Anyone Who Had A Heart (song) - Cilla Black Version

Cilla Black Version

A scout for UK record producer George Martin discovered "Anyone Who Had a Heart" when Warwick's version took off in the US, suggesting to Martin that the song would be a strong UK single for Shirley Bassey. However, Martin saw the song as a vehicle for Cilla Black, the Liverpool vocalist whose star potential had yet to be realized despite her association with the Beatles, her recording of the Lennon-McCartney original "Love of the Loved" having been only a modest hit (#35). Martin produced the session for Black's recording of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" at Abbey Road Studios; the arrangement was by Johnny Pearson and the session personnel included guitarists Vic Flick and Big Jim Sullivan and the Breakaways vocal group.

Black's single of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" debuted at #28 on the UK Top 50 dated 8 February 1964. The Dionne Warwick original, issued by Scepter's UK licensee Pye Records, debuted on the chart for the following week at #42; by then Black's version had reached #10, ascending in the subsequent two weeks to #2 and then #1 while Warwick's version concurrently ended its chart run with two weeks at #47. On the chart dated 29 February 1964, besides Black's "Anyone Who Had a Heart" at #1 for the first of three weeks and Warwick's version in its final chart week at #47, the UK Top 50 featured a third version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" as the version by Mary May1 made its one week appearance at #49. On 25 April 1964, Billboard reported that the sales tally for Black's "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was nearing one million units.

"Anyone Who Had a Heart" was also a #1 hit for Cilla Black in Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.

Despite the international success and recognition of Warwick's original version, the besting in Great Britain by Black's version has long been a sore point with Warwick. In a 1995 edition of Great Performances which saluted Burt Bacharach, Warwick stated that Black's version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" replicated Warwick's to the point where had Warwick coughed while recording her vocal for the original track or had that track's organist hit a wrong note, those features would have been present on Black's cover. In fact – whether intentionally - Black's version features distinctly different lyrics on the chorus than those recorded by Warwick or are standard for the song. Also, arranger Johnny Pearson utilized a bassoon solo for the instrumental break in Black's version as opposed to the saxophone utilized in the Warwick original.

Cilla Black, interviewed for that Great Performances telecast, expressed her awareness of Warwick's disenchantment: "It was a #1; Dionne was dead choked and she's never forgiven me to this day."

Black recorded a new version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" for her 1993 Through the Years album.

"Anyone Who Had a Heart" backed with "They Say It's Wonderful" was the third and final Fontana release by Mary May in January 1964 following and "Listen, All You Lovers" in April 1962 "Our Day Will Come" in February 1963. Nothing else is known of her.