Burt Bacharach, master of pop songwriting, dies aged 94

Burt Bacharach, the musician and lyricist who elevated casual listening to a high art form, passed away at the age of 94. Bacharach died of natural causes at home in Los Angeles, a spokesman for the singer told the Washington Post. Overall, he had 73 US Top 40 songs and 52 UK Top 40 hits. Soon after the news broke, musicians, fans, and friends paid homage to the late artist. Burt's transformation, according to Dionne Warwick, "is like losing a family member." I send his family my my sympathies and let them know that I will miss him too. He is now happily sleeping. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys tweeted, "I'm extremely sad to hear about Burt Bacharach." Burt was an example me and had a significant impact on my career. In the music industry, he was a titan. His music will always be heard. Dave Davies of the Kinks spoke to Bacharach as "a huge influence" and "one of the most important songwriters of our time" in his tribute. Bacharach had a "major effect" on Gilbert O'Sullivan's songwriting career and produced "timeless tunes never to be forgotten," according to a tweet from O'Sullivan.Bacharach, who was reared in New York after being born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1928, would sneak into jazz clubs as a teen to hear musicians like Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie while immersing himself in the music of composers like Stravinsky and Ravel. Following a stint in the US service, he received classical training at institutions in Montreal, New York, and California. He then started working as a piano accompanist for performers such as Vic Damone, the Ames Brothers, and his first wife, Paula Stewart. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he also assisted Marlene Dietrich with her European tour as an arranger and conductor. When Bacharach met lyricist Hal David at the Brill Building in New York in 1957, he had a breakthrough in his songwriting. They achieved consecutive UK They had No. 1s with two of their early tracks, Perry Como's Magic Moments and Marty Robbins' The Story of My Life (Michael Holliday in the UK smash version).

Bacharach expertly crafted arrangements with tight vocal harmonies, string sections, jazz piano, and distinctive touches, such as sparkling percussion and whistling melodies, to be topped by David's alternatively amusing, wounded, and passionately romantic lyrics. Bacharach used odd and distinctive time signatures thanks in part to his classical expertise. He and David co-wrote a number of timeless songs, including the Walker Brothers' "Make It Easy on Yourself," Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love," Tom Jones' "What's New Pussycat?," and Aretha Franklin's "I Say a Little Prayer." BJ Thomas' song Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head, which was included in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, earned a Grammy and an Oscar in 1969, and Burt Bacharach's score for the movie received the Grammy for Best Original Score.One of Bacharach's longest-lasting and most productive partners was Dionne Warwick. Walk on By, Do You Know the Way to San Jose?, Anyone Who Had a Heart, A House Is Not a Home (later a hit for Luther Vandross), and her own original rendition of I Say a Little Prayer are among the songs they have achieved success with together. After Bacharach and David ceased producing together and Warwick was left without any content, she subsequently sued Bacharach with success. Bacharach stated that the conflict was "extremely expensive and unpleasant" and that "I stupidly handled it poorly" in a 2019 interview with the Guardian. For the 1985 Aids charity record "That's What Friends Are For," he and Warwick made amends.

Bacharach married three more times after his divorce from Stewart in 1958: in 1965 to Angie Dickinson; in 1982 to Carole Bayer Sager; and in 1993 to Jane Hansen. He had two children, Oliver and Raleigh, with Hansen, with whom he stayed wed till his passing. His daughter with Dickinson, Nikki Bacharach, committed suicide in 2007 at the age of 40 following a history of mental health problems. In the 1980s, Bayer Sager enjoyed success as a musical partner, penning lyrics for new Bacharach songs sung by artists including Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond, and Roberta Flack. Christopher Cross' theme song for the 1981 film Arthur earned Bacharach his second Oscar for best original song. After the mid-80s, his success rate began to decline, but he persisted in seeking out attention-grabbing partnerships with people like Ronald Isley,Sheryl Crow and Dr. Dre. Along with recording two albums with Elvis Costello, they also collaborated on a rendition of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" for the 1997 film "Austin Powers."