"Walk on By" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David for Dionne Warwick. It was recorded at the same December 1963 session that yielded "Anyone Who Had a Heart", which, in 1964, became Warwick's second Top Ten hit. Released in April of that year, "Walk on By" became a landmark single, reaching #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached the top 10 in a brief run on Billboard's easy listening survey, and was a Number One hit on Cashbox's R and B chart (Billboard did not print rhythm and blues charts during 1964, the year of the song's peak performance.)
Like many of Warwick's 1960s Bacharach-composed singles, "Walk on By" was heavily covered in different ways, some of which gained significant chart success. One notable version was by funk/soul musician Isaac Hayes, whose 1969 cover on his groundbreaking album Hot Buttered Soul was transformed into a twelve-and-a-half minute funk vamp, breaking ground for singers to release songs surpassing five minutes. In 1978, The Stranglers recorded a gritty punk-inspired version that hit #21 on the UK charts. In 1982, funk singer D-Train recorded a US-only R&B hit with the song mixing up Warwick and Hayes' versions. In 1990, singer Sybil, who had scored her biggest hit a year prior with a cover of Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over", also scored a US R&B hit with this song.
Warwick also recorded a German version of the song, entitled "Geh Vorbei".citation needed
Other versions
Hundreds of artists have recorded and performed "Walk on By" on stage, including The Jackson 5 (often as part of a medley with The Love You Save) Aretha Franklin (1964), The Undisputed Truth, Bobby Kris & The Imperials, Mel Tormé, The Lettermen (on their 1964 album She Cried), The Four Seasons (1965), Stan Getz (1966), The Stranglers (1978), George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Isaac Hayes, Johnny Mathis, Cliff Richard (for live album Cliff "Live" in Japan '72 with Olivia Newton-John), Gloria Gaynor (1975 album Experience Gloria Gaynor), Melissa Manchester, The Beach Boys, Sybil Lynch (1990), Seal, Average White Band, Melanie Thornton, Gabrielle (1997), The Carpenters, Kelly Clarkson and Kiki Dee, Jazz Jamaica (on Massive, 2004), The Scorchers (on "Stuntin'"), The Capprells and The Sul Brothers Band (one act).
Versions of "Walk on By" by different artists have been sampled and revisited many times, by artists such as Comptons Most Wanted (1991), Notorious B.I.G. (1994), Slick Rick , Hooverphonic (1997), MF Doom (1999), The Wu Tang Clan (2000), Pete Rock (2001), Ludacris (2004), Smith & Mighty and DJ Shadow on his Endtroducing debut.
In 2003, Alicia Keys recorded a medley of Hayes' version of "Walk on By" and Gladys Knight & the Pips' 1970 song "If I Were Your Woman" for her second album The Diary of Alicia Keys, entitled "If I Was Your Woman/Walk on By".
The Undisputed Truth version of "Walk on By" was sampled by J Dilla on his 2006 album Donuts
Joss Stone's song "Just Walk on By", from the 2007 compilation album Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1, contains a sample from "Walk on By".
Warwick's version remains the most well-known, however, and in 1998 the song was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame. The RIAA chose it as one of the Songs of the Century. In 2004, it was ranked #70 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The Youngs recorded a version of "Walk on By" appearing on their self titled album released on Mimicry Records in 2004.
Gabrielle version
In 1997, UK singer Gabrielle released her version of "Walk on By" as the fifth and final single from her second self-titled album. It reached #7 in the UK.
Charts
Track listings
CD:
- "Walk on By"
- "Walk on By" (45% Novocaine remix)
- "Walk on By" (live from TFI Friday)
- "Something to Talk About"
Cyndi Lauper version
"Walk on By" was the first single from Cyndi Lauper's 2003 covers album, At Last. It was also included on Lauper's 2004 DVD Live at Last. It was released as a promo only. Remixes of the song reached #10 on the U.S. dance chart.
Track listings
CD:
- "Walk on By" (Eddie X club mix) 10:51
- "Walk on By" (Eddie X dub mix) 7:52
- "Walk on By" (live version) 3:26
- "Walk on By" (S.A.F. dub mix) 8:12
- "Walk on By" (S.A.F.'s Walk to the Dance Floor club mix) 8:10
- "Walk on By" (Tony Moran mix) 4:31
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