in 1962,[5] slightly changing the lyrics in the chorus. Because the instrumental version by Acker Bilk was popular in the United Kingdom at the time, the song was chosen to be recorded for their 1963 debut album, Please Please Me. A version from that time was released in 1977 on the album Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962.
In the US, this song first appeared on the Vee-Jay Records album Introducing... The Beatles. They also performed "A Taste of Honey" seven times for BBC radio shows, including Here We Go, Side by Side, and Easy Beat.[6] In 1967, McCartney was inspired to compose “Your Mother Should Know” based on a line taken from the screenplay.[5]
Engineered by Norman Smith[7]
Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her debut record "The Barbra Streisand Album", produced by Mike Berniker in 1963.
| "A Taste of Honey" | |
|---|---|
One of sleeve variants of the 1971 Dutch single
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| SongbyThe Supremes & Four Tops | |
| from the album The Magnificent 7 | |
| Released | 1971 |
| Genre | R&B, soul |
| Length | 2:57 |
| Label | Tamla Motown |
| Songwriter(s) | Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow |
| Producer(s) | Clay McMurray, Duke Browner |
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[8] | 7 |