The music was written by Burt Bacharach, and was originally intended to be an instrumental. But later Hal David added the lyrics, and the song was published in 1967. According to Bacharach, the melody was inspired by watching Ursula Andress in an early cut of the film.
Recordings
Early recordings
The first recording is by Stan Getz as an instrumental in December 1966. The song with lyrics was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield for the Casino Royale soundtrack, receiving an Oscar nomination and reaching the US Top 40. Phil Ramone, the soundtrack's engineer, recorded the song separately from the rest of the film tracks. Springfield re-recorded the song the same year in London, featuring a throaty saxophone solo, and released it as the B-side of "Give Me Time". The song as performed by Springfield also features prominently in Catch Me If You Can, with director Steven Spielberg selecting the song as he believed it added to the atmosphere and environment of the film. The song also features on the film's soundtrack. Claudine Longet recorded the song on her 1967 album of the same title. Lainie Kazan also recorded "The Look of Love" on her 1967 album Love Is Lainie. Nina Simone also recorded "The Look of Love" in 1967 on her album Silk & Soul. Morgana King recorded "The Look of Love" on her 1967 album Gemini Rising. Sérgio Mendes' hit rendition on the Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 album Look Around reached #4 on the pop charts after their performance in the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. The lead vocal on this single was handled by Janis Hansen, not Lani Hall, a rarity in the early Brasil '66 canon. Andy Williams released a version in 1967 on his album, Love, Andy, while Nancy Wilson included the song on her 1968 album Easy. Soul group The Delfonics also covered the song in 1968 on their album La La Means I Love You, while the legendary Motown quartet Four Tops gave the song a sweeping Broadway-like treatment on their 1969 album Soul Spin. Brazilian threesome Som Três recorded an early instrumental version on their album Show. Dorothy Ashby included the song in her 1968 album Afro-Harping. An instrumental version of the song was included on the 1967 Burt Bacharach album Reach Out, which was also featured on the soundtrack for the film The Boys in the Band.
Dionne Warwick, who recorded a number of Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs, performed her own cover version for her 1969 album Dionne Warwick's Greatest Motion Picture Hits.
In 1969, American rock bandVanilla Fudge released an experimental version of the song, as the band was famous for innovative rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs of the time.
Isaac Hayes covered the song for his 1970 album ...To Be Continued. While Hayes used the same lyrics, his cover includes a unique instrumental arrangement which has been heavily sampled on R&B and hip-hop records. His version of the song was also featured in the film Dead Presidents.
A version performed by Susanna Hoffs was featured in the 1997 film , and was included on the film's soundtrack.
Marilyn Scott covered the song on her Avenues of Love 1998 album.
