Mexican Divorce was penned by the legendary Burt Bacharach and lyricist Bob Hillard and covered by Nicolette Larson in her debut album, 1978's Nicolette. Herb Pedersen was on acoustic guitar, Paul Barrere on guitar, Bill Payne on keyboards, Bob Glaub on bass, Rick Sclosser on drums, and Linda Ronstadt on harmony vocals. The tune was originally issued in February 1962 as the "B" side of the Drifters When My Little Girl Is Smiling. The subject of divorce was still touchy for 1962 and Mexican divorce was relegated to the flip side, one of the Drifters' classiest ever. The 1961 recording introduced Bacharach to Dionne Warwick. Six months earlier, in 1961 Bacharach recorded Mexican Divorce with the Drifters and at the session he met a 20 year old backup singer ("in pigtails and sneakers"). That background singer was to rival Aretha Franklin as the most important female singer of the '60s. Bacharach took immediate notice of the young, fetching shape of Marie Dionne Warrick and her stirring vocal quality and asked her to do some demo singing. Producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stroller also took notice of Bacharach's interest and put Warwick's vocal so high up in the mix that the recording could almost be considered a duet between Rudy Lewis and Warwick. "If I had to pick a favorite singer, it would be Dionne," stated Bacharach. "She was a dream vehicle for those years. She has such wide emotional range. She can be very understated and delicate, plus she is capable of going for the jugular. A marvelous voice. Thanks to Serene Dominic whose wonderful book Burt Bacharach: Song by Song, who details the history behind each Bacharach tune.
Tags: Nicolette Larson Mexican Divorce Bacharach David Dionne Warwick Lotta Love Linda Ronstadt 1978
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