B-side "Take It Like a Man" Format Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM Length 2:49 | Released 1962 | |
"(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which was released by Gene Pitney in 1962. The song spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 4, while reaching No. 2 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade, and No. 4 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade".
Although the song never appeared in the film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, there is disagreement about whether the song had been intended to appear in it. Nevertheless, Pitney has stated that the song's recording session was paid for by Paramount, and that it was midway through the song's recording session that he found out that the song was not going to be included in the film, when one of the orchestra members told him that the film had been released.
The song was ranked No. 36 in the Western Writers of America's list of the top 100 Western songs of all time, as compiled from a survey of its members.
James Taylor released a cover of the song on his 1985 album; "That's Why I'm Here".