"Make It Easy On Yourself" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was first a hit for Jerry Butler in 1962.
Dionne Warwick's session work on the Drifters' track "Mexican Divorce" - recorded February 1962 - brought her to the attention of Burt Bacharach who subsequently had Warwick regularly provide vocals on demos of his songs beginning with "Make It Easy on Yourself". On the strength of her vocals on another demo: that of "Is It Love That Really Counts", Warwick was signed by Florence Greenberg of Scepter Records although Greenberg gave the last-named song to the Shirelles as a B-side while rejecting "Make It Easy on Yourself" altogether leading to that song's being shopped to Jerry Butler. Warwick had assumed "Make It Easy on Yourself" would serve as her own debut single; on learning from Bacharach and co-composer Hal David that Jerry Butler was recording the song a keenly disappointed Warwick dismissed the composers' assurance of providing her with an equally potent song with the words: "Don't make me over, man" - ie. "Don't con me". Bacharach and David in fact utilized Warwick's pessimistic response (with a shift in meaning) as the title for "Don't Make Me Over" the song which would indeed launch Warwick's hitmaking career.
Warwick's demo version of "Make It Easy on Yourself" was featured as an album track on Warwick's 1963 debut album Presenting Dionne Warwick but the track which became a hit for her was a recording of a live performance featured in a concert which took place at the Garden State Center in Holmdel NJ in the summer of 1970. As with Warwick's 1966 hit "Message to Michael" the non-involvement of Bacharach and David in the track (beyond writing the song) is evidenced in its producers credit reading "a Blue Jac Production", Blue Jac Productions being the name Bacharach/David and Warwick had incorporated under in 1962 (officially Blue Jac Productions rather than Warwick personally were signed to Scepter Records). Warwick's sole live track released as a single, "Make It Easy on Yourself" served as the advance single for Warwick's final album (of new material) for Scepter, the December 1970 release Very Dionne; the single charted that autumn with chief support from easy listening radio as indicated by its #2 peak on that format's chart making moderate crossover to Pop - at #37 the final Top 40 hit of the first phase of Warwick's career - and R&B (#26).
Presenting Dionne is an album notable for including "Don't Make Me Over", Warwick's debut single, "Wishin' & Hopin'", which would become a hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964, "It's Love That Really Counts", which brought Warwick to the attention of Scepter owner Florence Greenberg, and "Make It Easy on Yourself".
Make it easy on yourself
Oh, breaking up is so very hard to do
If you really love him
And there's nothing I can do
Don't try to spare my feelings
Just tell me that we're through
And make it easy on yourself
Make it easy on yourself
'Cause breaking up is so very hard to do
And if the way I hold you
Can't compare to his caress
No words of consolation
Will make me miss you less
My darling, if this is goodbye
I just know I'm gonna cry
So run to him
Before you start crying too
And make it easy on yourself
Make it easy on yourself
'Cause breaking up is so very hard to do
Oh, baby, it's so hard to do
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