Trains and Boats and Planes (Song)
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| “Trains and Boats and Planes” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Burt Bacharach and his Orchestra & Chorus | |
| from the album Hit Maker!: Burt Bacharach Plays the Burt Bacharach Hits | |
| A-side | “Trains and Boats and Planes” |
| B-side | “Wives and Lovers“ |
| Released | May 1965 |
| Genre | Traditional pop |
| Label | Kapp / London |
| Songwriters | Burt Bacharach Hal David |
“Trains and Boats and Planes” is a song written by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Hit versions were recorded by Bacharach in 1965, by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in the same year, and by Dionne Warwick in 1966.
Original 1965 recordings
Bacharach and David wrote the song at a time when they had achieved great popular success. Bacharach, in particular, was traveling widely to record and promote his songs. The pair intended the song to be recorded by Gene Pitney, who had had several hits with earlier Bacharach and David songs, including “Only Love Can Break a Heart“
and “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa“.
However, Pitney declined to record it, telling Bacharach, “it’s not one of your better ones”. Bacharach then recorded it in London, with an orchestra, chorus, and uncredited vocals by female session singers The Breakaways. His version was issued on the 1965 album Hit Maker!: Burt Bacharach Plays the Burt Bacharach Hits and as a single. According to writer Serene Dominic,
[the Breakaways’] dispassionate delivery blends perfectly with Hal David’s haunted verses, which give all the responsibility for coming and going to the transportation and not the passengers … Trains and boats and planes are capable of bringing back someone they took away, if the person they left behind prays hard enough for their return.
While a special show was being recorded by Bacharach at the Granada Television studios in Manchester, producer Johnnie Hamp heard the song and arranged for it to be offered to a group who also recorded there, the Four Just Men (who later recorded as Wimple Winch).
They turned it down, and the song then came to the attention of Brian Epstein, who suggested that Billy J. Kramer record it. Kramer’s recording was released at about the same time as Bacharach’s own version, and both recordings entered the UK Singles Chart in the same week in May 1965.
Other, less commercially successful, versions were issued in the UK around the same time by Anita Harris
and Alma Cogan,
and recordings were made in French by Claude François
and Renée Martel (“Quand un bateau passe”).
Within the same year, a German language version, (“Frag doch nur dein Herz”) was recorded by Die Five Tops.
Bacharach’s version reached No. 4 on the UK chart in 1965, while Kramer’s recording reached No. 12 in the UK, becoming his final chart hit. When released in North America, Kramer’s version reached No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 10 on Billboard‘s Easy Listening chart, and No. 13 for 2 weeks on Canada’s CHUM Chart co-charting with Bacharach’s version.
Hit Maker!: Burt Bacharach Plays the Burt Bacharach Hits (Album)
| Hit Maker! | |
|---|---|
| |
| Studio album by Burt Bacharach | |
| Released | c. April 1965 |
| Genre | Easy listening |
| Length | 34:07 |
| Label | Kapp |
| Producer | Burt Bacharach |
| Burt Bacharach chronology | |
| Hit Maker! (1965)What’s New Pussycat? (1965) | |
Hit Maker!: Burt Bacharach Plays the Burt Bacharach Hits is the debut album by the American composer Burt Bacharach. The album was recorded in London, with uncredited vocals by the Breakaways, and the musicians included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Big Jim Sullivan, and members of the Ted Heath band.
Kapp Records first released the album around April 1965. That October, the label reissued the album as The Man!, adding “What’s New Pussycat?”
and “My Little Red Book” to the track listing. In 1969, the label reissued the album again, re-titling it Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits. This reissue, with a woman on a red cover, featured in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
Side one
- “Don’t Make Me Over” – 2:57
2. “Walk On By” – 2:52
3. “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – 2:26
4. “Blue On Blue” – 2:01
5. “The Last One to Be Loved” – 3:27
6. “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” – 2:58
Side two
- “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa” – 2:34
2. “Trains and Boats and Planes” – 2:43
3. “Wives and Lovers” – 2:50
4. “Saturday Sunshine” – 2:10
5. “A House Is Not a Home” – 3:31
6. “Anyone Who Had a Heart” – 3:30
Dionne Warwick Version
| “Trains and Boats and Planes” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Dionne Warwick | |
| from the album Here Where There Is Love | |
| B-side | “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” |
| Released | June 5, 1966 |
| Recorded | 1966 |
| Studio | Bell Sound (New York City) |
| Genre | Popsoul |
| Length | 2:46 |
| Label | Scepter |
| Songwriters | Burt Bacharach Hal David |
| Producers | Burt Bacharach Hal David |
| Dionne Warwick singles chronology | |
| “Message to Michael“ (1966)”Trains and Boats and Planes“ (1966)”I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself“ (1966) | |
Dionne Warwick recorded the song in 1966. Her version was arranged and conducted by Bacharach, and produced by Bacharach and David. The track was released as the first single from her album, Here Where There Is Love on Scepter Records. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and reached No. 22 on August 6, 1966. Warwick’s version also reached No. 37 on Billboard‘s Easy Listening chart and No. 49 on Billboard‘s Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart.
Track listing
- US, 7″ Vinyl single
A1: “Trains and Boats and Planes” – 2:46
B1: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – 2:21
- UK, 7″ Vinyl single
A1: “Trains and Boats and Planes” – 2:46
B1: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – 2:20
- Australia, 7″ Vinyl single
A1: “Trains and Boats and Planes” – 2:47
B1: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – 2:20
Charts
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 18 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 22 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) | 37 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 49 |
Here Where There Is Love (Album)
| Here Where There Is Love | |
|---|---|
| |
| Studio album by Dionne Warwick | |
| Released | December 4, 1966 |
| Recorded | 1966 |
| Studio | Bell Sound (New York City) |
| Genre | Pop, R&B |
| Label | Scepter |
| Producer | Burt Bacharach, Hal David |
| Dionne Warwick chronology | |
| Dionne Warwick in Paris (1966)Here Where There Is Love (1966)On Stage and in the Movies (1967) | |
| Singles from Here Where There Is Love | |
| “Trains and Boats and Planes“ Released: June 5, 1966″I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself“ Released: September 19, 1966″Alfie“ Released: March 25, 1967 | |
Professional ratings
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Here Where There Is Love is Dionne Warwick‘s sixth studio album for Scepter Records, and was released on December 4, 1966. The album was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City and was produced in full by Burt Bacharach and Hal David with Bacharach also arranging and conducting.
History
It was Warwick’s first Scepter album to make the top 40, climbing to No. 18 on Billboard‘s Top LP’s chart, and also her first album to be RIAA-certified gold in America, signifying sales of more than 500,000 copies. It also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart. The album’s cover art features a photograph of a sunset with two anonymous lovers on a beach.
Two of Warwick’s hit singles from 1966 were included on the album: her top 20 covers of Bacharach and David‘s “Trains and Boats and Planes” and “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself“. Warwick’s version of “Alfie“, which she performed at the 1967 Academy Awards, became a bigger top 40 hit than any of the 40-plus versions that had previously been recorded, peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the summer of 1967 during a 17-week chart run. It also reached No. 5 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart.
Other songs of note are the Bacharach and David-penned title track; Warwick’s reading of “What The World Needs Now Is Love“; Charles Trenet‘s “I Wish You Love“; and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind“.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, except where noted.
Side one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Go with Love” | 2:47 |
| 2. | “What the World Needs Now Is Love“ | 3:14 |
|---|
| 4. | “Here, Where There Is Love” | 2:30 |
|---|
| 5. | “Trains and Boats and Planes“ | 2:46 |
|---|
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Alfie“ | 2:43 |
| 8. | “I Wish You Love“ | Charles Trenet, Léo Chauliac; English lyrics: Albert Beach | 2:49 |
|---|
| 9. | “(I Never Knew) What You Were Up To” | Ronne Leeman, Richie Druz, Bobby Leeman | 2:40 |
|---|
| 10. | “Blowing in the Wind“ | Bob Dylan | 2:19 |
|---|
Charts
Weekly chart performance for Here Where There Is Love
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Selling R&B LP’s (Billboard) | 1 |
| US Top LP’s (Billboard) | 18 |
| US Top 100 LP’s (Record World) | 35 |
| US Top 100 Albums (Cash Box) | 32 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 39 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1967) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Top Selling R&B LP’s (Billboard) | 7 |
| US Top 100 Albums (Cash Box) | 37 |
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000^ |
| ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Other recordings
Other recordings include those by Chet Baker (1966), The Everly Brothers,
The Shadows (instrumental),
Dinah Shore (all in 1967),
Astrud Gilberto (1969),
Fred Frith (1997),
Fountains of Wayne (2003),
Gwyneth Herbert and Will Rutter on their 2003 album First Songs, Dwight Yoakam (2003),
and Laura Cantrell on her 2008 EP Trains and Boats and Planes.
Trains and Boats and Planes (EP)
| Trains and Boats and Planes | |
|---|---|
| |
| EP by Laura Cantrell | |
| Released | April 15, 2008 |
| Recorded | 2007 |
| Studio | The Tape Kitchen, Brooklyn |
| Genre | Country music |
| Length | 34:30 |
| Label | Diesel Only |
| Producer | Laura Cantrell, Mark Spencer |
| Laura Cantrell chronology | |
| Humming by the Flowered Vine (2005)Trains and Boats and Planes (2008)Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music (2011) | |
Trains and Boats and Planes is an EP released on Diesel Only Records by Laura Cantrell on April 15, 2008. It is a concept EP centered on the theme of traveling, as exemplified by the title track (a cover of the song of the same name by Burt Bacharach and Hal David). In total, six songs (out of nine) on this EP are covers, including the title track.
Professional ratings
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blurt | (mixed) |
| PopMatters | |
| Prefix |  |
| Robert Christgau | |
Track listing
- “Trains and Boats and Planes” (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 4:14
2. “Train of Life” (Robert S. Riley, Roger Miller) – 2:49
3. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (Gordon Lightfoot) – 6:25
4. “Howard Hughes Blues” (John Hartford) – 3:37
5. “Love Vigilantes” (Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris) – 4:18
6. “Silver Wings” – 4:22
7. “Roll Truck Roll” (Roy Pennington) – 2:38
8. “Big Wheel” (Laura Cantrell) – 2:30
9. “Yonder Comes a Freight Train” (Jay Sherman-Godfrey, Jeremy Tepper) – 3:21
Other Trains And Boats And Planes Covers
- Sandie Shaw
- Wee Gee
- Big Trouble
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