"More Today Than Yesterday" is a song written by Pat Upton and performed by Spiral Starecase, of which Upton was the lead vocalist. The song was produced by Sonny Knight and arranged by Al Capps.[3]
| "More Today Than Yesterday" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the US single | ||||
| Single by Spiral Starecase | ||||
| from the album More Today Than Yesterday | ||||
| B-side | "Broken-Hearted Man" | |||
| Released | January 7, 1969 (US) April 1969 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Columbia 44741 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Pat Upton[2] | |||
| Producer(s) | Sonny Knight | |||
| Spiral Starecase singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe principal idea of the song was made famous at the turn of the 20th century in a poem by Rosemonde Gérard, the wife of the poet and playwright Edmond Rostand (Cyrano de Bergerac).[citation needed]
Chart performance
editIt reached No. 1 on the KHJ Boss Radio survey, No. 6 in Canada,[4] No. 7 on the Cashbox Top 100,[5] and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.[6] It was also released in the United Kingdom as a single, but did not chart.[7] The song was featured on their 1969 album, More Today Than Yesterday.[8] It ranked No. 50 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1969.[9]
Other versions
edit- Charles Earland released a version of the song on his 1969 album Black Talk![14] and another version on his 1970 album Living Black! as well as on his 1996 album The Reunion
- Shirley Scott released a version of the song on her 1969 album Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes[15]
- Andy Williams released a version of the song featuring The Osmonds on his 1969 album Get Together with Andy Williams[16]
- Barbara McNair released a version of the song as the title track of her 1969 album More Today Than Yesterday
- Barbara Acklin released a version of the song on his 1970 album Someone Else's Arms
- Chris Connor released a version of the song on her 1970 album Sketches
- Joe Bataan released a version of the song on his 1971 album Mr. New York And The East Side Kids
- Colleen Hewett released a version of the song in Australia as the B-side of her 1971 single, "Superstar"[17]
- Lena Horne released a version of the song on her 1971 album Nature's Baby[18]
- Sonny & Cher released a version of the song on their 1971 album All I Ever Need Is You as well as on Sonny & Cher Live, released the same year[19]
- Ronnie Dyson released a version of the song on his 1976 album The More You Do It
- Patti Austin released a version of the song on her 1976 album End of a Rainbow[20]
- James Darren released a version of the song on his 2001 album Because of You[21]
- Nick Carter released a version of the song on his 2003 album Before the Backstreet Boys 1989–1993[22]
- Grant Green recorded a live version of the song in 1971, which was however released only on his 2006 album Live at Club Mozambique[23]
- Diana Ross includes the song as part of her playlist in many concerts, including the More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour[24] and recorded the song for her 2006 album I Love You
- The CompanY released a version of the song on their 2008 album with Gerard Salonga and FILharmoniKA titled Group Hug[25]
- Kermit Ruffins released a version of the song on his 2010 album Happy Talk
- Chicago, with the Les Deux Love Orchestra, released a cover of the song on iTunes in 2013
- Allan Harris recorded a version on his 2016 album Nobody's Gonna Love You Better[26]
- Nyoy Volante recorded the song for the 2018 Philippine drama series Playhouse
In media
edit- Goldfinger released a version of the song that was featured in the ending credits of the 1998 film The Waterboy.
- Jordan McCoy sang a version of the song on American Juniors.
- Kenneth "Ken" Dingle sang a version of the song when he was a semi-finalist on Philippine Idol.
- Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon performed a version of the song on the 37th Anniversary of Eat Bulaga!
- Briefly heard in the first entrance of Jamie Lee Curtis's character in My Girl.
- Sung by character Richard Fish (Greg Germann) at the Christmas party in Ally McBeal - S1E11 (Silver Bells)
- The Spiral Starecase's version appears in a 2021 TV commercial for Delta faucets.
- In The Mule (2018 film), this song was the lifelong love song (the "our song") of Earl and Mary, which was made clear on Mary's deathbed when their last words together were quotations of the chorus's first two lines.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
A pure blast of horn-led soul-pop sunshine...
- ^ "Song: More Today Than Yesterday written by Pat Upton | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
- ^ Spiral Starecase, "More Today Than Yesterday" US single release Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Spiral Starecase, "More Today Than Yesterday" Canadian chart position Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ a b "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles, June 7, 1969". Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Spiral Starecase, "More Today Than Yesterday" US chart position Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Spiral Starecase, "More Today Than Yesterday" UK single release Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Spiral Starecase, More Today Than Yesterday Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1969". Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM 100 Singles, June 9, 1969 - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
- ^ http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1969YESP.html Archived 2019-01-25 at the Wayback Machine CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1969, December 27, 1969
- ^ Charles Earland, Black Talk! Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Shirley Scott, Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Andy Williams, Get Together with Andy Williams Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Colleen Hewett, "Superstar" single release Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Lena Horne, Nature's Baby Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Sonny & Cher, All I Ever Need Is You Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Patti Austin, End of a Rainbow Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ James Darren, Because of You Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Nick Carter, Before the Backstreet Boys 1989-1993 Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ Grant Green, Live at Club Mozambique Retrieved May 4, 2015
- ^ "Diana Ross Brings 'More Today Than Yesterday' Tour to Detroit's Fox Theatre, 5/29". Broadway World. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
- ^ Group Hug, 2008-05-12, retrieved 2022-06-09
- ^ WBGO Jazz 88.3FM: https://wbgo.org/radar/allan-harris-nobodys-gonna-love-you-better Archived 2016-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: September 30, 2016
