"Message to Michael" is a song written by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

, that has been a hit for several different artists under several different titles. The song was first recorded as "Message to Martha" by

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

in 1962. In 1964, singer

Lou Johnson Louis Brown Johnson (September 22, 1934 – October 1, 2020), nicknamed "Sweet Lou," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Johnson's professional baseball career lasted for 17 seasons, and included 8 years in the majors: parts of 196 ...

had a minor US hit with the song, with the title "Kentucky Bluebird". British singer

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. As a British rock and roll teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK singles chart with " What ...

also recorded the song as "A Message to Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)" in 1965, and had a substantial hit with it in the UK, reaching No. 12. Exactly the same recording was issued in Australia as "Message to Martha", where it was a No. 15 hit for Faith. In the United States,

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

's version, titled "Message to Michael", was a top ten hit there in 1966. In all versions of the song, the lyrics are addressed to a

bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds lay an ...

by the singer. The singer is in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and his/her sweetheart is vainly pursuing musical stardom in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The singer asks the bluebird to take a message to Martha/Michael, asking for the sweetheart to return.

Early versions

The song was first recorded as "Message to Martha" by

in the 1962 session in New York City which produced Butler's hit "

Make It Easy on Yourself "Make It Easy on Yourself" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was initially a Top 20 Pop and R&B hit for Jerry Butler in 1962. The best-known version is the 1965 recording by the Walker Brothers, for whom it was ...

". However, Butler's "Message to Martha" was not released until December 1963 when it appeared as a track on Butler's ''Need to Belong'' album.

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

recorded a German version of the song in 1964, singing to the instrumental track of the Butler original (with augmentations); Dietrich's version was entitled ''Kleine Treue Nachtigall'' ('faithful little nightingale'), the German lyrics were written by Max Colpet. In 1964 Bacharach had

record the song as "Kentucky Bluebird": this version reached ''Billboards "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" chart at #104 that fall. Johnson's single was also released in the UK where it was swiftly covered by

as "A Message to Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)", which reached No. 12 UK in November 1964, becoming Faith's last Top 20 hit. Featured on the ''Adam Faith'' album released in the US in March 1965 in the wake of Faith's US

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit "It's Alright", "A Message to Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)" was performed by Faith on the ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,double-sided hit with a No. 15 peak.

Dionne Warwick version

Background

Warwick's association with the song began when she recommended it as a concert number to

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou", and " The Good Lif ...

, with whom she was headlining at the

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

Theatre in 1966. Jacques Denjean prepped a backing track to which Distel was to sing the song in concert; when Distel decided against performing the song, Warwick considered using the instrumental track to record the song herself. Both Burt Bacharach and Hal David, when contacted by Warwick, were opposed to her singing what they maintained was a man's song. David also mentioned to Warwick that the only male name that could be subbed for "Martha" was "Michael", a name David disliked. Warwick took David's comment as a suggestion, recorded "Message to Michael" in a Paris recording studio, and added her vocals to the existing track. Warwick would say that the most difficult part of the recording session was getting the French background vocalists to pronounce 'Michael' correctly.

Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. History Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records. When the S ...

representative

Steve Tyrell Steve Tyrell (born Stephen Louis Bilao III, December 19, 1944) is an American singer and record producer. He won a 2004 Grammy Award as the producer of the Rod Stewart studio album '' Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III''. He also h ...

recalls "getting in an elevator with Burt and Hal and following them down into

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

, begging them to let me put Message to Michael"out. The next day they called Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg and said 'Look, Steve is so into this tune – tell him he can put it on the B-side but he shouldn't promote it'". When "Message to Michael" was issued on a single backed with "Here Where There Is Love" Tyrell states "I got right on a plane orNew Orleans and I went to WQNO, WTIX radio" and played "Message to Michael" for disc jockey Buzz Bennett who then "walked right into the control room and put it on the radio. Because it opened, 'Fly Away to New Orleans...' And in one week it was a smash!" In fact even prior to the single's release Warwick had performed "Message to Michael" on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

pop music TV program '' Hullabaloo'' in an episode broadcast 9 March 1966.

Impact

In May 1966 "Message to Michael" became Warwick's first Top 20 hit since " Reach Out for Me" 16 months previously; also in May 1966 "Message to Michael" became a Top Ten hit, Warwick's third after " Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "Walk on By". The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 peak of "Message to Michael" was #8 and

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

#12; ''Billboards R&B chart would afford "Message to Michael" a #5 peak, which remains Dionne Warwick's alltime best R&B chart showing for a solo recording: she'd previously hit #5 R&B with her first release " Don't Make Me Over" and after "Message to Michael" would reach #5 R&B as a soloist with both " Alfie" and "Once You Hit the Road". As Burt Bacharach and Hal David were not involved in the recording of "Message to Michael" – the team being in fact opposed to Dionne Warwick recording their song – the producers' credit on the track reads "a Blue Jac Production", Blue Jac Productions being the name Bacharach/David and Warwick had incorporated under in 1962 (officially Blue Jac Productions, rather than Warwick personally, were signed to Scepter Records; the same production credit would be employed for Warwick's 1970 single "

", which was a recording from a live performance.) In his 1968 book ''What the World Needs Now and Other Love Lyrics'', Hal David admitted his misgivings over Warwick recording "Message to Michael" proved ill-founded, indeed stating "Dionne's vocal was so brilliant that it was obvious we had subconsciously written the song for her even while we thought we were writing it for a man."

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Lou Johnson ("Kentucky Bluebird") ;Adam Faith ("Message to Martha") ;Dionne Warwick ("Message to Michael")

Year-end charts

Other versions

American recording artist

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

recorded the song as "Message to Michael" for her 1966

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

debut album ''Here I Am''. American acoustic jazz guitarist, Earl Klugh features the song on his 1980 album '' Dream Come True''.

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow in 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Le ...

recorded a version of the song in 1990 for their ''Four Bacharach and David Songs'' EP. Singer Ricky Ross elected to sing it as "Message to Michael", rather than "Message to Martha". In 2000, contemporary jazz saxophonist

Michael Lington Michael Lington (born June 11, 1969) is a Danish-American contemporary saxophonist, songwriter, producer, recording artist and a purveyor of soul and contemporary jazz. Lington has released 11 solo albums and has 25 singles that have charted on ...

covered "Message to Michael" on his album ''Vivid.'' During the 1988 US presidential election,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

cited the song's lyrics in his acceptance speech at the Republican Party National Convention saying: "Someone better take 'a message to Michael'", referring to the Democratic Party's presidential candidate

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

.Wertsch, James V. (1993).''Voices of the Mind: a sociocultural approach to mediated action''; Harvard University Press. p.65 .

References

;Footnotes ;Sources *Nathan, David. Dionne Warwick-Love Songs (liner notes). Rhino Records CD. 2002. *David, Hal. What the World Needs Now and Other Love Lyrics. Trident Press. 1968. *Platts, Robin. Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now. {{authority control 1962 songs 1964 singles 1966 singles Dionne Warwick songs Adam Faith songs Songs with lyrics by Hal David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Scepter Records singles Disques Vogue singles Pye Records singles Song recordings produced by John Burgess