(Read more Musicians who died in 2023)
Kansas City-born composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist Burt Bacharach has passed away at his home in Los Angeles from natural causes at the age of 94.
He was best known for composing hundreds of pop songs for more than five decades (and covered by more than a thousand artists), collaborating on many with lyricist Hal David, winning six Grammy Awards and three Academy Awards along the way.
Bacharach was born on May 12, 1928, to Mark Bertram "Bert" Bacharach, a well-known syndicated newspaper columnist and Irma (Freeman), she an amateur painter and songwriter who made the young Bacharach learn piano and practice regularly, and he would gravitate toward jazz early-on.
After a stint in the service, he would eventually meet partner and lyricist Hal David in 1957 at the famous Brill Building in New York City, to begin their writing partnership. Their breakthrough would prove to be 1957’s "The Story of My Life" from Marty Robbins, which went on to top the U.S. Country Chart.
Working chiefly with Dionne Warwick, the duo would help define orchestral pop and easy listening, with his music characterized by unusual jazz-influenced chord progressions, and uncommon instrument selections for small orchestras.
As well as writing hits for Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Jackie DeShannon, Bobbie Gentry, Tom Jones, Herb Alpert, B. J. Thomas, and the Carpenters, many artists revived his songs into the ‘80s and ‘90s such as Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home;" Naked Eyes' "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me," and Ronnie Milsap's "Any Day Now."
Other familiar songs which would top the Billboard Hot 100 that he co-wrote include "This Guy's in Love with You" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (1969), "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970), "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (1981), and "That's What Friends Are For" (1986).
In 2012, he and David received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first time the honor was given to a songwriting team, and Bacharach’s recent collaborations include the likes of Ronald Isley, Daniel Tashian, and Elvis Costello, with a four-disc box set compiling he and Costello’s works, due out March 3 (via Universal Music)
Bacharach would marry four times, including to actress Angie Dickinson, and to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, who collaborated on numerous musical pieces together and adopted a son. His autobiography, Anyone Who Had a Heart, was published in 2013.
Singer Dionne Warwick released the following statement today:
“Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner. On the lighter side we laughed a lot and had our run ins, but always found a way to let each other know our family, like roots, were the most important part of our relationship. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, letting them know he is now peacefully resting and I too will miss him.”
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| John C ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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