BACHARACH

Asophisticated songwriter whose melodious songs rank with the very best of his era, Burt Bacharach wrote an extraordinary number of memorable pop hits over a long period of time. In 1957, he scored his first chart hit with Marty Robbins’s “The Story of My Life”; 40 years later, he and Elvis Costello were nominated for an Academy Award for their collaboration on “God Give Me Strength,” which appeared in the 1996 film, Grace of My Heart.

Bacharach was born on May 12, 1928, in New York. He was an early fan of jazz, the melodic sophistication of which has always been an integral part of his songs. Bacharach extended his music study with contemporary classical composers Darius Milhaud and Henry Cowell. Following a 1950–52 stint in the army, he found work as a pianist accompanying several popular singers including Vic Damone. His songwriting career began, in 1956, when Patti Page recorded “Another Time, Another Place.” Within a year, he had teamed with lyricist Hal David, and in 1958 their song, “Magic Moments,” sung by Perry Como, was a hit.

Burt Bacharach is the most successful and enduring composer of popular songs in the post-war era.
UPI/Corbis-Bettmann

Though Bacharach spent from 1958–61 touring as musical director with Marlene Dietrich, many of his songs were being recorded, including “Please Stay,” performed by the Drifters. Other Bacharach songs such as “Only Love Can Break a Heart” and “Make It Easy on Yourself” became hits, taken to the top of the charts by performers including Gene Pitney and Jerry Butler. But it was his work with singer Dionne Warwick, whom he met in 1962, that became his most respected and best-known.

From 1962 to 1970, Warwick scored 20 Top 40 hits with many of the best songs of Bacharach and David, including “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “Walk on By,” “Message to Michael,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?,” and “Promises, Promises.” In the early 1970s, Bacharach and David split up. In 1982, Bacharach married his new collaborator, Carole Bayer Sager. Together, and occasionally with other writers, the duo produced hits such as the Academy Award-winning “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” (1981) and Grammy-winning “That’s What Friends Are For” (1985). Though that marriage ended, Bacharach’s songwriting continued well through the 1990s, and his fan base–particularly among younger artists–grew steadily. Respected songwriters such as Elvis Costello and the members of the rock group OASIS regularly dealt out lavish praise for Bacharach’s talents–in particular, his oblique melodies and complicated harmonic phrasing–proving that he is much more than just a writer of catchy tunes.

Dave DiMartino

BURT

BACHARACH