As Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” with its prominent sample of Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By,” tops the Billboard Hot 100 for the third nonconsecutive week (on the chart dated Oct. 14), you may be wondering how many weeks “Walk on By” spent at No. 1. Would you believe none? The Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, which features one of Bacharach’s most instantly identifiable arrangements, peaked at No. 6 for two weeks in June 1964.
Of course, a No. 6 hit on the Hot 100 is nothing to sneeze at, then or now. It’s just surprising that such a famous song wasn’t a No. 1.
The British Invasion was in full swing by June 20, 1964, when “Walk on By” logged its second and week at No. 6. The top 10 included three British groups or duos (The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Peter & Gordon) and one Irish group (The Bachelors).
“Walk on By” was Warwick’s second top 10 hit in a row, following the No. 8-peaking “Anyone Who Had a Heart.” It was her highest-charting hit to that point, a title it would hold until the fall of 1967, when the sprightly “I Say a Little Prayer” reached No. 4. (Warwick has landed two No. 1 hits, “Then Came You,” a 1974 collab with The Spinners, and “That’s What Friends Are For,” her Grammy-winning team-up with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight that led for four weeks in 1986.)
“Walk on By” brought Warwick her first Grammy nomination, for best rhythm & blues recording. Bacharach and David weren’t nominated for writing the song, nor was Bacharach nominated for his arrangement, which, as we’ve seen on Doja’s smash, is still a letter-perfect pop hook nearly 60 years later.
Here’s the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending June 20, 1964.
