Jackie Deshannon ~ What The World Needs Now Is Love (1965) -

By the time they reached the bridge, where the brass swells and she insists it's the only thing that there's just too little of, the session musicians knew they weren't just making a pop record. They were capturing a pulse. The Ripple Effect

For months, the song sat in a drawer. Bacharach himself was hesitant; he worried the lyrics were a bit too simple, maybe even naive, for such a cynical time. But then, they thought of Jackie. She had a voice that sounded like sunlight hitting gravel—sweet, but with enough "grit" to make you believe she’d seen some things. The Session Jackie Deshannon ~ What the World Needs Now is Love (1965)

Jackie DeShannon’s version remains the definitive one because she didn't treat the lyrics like a Hallmark card. She sang them like a woman standing in the middle of a storm, holding a candle and refusing to let it go out. If you'd like, I can: By the time they reached the bridge, where

She was about to record a song that had already been rejected. The Song That Nobody Wanted Bacharach himself was hesitant; he worried the lyrics