Alfie (Burt Bacharach song) in release in the US: besides the Cher version from the film and the Cilla Black original which had been issued in the US that July to peak at No.95 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, "Alfie" had been recorded by Vikki Carr, Jack Jones, Tony Martin, Carmen McRae, Joanie Sommers and Billy Vaughn. The five last-named singers had recorded "Alfie" in hopes of taking the song into the "Billboard" Easy Listening chart rather than scoring a mainstream Pop hit and both Joanie Sommers and Carmen McRae did score an Easy Listening hit with their respective versions of "Alfie" (Sommers -
Alfie (Burt Bacharach song) Artists wanted the song featured on the film's soundtrack despite the objections of the film's director Lewis Gilbert who felt the song "Alfie" would distract from the jazz score he had had Sonny Rollins provide for the film. United Artists compromised with Gilbert in keeping the prospective theme song out of the main body of the film "Alfie" but having it play during the closing credits. Rather than utilize Black's version, United Artists commissioned a new version of the song "Alfie" by the American singer/actress Cher who was on the roster of Imperial Records. Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Cher's