Songs not used

Here are some of the Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil songs that did not get included in Beautiful -- The Carole King Musical.

• "Bless You" was the duo's first hit, reaching No. 15 in 1961. It was recorded by Tony Orlando before he was tying yellow ribbons around oak trees with Dawn.

• "Uptown," also a 1961 release, charted a little higher, at No. 13. The Crystals, part of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" crew, recorded it.

• "Blame It on the Bossa Nova," which glorified one of the dance fads of 1962, was recorded by Eydie Gorme and made it to No. 7.

• "Only in America," a 1963 No. 25 hit for Jay & the Americans, had been intended for The Drifters. It was considered too controversial because of its racial themes, so it was toned down. It was also unusual for Mann-Weil sharing songwriting credit with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, another hit-writing duo of the day.

• ("You're My) Soul and Inspiration" didn't exactly follow on the heels of Mann-Weil's first No. 1 hit with The Righteous Brothers, 1964's "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." The duo released eight songs after "Lovin' Feeling" before they hit No. 1 again with "Soul and Inspiration" in 1966.

• "Kicks," an early piece of social commentary, was a No. 4 hit for Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1966. It was offered to The Animals, but it was turned down by their lead singer, Eric Burdon.

• "Somewhere Out There," a 1986 No. 2 hit for Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, was featured in the movie An American Tail. It was the most recent Mann-Weil hit song.

-- Jack W. Hill

Style on 05/27/2018