Try To Remember by Gladys Knight & the Pips

Album: The Fantasticks (1975)

Charted: 4 11

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Songfacts®:

This song was penned by the Texan writing team of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt for the 1960 musical comedy The Fantasticks, where it was originally sung by Jerry Orbach. The show was an off-Broadway production with a minuscule cast. It ran for 42 years, clocking up 17,162 performances, and became the world's longest-running musical.
The only time this song reached the US Top 40 was in 1975 when Gladys Knight and The Pips recorded a medley of this song and Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were." It also peaked at #4 in the UK.
Other artists who have covered this song include Ed Ames, Roger Williams, The Brothers Four and Nana Mouskouri. The latter also recorded versions of the song in German, French, and Italian.
A version by the Kingston Trio was included on the soundtrack of the 1976 David Bowie sci-fi movie The Man Who Fell to Earth. However to date no official soundtrack has been released for the film due to a creative and contractual dispute between the film's director and the studio.

Comments: 4

Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 20th 1975, "The Way We Were/Try to Remember" by Gladys Knight and the Pips entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #80; fourteen weeks later on July 27th, 1975 it peaked at #11 {for 1 week} and spent 17 weeks on the Top 100...
It reached #2* {for 1 week} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart on June 29th, 1975...
* The week it was at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart, the #1 record for that week was "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)" by Charlie Rich.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 4th 1965, Roger Williams' instrumental covered version of "Try to Remember" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; the following week it rose to #97, and that also was its peak position of the chart because it was also it last week on the Top 100...
And later in 1965 on October 31st the Brothers Four's covered version peaked at #91...
{See the next post below}.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 31st 1965, "Try to Remember" by the Brothers Four entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #100; the following week it was at #94, and then on its 3rd and final week on the Top 100 it peaked at #91...
Two other versions of the song also make the Top 100 in 1965; Ed 'Mingo' Ames reached #73 with it and Roger Williams' instrumental version stayed on the chart for 2 weeks, peaking at #97.
Rocky from Tulsa, OkI still love Gladys Knight and The Pips most popular hits, but this one I must've missed or else it didn't get much airplay in my area. Anyway, I ran onto the album "The Fantasticks" among my late father's huge record collection be bequethed to me this year. So many albums going back to 1950! Then I ran onto this one with this song. I've heard the song, but versions by other older artists. Never did know Gladys ever had a hit with it. It's such a cool recording & harmonious. I just wish they were still around to amaze this younger generation with their soulful coolness!

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