DEAR SUN SPOTS: My neighbors and I are wondering if you have names of people in your Rolodex who work on mobile homes installing insulation, heating tape, etc. We thank you for your help. — No name, no town
ANSWER: If you live in a park, I would hope that your manager could make recommendations. Another place to call would be mobile home manufacturers in your area. Readers, please share if you have someone you trust to make your repairs and upgrades.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m looking for 300- and 500-piece puzzles at little or no cost for a disabled person who uses a wheelchair.—Susan, no town
ANSWER: I’m hoping another kind Sun Spotter who is finished with their puzzles will pass them on to you. I saw several just a week ago at Goodwill and at An Angel’s Wing, a thrift store at 1567 Lisbon St. in Lewiston (241-0624).
DEAR SUN SPOTS: I heard a beautiful song on the radio, “What the World Needs now is Love”, sung by Dionne Warwick. Could Sun Spots find out the history of the song, who wrote it, and when it was released, etc.? I don’t have a computer. Thank you for your help. — David, Poland Spring
ANSWER: According to Wikipedia, the song’s lyrics written by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach was first recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock ‘n’ roll period. The song was released April 15, 1965, and peaked to the No. 7 in the United States and the No. 1 in Canada that year.
Wikipedia notes that the song was originally offered to Dionne Warwick, who turned it down at the time, saying she felt it was “too country” for her tastes and “too preachy.” She later recorded it for her album Here Where There Is Loveand in 1996, and recorded a second version in 1996.
In his 2014 autobiography, Bacharach wrote that the song was some of the most difficult lyrics Hal David ever wrote. “The main melody and chorus were actually written in 1962, centering on a waltz tempo, but it took another two years for David to come up with the lyric, ‘Lord, we don’t need another mountain.’ Once that was worked through, Bacharach said the song essentially “wrote itself” and they finished it in a day or two.
“The song’s success caught the two songwriters completely by surprise, since they were very aware of the controversy and disagreements among Americans about the Vietnam War, which was the subtext for the lyrics. Bacharach has always used the song as the intro and finale for most of his live concert appearances well into the 2000s.”
Several artists have made a recording of the song, including The Supremes, for their 1968 album, Reflections, and British singer Petula Clark recorded a version live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1974 with a musical arrangement by Peter Knight. It was released by Polydor later that year on her Live in London album.
Like so many of Bacharach’s songs, “What the World Needs Now is Love” certainly has staying power. Most recently, Bill Frisell included the song in his 2020 album Valentine.
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