B-side "I'm So Happy Now" Genre Blue-eyed soulpop | Format 7" single Length 2:50 | |
Released August 28, 1967 (1967-08-28) | ||
"How Can I Be Sure" is a popular song written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, and originally recorded by The Young Rascals on their 1967 album Groovin'. It became their fourth Top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 4. This was the group's highest charted record with Eddie Brigati singing lead vocals. The song featured the sounds of a trumpet, bass, piano, drums, and strings, giving the feeling of cabaret music as well as a concertina, chosen to add the feel of a French café. The songs musical styles include blue-eyed soul and pop.
Contents
The lyrics of the chorus go:
"How can I be sure?In a world that's constantly changing,How can I be sure?. . . I'll be sure with you."The song came out of the experience with transcendental meditation that the Rascals were involved in.
That same year, French singer Nicoletta sold two million copies of the song, as "Je ne pense que t'aimer", the version which subsequently inspired Dusty Springfield's version.
That same year Quebec singer Michel Pagliaro (lead singer of the band Les Chanceliers) released a cover of this song in French ("A Paris la Nuit").
The Rascals single's B-side, "I'm So Happy Now" (also included on the Groovin' album), was written and sung by Rascals guitarist Gene Cornish. Featuring a unique guitar phase-out ending, it was the first Cornish-penned song to appear on a Rascals single.
Dusty Springfield version
"How Can I Be Sure" was covered by British singer Dusty Springfield and released as a non-LP single in September 1970. It was rumoured that this recording and single release may have been prompted by her well received performance of the song on the Des O'Connor Show in May 1970. Dusty was hopeful that this single would fare better than her then-recent American recordings which were met with relative indifference in the UK (aside from the US and UK Top 10 hit "Son of a Preacher Man").
Despite several promotional television and radio appearances and glowing reviews from the press, the single only spent one week in the UK Top 40 and only four weeks total on the chart. The song was issued specifically for the British market and would not be issued in America until the release of The Dusty Springfield Anthology in 1997.
"Spooky" is a cover of the Classics IV hit and was recorded in January 1968 but left unused for almost three years until it featured as the bside to this single.
David Cassidy version
"How Can I Be Sure" was revived in 1972 with a version from David Cassidy, which became a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Easy Listening chart. In the UK, "How Can I Be Sure" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in September and October 1972.
Other versions
The song has also been covered by artists including P.F. Sloan, Helen Reddy, Gloria Estefan, Percy Faith, Shelby Lynne, Lesley Gore, Akiko Yano, Daryl Braithwaite, Nicoletta, Tony Hadley in his album Passing Strangers (2006), and Claire Martin on her album "Perfect Alibi" (2000).