Burt Bacharach, songwriter and arranger, has died. He was 94.
Bacharach composed and arranged pop music that wasn’t rock, jazz, or easy listening.
He was a compositional romantic with a cinematic ear; his catchy melodies and arrangements engaged the listener directly and emotionally in contemporary terms.
Bacharach began his high-profile career in 1956 as musical director, arranger and conductor for Marlene Dietrich. However, he became a household name in the 1960s after co-writing a stunning series of hits for Dionne Warwick.
Bacharach won six Grammies, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress, and three Oscars. Five of his nearly 85 hit songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts.
Bacharach was formally trained and studied with several prominent modernists, including Darius Milhaud, Dave Brubeck’s mentor.
Bacharach met lyricist Hal David in 1957. They signed Warwick in 1962. His career took off in 1964 when Warwick’s “Walk on By” became a No. 6 pop hit. Bacharach’s favourite Bacharach-David song was “Alfie.”
A string of hits by Warwick followed: “Reach Out for Me,” “Message to Michael”, “Trains and Boats and Planes”, “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”
Bacharach moved to film in the 1960s, writing “The Look of Love” for Casino Royale and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
In the 1980s, he began a romantic and co-writing relationship with Carole Bayer Sager; songs included “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” and “On My Own”.
In 1998 he and Elvis Costello co-wrote and recorded the album “Painted From Memory.”
Bacharach beat the odds against his success when, in 1964, the Beatles began dominating the pop charts.
Image: David McKelvey, via Flickr