Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach (/ˈbækəræk/ BAK-ə-rak; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music.[4][5][6] Starting in the 1950s, he composed hundreds of pop songs, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions and time signature changes, influenced by his background in jazz, and uncommon selections of instruments for small orchestras. He arranged, conducted, and produced much of his recorded output.
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach
May 12, 1928
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
February 8, 2023 (aged 94)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Composer
- songwriter
- record producer
- pianist
- singer
- conductor
- Piano
- keyboards
- vocals
1950–2023
-
Jane Hansen(m. 1993)
Over 1,000 different artists have recorded Bacharach's songs.[7] From 1961 to 1972, most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick, but earlier associations (from 1957 to 1963) saw the composing duo work with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels, and Jerry Butler. Following the initial success of these collaborations, Bacharach wrote hits for singers such as Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, and B.J. Thomas.
Bacharach wrote seventy-three U.S. and fifty-two UK Top 40 hits.[8] Those that topped the Billboard Hot 100 include "This Guy's in Love with You" (Herb Alpert, 1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (Thomas, 1969), "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (the Carpenters, 1970), "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (Christopher Cross, 1981), "That's What Friends Are For" (Warwick, 1986), and "On My Own" (Carole Bayer Sager, 1986). His accolades include six Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and one Emmy Award.
Bacharach is described by writer William Farina as "a composer whose venerable name can be linked with just about every other prominent musical artist of his era"; in later years, his songs were newly appropriated for the soundtracks of major feature films, by which time "tributes, compilations, and revivals were to be found everywhere".[9] A significant figure in easy listening,[2] he influenced later musical movements such as chamber pop[10] and Shibuya-kei.[11][3] In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Bacharach and David at number 32 for their list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.[12] In 2012, the duo received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first time the honor has been given to a songwriting team.[13]
Early life and education[edit]
Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Forest Hills, Queens,[14][15] New York City, graduating from Forest Hills High School in 1946. He was the son of Irma M. (née Freeman) and Mark Bertram "Bert" Bacharach, a well-known syndicated newspaper columnist.[16][17] His mother was an amateur painter and songwriter and encouraged Bacharach to practice piano, drums and cello during his childhood.[7][18] His family was Jewish, but he said that they did not practice or give much attention to their religion. "But the kids I knew were Catholic," he added. "I was Jewish, but I didn't want anybody to know about it."[19]
Bacharach showed a keen interest in jazz as a teenager, disliking his classical piano lessons, and often used a fake ID to gain admission into 52nd Street nightclubs.[7] He got to hear bebop musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, whose style influenced his songwriting.[18][20]
Bacharach studied music (Associate of Music, 1948)[21] at McGill University in Montreal, under Helmut Blume, at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, and at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California. During this period he studied a range of music, including jazz, whose sophisticated harmony is a distinctive feature of many of his compositions. His composition teachers included Darius Milhaud,[18] Henry Cowell,[22] and Bohuslav Martinů. Bacharach cited Milhaud, under whose guidance he wrote a "Sonatina for Violin, Oboe and Piano",[20] as his greatest influence.[18][20]
Career[edit]
1950s[edit]
Bacharach was drafted into the U.S. Army in the late 1940s and served for two years.[23][24] He was stationed in Germany and played piano in officers' clubs there, and at Fort Dix and Governors Island.[23][25][26] During this time, he arranged and played music for dance bands.[27][28]
Bacharach met the popular singer Vic Damone while they were both serving in the army in Germany.[23] Following his discharge, Bacharach spent the next three years as a pianist and conductor for Damone, who recalled, "Burt was clearly bound to go out on his own. He was an exceptionally talented, classically trained pianist, with very clear ideas on the musicality of songs, how they should be played, and what they should sound like. I appreciated his musical gifts."[29] He later worked in a similar capacity for various other singers, including Polly Bergen, Steve Lawrence, the Ames Brothers, and Paula Stewart (who became his first wife). When he was unable to find better jobs, Bacharach worked at resorts in the Catskill Mountains of New York, where he accompanied singers such as Joel Grey.[30]
Film and television[edit]
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bacharach was featured in a dozen television musical and variety specials videotaped in the UK for ITC; several were nominated for Emmy Awards for direction (by Dwight Hemion).[100] The guests included artists such as Joel Grey, Dusty Springfield,[101] Dionne Warwick, and Barbra Streisand.[102] Bacharach and David did the score for an original musical for ABC-TV titled On the Flip Side, broadcast on ABC Stage 67, starring Ricky Nelson as a faded pop star trying for a comeback.[103]
In 1969, Harry Betts arranged Bacharach's instrumental composition "Nikki" (named for Bacharach's daughter) into a new theme for the ABC Movie of the Week, a television series that ran on the U.S. network until 1976.[104]
During the 1970s, Bacharach and then-wife Angie Dickinson appeared in several television commercials for Martini & Rossi beverages, and Bacharach even penned a short jingle ("Say Yes") for the spots.[105] He also occasionally appeared on television/variety shows such as The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and others.[106]
In the 1990s and 2000s Bacharach had cameo roles in Hollywood movies, including all three Austin Powers movies,[107] inspired by his score for the 1967 James Bond parody film Casino Royale.[108] Mike Myers said the first film in the series, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), was partially inspired by the song "The Look of Love". After hearing the song on the radio, Myers began reminiscing about the 1960s, which helped him conceive the film.[6] Myers later said of Bacharach's appearance in the movie: "It was amazing working with Burt. His song "The Look of Love" was the inspiration for this film. It was like having Gershwin appear in your movie."[6]
Bacharach appeared as a celebrity performer and guest vocal coach for contestants on the television show American Idol during its 2006 season, during which an entire episode was dedicated to his music.[102] In 2008, Bacharach was featured in the BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse with the BBC Concert Orchestra.[109] He performed similar shows the same year at the Walt Disney Concert Hall[110] and with the Sydney Symphony.[111]