The death of the American composer Burt Bacharach, author of the famous walk-on-by, The Look of Love Or Raindrops keep falling on my headis due to natural causes, said his agent Thursday, February 9.
Associated for decades with the lyricist Hal David, the musician composed the most famous songs of Dionne Warwick, of which he was the favorite collaborator. His songs have been performed or covered by countless legends of popular music such as Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin, the Carpenters, Elvis Costello, Marlene Dietrich, the Beatles… The title Raindrops Keep Falling on my Headthe main title of the film’s soundtrack Butch Cassidy and the Kid (1969), had the honors of an entire sequence, out of time, with Paul Newman and Katharine Ross. The performer was singer BJ Thomas.
A mythical duet with Hal David
Born May 12, 1928 in Kansas City (Missouri), Burt Bacharach studied the art of composition at several American universities. Pianist passionate about jazz, he worked on the tours of Marlene Dietrich, then met lyricist Hal David (1921-2012) in 1957. Together, they formed a legendary duo, one of the most prolific in popular music of the 20th century. Between 1962 and 1968, they ranked together 15 titles in the American Top 40.
The singer Dionne Warwick is one of the emblematic interpreters of the songs of Bacharach and David, to whom she notably owes her first great success, Don’t Make me Over (1962), then walk-on-by (1963) and I Say a Little Prayer for You (1967), a song which will then be covered by Aretha Franklin.
Three Oscars at the cinema
Bacharach and David won the hearts of Hollywood, winning two Oscars in 1970 for the film’s music Butch Cassidy and the Kid by George Roy Hill, as well as its original song. Burt Bacharach won a second Oscar in 1982 for the film’s song arthur (1981) by Steve Gordon.
Among the classics composed by Bacharach, we can also mention What’s new Pussycat (for Tom Jones), What the World Needs Now is Love (for Jackie DeShannon), The Look of Love (for Dusty Springfield), (They long to be) Close to You (the Carpenters recorded the most famous version), That’s What Friends are For (for an All Star around Dionne Warwick)On my Own (for Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald)…
On the border between jazz and pop, his romantic, melancholy ballads with enchanting melodies have reached the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. His melodies mark the music industry, inspiring artists like the leader of Oasis Noel Gallagher or Brian Wilson. As for the number of interpreters of Bacharach, it exceeds a thousand at the end of a career exceeding seven decades.