"Who Can I Turn To?" (alternatively titled "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)") is a song written by English lyricists

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...

and

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...

and first published in 1964.

Background

The song was introduced in the musical ''

The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd ''The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd'' is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The musical is best known for introducing the standards "A Wonderful Day Like Today", "Who Can I Turn T ...

'', which struggled in the United Kingdom in 1964 and then made a tour of the United States later that year.

Tony Bennett recordings

The song was most successfully recorded by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

. "Who Can I Turn To?" became a hit, reaching #33 on the US pop singles chart and the top 5 of the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. So fuelled, the musical arrived on Broadway for a successful run, and the song became one of Bennett's staples. He later re-recorded it as a duet with

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

in 2011 on ''Duets II'', and with Gloria Estefan for his 2012 album, ''Viva Duets''. Bennett continued to perform the song in concert until his retirement in 2021 at the age of 95.

Chart performance

Other versions

*In 1964, Shirley Bassey released it as a single, however it failed to chart. *In 1965, Astrud Gilberto, for her ''

The Shadow of Your Smile "The Shadow of Your Smile", also known as "Love Theme from ''The Sandpiper''", is a popular song. The music was written by Johnny Mandel with the lyrics written by Paul Francis Webster. The song was introduced in the 1965 film '' The Sandpiper' ...

'' album. *American tenor Jan Peerce recorded "Who Can I Turn To?" for his 1965 album ''Pop Goes Peerce''. * Dionne Warwick, for her 1965 album, ''

The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick ''The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick'' is the fourth album by the American singer Dionne Warwick, released on February 15, 1965 by the Scepter label. It was produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, with Bacharach also arranging the songs. His ...

''. Her version reached #62 pop and #34 R&B. *The Gerald Wilson Orchestra, for the 1965 album '' On Stage''. *

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

covered it on his first, eponymous album (1981). *

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

included it on her 1965 album '' Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty''. * Andy Williams, on his 1965 album, '' Andy Williams' Dear Heart''. *Jazz pianist Bill Evans recorded the song, both with his trio and with Tony Bennett. * Nancy Wilson, on her 1965 album, '' Gentle Is My Love''. *

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

, on their album '' In a Mellow Mood''. *Jazz pianist Bob Neloms recorded a solo-piano version on his 1982 album, ''Pretty Music''. * The Main Ingredient, for their 1972 album '' Bitter Sweet''; it was also the B-side of the R&B group's biggest hit "

Everybody Plays the Fool "Everybody Plays the Fool" is a 1972 song first recorded by American R&B group The Main Ingredient, and written by J. R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams. It was the first single released from the group's album ''Bitter Sweet'', released wi ...

". *Australian baritone Anthony Warlow, on his 1994 album ''Midnight Dreaming''. *

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

included the song on his 1995 album '' How Long Has This Been Going On'', and a live version at his 1997 Montreux Festival appearance has appeared on the deluxe edition of ''

The Healing Game ''The Healing Game'' is the twenty-sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1997 by Polydor. It reached the Top Ten in four countries, and the Top Twenty in three more. Following two overtly jazz albums, it ...

'' in 2019. * David Hazeltine, on his 2005 jazz trio album, '' Modern Standards''. * Harry Connick Jr., on his 2009 album, '' Your Songs''. * Mark Vincent, for his 2010 album ''

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...

'' *

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

, on her album ''Della Reese Live In Hollywood In 1966''. *

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, for her 2016 album, '' Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway'' as a posthumous duet with original singer and co-songwriter, Anthony Newley. *

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

second great quintet (sans Ron Carter with bass duties handled by Richard Davis played the song live at the Oriental Theatre in May, 1966. This is the only existing version of the song as played by the quintet and is captured on "Miles Davis Quintet - Live at the Oriental Theatre 1966," released in June, 2014. *

David Whitfield David Whitfield (2 February 1925 – 15 January 1980) was a popular British male tenor vocalist from Hull. He became the first British artist to have a UK No.1 single in the UK and in the United States with " Cara Mia", featuring Mantovani an ...

included the song on the album ''The Return of David Whitfield'' (David Whitfield with Roland Shaw and his Orchestra) London Records PS477, released in 1966.

Samples

*The version recorded by Astrud Gilberto was sampled in

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

song "Like That" from their album '' Monkey Business''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Who Can I Turn To? 1964 singles 1964 songs Soul songs Songs written by Leslie Bricusse Songs written by Anthony Newley Tony Bennett songs Shirley Bassey songs Dionne Warwick songs Andy Williams songs Songs from musicals Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs