# The Look of Love (1967 song)
"The Look of Love" is a popular song written by [Burt Bacharach](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-bacharach) and [Hal David](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-david) for the 1967 spoof [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) film *Casino Royale* and recorded by the English singer Dusty Springfield, whose version became one of her defining American hits and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642) • [2](https://academic.oup.com/book/27656/chapter-abstract/197766277) Since 1967 it has been recorded upwards of 100 times and has become a seductive jazz standard.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/song/look-of-love-mt0002889123) • [4](https://loc.gov/lcm/pdf/LCM_2025_0102.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writers | Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics)[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642) |
| Written for | *Casino Royale* (1967), the spoof James Bond film, for a love scene with Sellers and Andress[2](https://academic.oup.com/book/27656/chapter-abstract/197766277) |
| First recording | Stan Getz, instrumental, December 2, 1966[5](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/76174/all) |
| Defining vocal version | Dusty Springfield, recorded at Philips Studios, London; soundtrack version released January 29, 1967[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642) |
| Chart peak (Springfield) | No. 22 on the US chart, July 1967[6](https://chart-history.net/wp-content/uploads/arch-dusty-springfield.pdf) |
| Biggest hit version | Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, No. 4 on the US Billboard chart, May 1968[7](https://thaler-bz.whiteturret.com/music/1xvfp3.htm) |
| Recognition | Nominated for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards[2](https://academic.oup.com/book/27656/chapter-abstract/197766277) |
| Cover count | Recorded upwards of 100 times[3](https://www.allmusic.com/song/look-of-love-mt0002889123) |
## Writing the song for Casino Royale
Bacharach composed the score for *Casino Royale*, the 1967 parody of the James Bond films, and he and David wrote "The Look of Love" at the last minute in London for a love scene between [Peter Sellers](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sellers) and [Ursula Andress](https://www.edgepedia.org/ursula-andress).[2](https://academic.oup.com/book/27656/chapter-abstract/197766277) The engineer and producer [Phil Ramone](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-ramone), who supervised the soundtrack recording in London, recalled that changes to the story had left some of Bacharach's melodies without a place; fortunately, Bacharach was developing a pretty, Brazilian-influenced melody he had devised for another spot in the picture, and it could be expanded into a song.[8](https://ebooks.gatewayofhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ramone-Granata-Making-Records-The-Scenes-Behind-The-Music.pdf)
The first recording of the song was instrumental: the saxophonist [Stan Getz](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-getz) recorded it on December 2, 1966, and it appeared on his 1968 album of Bacharach and David material.[5](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/76174/all) Before Springfield's single appeared, [Nina Simone](https://www.edgepedia.org/nina-simone) also recorded and released her own version in 1967 for her album *Silk & Soul*; her single had no chart impact.[9](https://www.songswithearlierhistories.com/the-look-of-love/)
## Dusty Springfield's recording
Springfield recorded the song in two versions at the Philips Studios in London, with the soundtrack version released on January 29, 1967.[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642) Ramone wrote that Springfield's rendition "brought sensuality in film music to a hitherto rarefied level," and that the song fit her voice and persona beautifully even though Bacharach may have been thinking of Ursula Andress when he wrote it.[8](https://ebooks.gatewayofhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ramone-Granata-Making-Records-The-Scenes-Behind-The-Music.pdf)
The recording became the B-side of Springfield's single "Give Me Time," and it emerged as one of her five defining US hits of the 1960s.[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642) AllMusic's song review describes it as one of the slowest-tempo hits of the era, loaded with sultry minor-seventh and major-seventh chord changes that were a Bacharach trademark, and calls Springfield's reading the definitive version of a song covered successfully by dozens of artists, including [Dionne Warwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/dionne-warwick).[10](https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-look-of-love-mt0008647055) Springfield re-recorded the track in a shorter version for her album *The Look of Love*, and it entered the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 22 in July 1967.[6](https://chart-history.net/wp-content/uploads/arch-dusty-springfield.pdf) • [11](https://parade.com/entertainment/1967-pop-ballad-written-for-a-james-bond-spoof-became-an-oscar-nominated-love-classic) [Springfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/springfield) approved the use of her recording in the 1999 film *Strange Planet* days before her death in March 1999.[1](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642)
## Chart history and cover versions
The song's biggest chart success came not from Springfield but from Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, whose version reached No. 4 on the US Billboard chart in May 1968 and was a top-10 hit.[7](https://thaler-bz.whiteturret.com/music/1xvfp3.htm) • [12](https://time.com/4079504/james-bond-facts-trivia/) Early instrumental and vocal versions appeared quickly: Burt Bacharach and His Orchestra released a version in April 1967, the Alan Lorber Orchestra in August 1967, and Howard Roberts and the Brass Ring in November 1967.[5](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/76174/all) [Morgana King](https://www.edgepedia.org/morgana-king) released the song on Reprise in July 1967, arranged and produced by Don Costa.[13](https://www.45cat.com/record/0604us)
Later recordings span pop and jazz. [Diana Krall](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-krall) made the song the title track and centerpiece of her 2001 album *The Look of Love*, recording it at Capitol Studios in Hollywood with the engineer Al Schmitt; Krall and her producer Tommy LiPuma had whittled a list of about 25 candidate tunes down to the album's ten.[14](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/diana-krall-the-look-of-love/) [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) documents versions by [Shelby Lynne](https://www.edgepedia.org/shelby-lynne) and Tina Arena in 2007 and a 2011 duet recording by Ronan Keating with Bacharach himself.[15](https://musicbrainz.org/work/89e7bb3b-01d3-3a29-a031-10413e35bb45) A partial adaptation also exists: Ashanti's "Rain on You" interpolates (reuses an existing melody within a new song) Isaac Hayes' cover of the song.[5](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/76174/all)
## Legacy
The song outlasted the film that produced it. The Library of Congress, which received Bacharach's papers including his arrangement of "The Look of Love," describes it as a song that "since has become a seductive jazz standard."[4](https://loc.gov/lcm/pdf/LCM_2025_0102.pdf) • [16](https://findingaids.loc.gov/repositories/15/resources/6743) When Bacharach died in February 2023 at age 94, the Associated Press noted that his songbook, popularized in this case by Springfield, kept surfacing unbidden in everyday life; [Elvis Costello](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-costello) recalled that lounge music playing during a 1998 interview turned out to be the instrumental version of "The Look of Love."[17](https://apnews.com/article/47ce3ef6ea98315cf9e87229153414d9) The title has also been reused for unrelated songs, notably ABC's 1982 synth-pop hit "The Look of Love (Part One)," written by Martin Fry, Mark Lickley, Stephen Singleton, and David Palmer, which is a distinct work.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/song/look-of-love-mt0002889123)
## References
1. [WBSS Media: Dusty Springfield](https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/642)
2. ["... well, it takes my breath away ...": Casino Royale (1967), The Music of James Bond, Oxford Academic](https://academic.oup.com/book/27656/chapter-abstract/197766277)
3. [Look of Love - Lesley Gore, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/song/look-of-love-mt0002889123)
4. [Library of Congress Magazine, January/February 2025](https://loc.gov/lcm/pdf/LCM_2025_0102.pdf)
5. [Performance: The Look of Love by Stan Getz, SecondHandSongs](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/76174/all)
6. [Chart History Singles: Dusty Springfield](https://chart-history.net/wp-content/uploads/arch-dusty-springfield.pdf)
7. [Song title 860 - The Look of Love](https://thaler-bz.whiteturret.com/music/1xvfp3.htm)
8. [Phil Ramone and Charles Granata, Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music](https://ebooks.gatewayofhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ramone-Granata-Making-Records-The-Scenes-Behind-The-Music.pdf)
9. [The Look of Love: Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version](https://www.songswithearlierhistories.com/the-look-of-love/)
10. [The Look of Love - Dusty Springfield, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-look-of-love-mt0008647055)
11. [1967 Pop Ballad, Written for a James Bond Spoof, Became an Oscar-Nominated Love Classic, Parade](https://parade.com/entertainment/1967-pop-ballad-written-for-a-james-bond-spoof-became-an-oscar-nominated-love-classic)
12. [50 Things You Didn't Know About James Bond, TIME](https://time.com/4079504/james-bond-facts-trivia/)
13. [Morgana King - The Look Of Love, 45cat](https://www.45cat.com/record/0604us)
14. ['The Look Of Love': How Diana Krall Caught Our Eye, uDiscover Music](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/diana-krall-the-look-of-love/)
15. [Song "The Look of Love", MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/work/89e7bb3b-01d3-3a29-a031-10413e35bb45)
16. [Collection: Burt Bacharach Papers, Library of Congress](https://findingaids.loc.gov/repositories/15/resources/6743)
17. [Bacharach leaves behind lush trove of romantic songs, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/47ce3ef6ea98315cf9e87229153414d9)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Musical-theater, film, television, and game songs › Film songs and themes › Live-action soundtrack songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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