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Thought to be “one of the most important composers of popular music in the second half of the 20th century,” Burt Bacharach wove collectively parts from cool jazz, soul, and conventional pop in a prolific profession that resulted in two Academy Awards, a handful of Grammys, and a legacy as a songwriter’s songwriter. Sadly, that tremendous life got here to an finish on Wednesday. Burt, at age 94, handed away of pure causes on Feb. 8, in his Lengthy Angeles residence, his publicist advised USA Today.
Born in Missouri in 1928, Burt spent most of his childhood in New York. Influenced by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, he pursued jazz and music at Montreal’s McGill College, the New Faculty for Social Analysis in New York, and the Mannes Faculty of Music. His early profession noticed him work as an accompanist and conductor for Marlene Dietrich‘s nightclub act, per the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He had his first breakthrough as a songwriter with the country-rock hits “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and “Only Love Can Break A Heart” for Gene Pitney.
After forming a songwriting duo within the late Nineteen Fifties with Hal David (who handed away in 2012), Burt Bacharach started a protracted collaborative profession with Dionne Warwick. Collectively, the three produced a string of 39 consecutive chart hits, together with “Walk On By,” “Don’t Make Me Over,” “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” “Promises, Promises,” and “Message To Michael.” Burt and Hal additionally helped write “That’s What Friends Are For,” a tune Warwick recorded with Stevie Marvel, Elton John, and Gladys Knight and co-written with Carole Bayer Sager.
“That’s What Friends Are For” gained the Grammy Award for Music of the 12 months in 1987. Burt’s work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Child would win him one other Grammy and a pair of Oscars: he took residence the Academy Award for Greatest Authentic Music (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”) and Greatest Authentic Rating.
“It’s not about resting on your laurels,” Burt advised the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2013. “It’s about writing because this is something you want to do. You always grow.”
In his life, Burt was married 4 occasions: to actress Paula Stewart; to actress Angie Dickinson; to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager; and to his fourth spouse, Jane Hansen, who he wed in 1993. He had 4 kids — a daughter Nikki (with Dickinson); a son Cristopher (with Sager) and a son Oliver and a daughter Raleigh (with Hansen).
“When you have kids later on in your life, it’s not so important that you get that next piece of music (written),” Burt advised the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s called: ‘You’ve got a family, spend time with them,’ which I have done.”
“There are some compromises along the way, sometimes,” he added when reflecting on his legacy of collaborating. “I know when I recorded (‘I Say a Little Prayer’) with Aretha Franklin, you kind of have to give up something to get something, so maybe (as a singer) you don’t deviate from the melody until the third time through. And then, okay, it’s Aretha, and the stuff she sings (extemporaneously) is wonderful. Remember, it is a song that is not a cover record; it’s the first time the song will be out there. As the writer, I really want it right. It all lives and dies with me, in the (recording) studio, anyway.”
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