What The World Needs Now Is Love - Remastered

This was written by the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was offered to Dionne Warwick and Gene Pitney, who both passed on it. In our 2012 interview with Jackie DeShannon, she explained: "When Hal suggested that Burt play 'What the World Needs Now' Burt was not that enthused about showing it to me at that moment. So we went on, played some more songs, and tried to decide on the four sides that we would record for the session. At that point Hal again suggested that Burt play 'What the World Needs Now.' And reluctantly, I think, he played it for me. Of course it was love at first hearing and first sight at those gorgeous words and fantastic melody. There were cornfields and wheat fields in my back yard where I grew up in Kentucky on a farm, and I heard a little bit of a gospel feel in the chorus. I thought it was a match made in heaven. The minute Burt heard me singing it, he said, 'Off to New York! We're off to New York!' That's where we recorded the song."

Released two years before the Summer Of Love, this was an early pacifist anthem about the importance of love in the world. The Beatles had a very similar theme on their 1967 song "All You Need Is Love."

Jackie DeShannon wrote several hit songs, including The Searchers "When You Walk in the Room" and Brenda Lee's "Dum Dum." The song "Bette Davis Eyes," which became a huge hit for Kim Carnes, appeared on her 1975 album New Arrangement.