Even if you haven’t heard the name Burt Bacharach, you’ve more than likely heard one of his songs. The composer of such hits as “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” “Walk On By,” and “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” has passed away. Responsible for hit songs like “Close To You” by The Carpenters and “What’s New Pussycat?” by Tom Jones, Bacharach’s compositions are literally everywhere.
Bacharach was heavily influenced by the jazz stylings of Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie as a young man. He studied music at McGill University in Montreal before serving in the army in 1950. Bacharach had a penchant for garnering relationships with musicians. When he was only 28 he met Marlene Dietrich, becoming the arranger and composer for her nightclub performances.
It was his meeting lyricist Hal David that really launched his career to stardom. The two went on to make top chart hits like Marty Robbins‘ “The Story of My Life”, and Jerry Butler‘s “Make It Easy on Yourself“. But it was writing songs for Dionne Warwick that made the duo shine. David and Bacharach wrote most, if not all, of Warwick’s greatest hits. Bacharach’s career continued to surge into Broadway musicals and films, including arranging the soundtrack to “Casino Royale” in the 60s. He worked with artists such as Patti Labelle, Barbara Streisand, and Stephanie Mills to name only a few.
Bacharach and David have been in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame since 1972. Bacharach’s music contains an elegance that lends itself well to easy listening, and lyrics that are easy to remember. Bacharach died of natural causes on Wednesday at the ripe old age of 94. He leaves behind a varied and prolific legacy that’s hard to match by any composers today.
