BURT BACHARACH,
1928-2023

Burt Bacharach, the groundbreaking composer whose work with Hal David ruled the charts and airwaves in the 1960s and '70s, died Wednesday (2/8) in Los Angeles. He was 94.

"It is with saddened hearts that we share the passing of our father, husband and friend," his family said in a statement on his Facebook page. "He gave the world so much, and we are eternally grateful. The music is always there, so please keep listening. We send our love from Team Bacharach, because that’s what friends are for."

Also a producer and arranger, Bacharach was most closely associated with Dionne Warwick, for whom he and lyricist David wrote “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” among other classics. His hits also include timeless wonders like The Shirelles’ “Baby It’s You,” Chuck Jackson’s “Any Day Now,” Gene Pitney’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” The Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You," The 5th Dimension’s “One Less Bell to Answer” and B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

Trained as a classical pianist and composer, Bacharach eschewed the three- and four-chord formulas of traditional pop songs to craft the kind of sophisticated chord progressions one would find in jazz, then applied a variety of time signatures far more complicated than the standard 4/4. His melodies were famously asymmetrical but in the capable hands of Warwick, the songs felt emotionally natural, never forced or overly ambitious.

His work stretched far beyond the AM hits that were his bread a butter to include Broadway (Promises, Promises), film scores (most notably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and television.

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, was among several hit songs he wrote for films: Tom Jones’ title track to What’s New Pussycat, which also featured Manfred Mann’s version of “My Little Red Book”; Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love” from Casino Royale; and Christopher Cross’ “Arthur’s Theme,” written for the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur.

After Bacharach and David split up in the early 1970s following their musical Lost Horizons, which flopped, Bacharach focused on making solo records, an endeavor he'd begun in the late 1960s for A&M.

His return to scoring—and the charts—came after he started writing songs with then-wife Carole Bayer Sager; the two collaborated on “Arthur’s Theme,” the Patti LaBelle/Michael McDonald duet “On My Own” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Written for the 1982 film Night Shift, "Friends" became a hit for the team of Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, who recorded it as an AIDS research fundraiser. Bacharach received one of his six Grammy Awards for the tune, which was named Song of the Year.

His career cooled again thereafter until the mid-1990s, when he teamed up with Elvis Costello to write “God Give Me Strength” for the film Grace of My Heart. It led to an album by the pair, Painted From Memory, and a tour.

A jazz fan who grew up in Queens, Bacharach started as a pianist, backing Vic Damone and The Ames Brothers early on. He was Marlene Dietrich’s musical director from 1958-61 while getting his feet wet as a songwriter at Famous Music (Perry Como’s “Magic Moments”) and film composer (the title theme to The Blob).

Beloved by jazz musicians, his 1963 composition “Wives and Lovers” has been recorded by Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, the Thad Jones/Pepper Adams Quintet, Dave Douglas, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra with Count Basie and most recently, Cecile McLorin Salvant.

In addition to his six Grammys, Bacharach won three Oscars. He and David, who died in 2012 at the age of 91, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and received the Recording Academy’s Trustees Award in 1997. In 2011, Bacharach and David were the first team to receive the Library of Congress’ George & Ira Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

"Our ASCAP family lost a true giant of American popular music today," reads a statement from ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President (and fellow hit songwriter) Paul Williams. "Burt Bacharach's music set a high bar for songwriters. It was complex, yet elegant—a combination that produced hit after hit. The iconic songs he wrote with lyricist Hal David and others are an indelible part of our culture. They were an inspiration to me personally as a songwriter, and to every generation since. Burt, we'll miss you and your light touch at the piano. Thanks for the music."