A House Is Not a Home (song)

"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 song recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick. Written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song was a modest hit in the U.S. for Warwick, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)". Two weeks earlier, a competing version by Brook Benton had debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. Benton's version split airplay with Warwick's, and ultimately peaked at number seventy-five. The Brook Benton version of the tune was used as the theme for the film of the same name.

Warwick's version of "A House Is Not a Home" fared better in Canada, where it was a top 40 hit, peaking at #37. The song made the R&B top 10 in Cashbox by both Warwick and Benton, with neither artist specified as best seller.

Psychedelic band Love parodied the song's title on their album Forever Changes in 1967, by naming one of their songs "A House Is Not a Motel".

Peter Hammill parodied the title on his album The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage in 1974, naming the lengthy final number "A Louse Is Not a Home".

Cover versions
English rock duo The Marbles performed the song and was released on the group's 1970 self-titled album.

Dusty Springfield performed the song with Bacharach on the 1970 television special Another Evening With Burt Bacharach (a performance she was "quite proud of").

The song was an outtake in the sessions that produced the 1968 album Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations. It is available on the compilation Joined Together: The Complete Studio Duets, a 2004 Motown CD.

((Rouvaun)) recorded this song on his 1969 album "From The Heart of Man" Barbra Streisand recorded a medley of the song with "One Less Bell to Answer" (the 5th Dimension hit) for her 1971 album Barbra Joan Streisand.

Boy Mondragon covered this song under Vicor Records.

Sonny Rollins recorded a version at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival released on The Cutting Edge.

The song was covered by R&B singer Luther Vandross, whose version became an R&B hit in 1981. His performance of the song at the 1988 NAACP Awards telecast would bring Warwick to tears. Vandross' version would be sampled two decades after that by Kanye West on his, Jamie Foxx's and Twista's hit, "Slow Jamz", in 2004.

The song has also been frequently featured on the popular television show American Idol, with performances by Tamyra Gray, Ruben Studdard, Anwar Robinson, Elliott Yamin and Jacob Lusk. Season 3 runner-up Diana DeGarmo also sang the song in the musical revue, Back to Bacharach and David in 2009 that was directed by Kathy Najimy.

Bill Evans recorded the song for his 1977 album I Will Say Goodbye and other notable jazz musicians such as Sonny Rollins have performed and recorded the song—it has thus acquired the status of a jazz standard.

In 1993, pianist Joe Sample did a cover of this song on the album Invitation.

In 1995, another instrumental rendition was released on saxophonist Nelson Rangell's album "Destiny."

Stevie Wonder covered the song on his album Eivets Rednow.

Ronald Isley would record his own version with Bacharach, using essentially the same template as Luther Vandross.

In 2005, Aretha Franklin covered the song for the tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.

In 2002, Lynne Arriale covered the song on her album "Inspiration".

In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, "Welcome to the Chum Bucket", SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs sing a song entitled "A Grill Is Not a Home". It is rumored to be a parody of this song.

On the television series Half & Half, Adam (Alec Mapa) sings the song while the doorbell rings on the final season 4 episode "The Big Young & Restless episode" aired October 17, 2005.

Perry Como, Shirley Bassey, Ella Fitzgerald, Lulu and Georgie Fame also recorded the song.

In 2010, Kristin Chenoweth performed the song in the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises. Although the song was not part of the original show, it was added to showcase her voice and, as Bacharach and David had written all of the original score, it fit in perfectly, both dramatically and musically.

The song was also covered twice in "Home," the sixteenth episode of the TV series Glee, once by Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith, and once by Matthew Morrison and Kristin Chenoweth as part of a medley with "One Less Bell to Answer."

In 2012, British pop group STEPS included a cover of the song on their album "Light Up The World".