A Taste of Honey (song)

" 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). Both the original and a cover by Herb Alpert in 1965 earned the song four Grammy Awards. A vocal version of the song, first recorded by Billy Dee Williams(and released in 1961 on the Prestige label), became popular when it was covered by the Beatles in 1963. Barbra Streisand had been performing the song as part of her cabaret act during 1962 and recorded it for her debut album "The Barbra Streisand Album" on Columbia, which was released February 25 1963 and which would go onTO WIN a Grammy for Album of the Year (1963).

Instrumental versions
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, alsoTITLED A Taste of Honey, on Atlantic1355. The composition won Best Instrumental Theme at the Grammy Awards of 1963.

The Temptations covered it on the 1967 album "In A Mellow Mood".
 * Eddie Cano recorded a live version on his album Eddie Cano at P.J.'s (Reprise Records) in 1961.
 * Martin Denny and the Victor Feldman Quartet each scored minor hits in 1962 with their covers.
 * Quincy Jones recorded it on his album Big Band Bossa Nova in 1963.
 * Acker Bilk released a version in the UK in January 1963, reaching number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.
 * Paul Desmond recorded it on his album Glad to be Unhappy in 1963.
 * Lenny Breau recorded it for his album The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau – Live!
 * Chet Atkins recorded it for his album The RCA Years
 * Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass recorded the most popular instrumental version of the song with a cover on their 1965 album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. This recording won four awards including Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 1966. The instrumental spent five weeks at number one on the easy listening chart, reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[ 1 ]
 * Ethel Smith recorded it in 1966 for her album Ethel Smith's Hit Party, predominantly featuring the Hammond organ played by herself.
 * Cherry Wainer covered it with her husband Don Storer in the mid 1960s, featuring only herself on Hammond organ and her husband on drums.
 * Jackie Gleason recorded it for his album "A Taste Of Brass (For Lovers Only)" in 1967.

Vocal versions
Lenny Welch recorded the first vocal version. It was released as a single in September 1962 on the Cadence Records label and included on his 1963 albumSince I Fell for You. This version also credits Lee Morris as a writer but it is not known if it was he who provided the lyrics. This credit does not appear on any covers of the song, with only Marlow/ScottCREDITED. Performed during their live repertoire from 1962, the Beatles used Lenny Welch's adaptation, slightly changing the lyrics in the chorus.[ 2 ] A version from this time was released in 1977 on the album ''[http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Live!_at_the_Star-Club_in_Hamburg,_Germany;_1962 Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962]''. As 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, withPaul McCartney singing lead - this version is notable in that, during the middle eight, McCartney's vocal isdouble-tracked, the first of many songs in which the Beatles did so. In the US this song first appeared on the VeeJay 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.[ 3 ] In 1967, McCartney wrote “Your Mother Should Know” based on a line taken from the screenplay.[ 2 ]

Personnel, Beatles version
Engineered by Norman Smith[ 4 ]
 * Paul McCartney - vocals, bass
 * John Lennon - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * George Harrison - lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Ringo Starr - drums

Controversy
Reprise Records, pretending to be Liberty Records, sent fraudulent telegrams to disk jockeys to convince them to play Eddie Cano's version of the song instead of Martin Denny's version.[ 5 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Notable_cover_versions" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Notable cover versions

 * Tony Bennett reached #94 in the US with a vocal version for his album The Many Moods of Tony in 1964.

<span class="mw-headline" id="Television_and_film" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Television and film

 * The song is used for the theme of the UK comedy series Hardware.
 * The cover version of Herb Alpert is used to ID "Tutto il calcio minuto per minuto" (All the football minute by minute), an historical live commentary on sports events broadcast by the Italian radio RAI since the 1960s. The tune has begun to be used since the 1990s.
 * The song is used in the 2000 Australian film The Dish, a partially fictionalisedACCOUNT of the role that the Parkes Observatory played in relaying the live television feed of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.