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Burt Bacharach

 
Biography: Burt Bacharach
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Composer/arranger Burt Bacharach (born 1928) established himself in the 1960s as one of America's premier pop songwriters. After achieving considerable success with recordings by Dionne Warwick and B.J. Thomas, among many others, he found his style of music out of fashion during the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1990s, he returned to active composing as a new generation discovered his music.

The sophisticated melodies of Burt Bacharach were among the defining sounds of American popular music in the 1960s and early 1970s. In an era when rock gained ascendancy, his elegant compositions echoed the heyday of the great Broadway and Tin Pan Alley songwriters. In tandem with lyricist Hal David, Bacharach created songs graced with complex rhythms and fresh harmonic patterns that were rich in color and mood. The Bacharach/ David team produced a remarkable body of work for the stage and screen as well as for the record-buying market. The Carpenters, Tom Jones, B.J. Thomas, Dusty Springfield and, most of all, Dionne Warwick were among the artists who popularized Bacharach's songs. The start of the 21st century found him increasingly productive, working with new collaborators and releasing retrospectives of his best work.

Early Years

Burt Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 12, 1928. His father, Bert Bacharach, was a syndicated columnist and men's fashion journalist. His mother, Irma, was an amateur singer and pianist who encouraged her son to study music. Moving with his family to Forest Hills, New York, Bacharach studied cello, drums and piano as a child. His first strong interest was in sports. However, by the time he reached high school his piano playing abilities began to make him popular at school functions and local dances. Beyond his classical training, Bacharach found inspiration by sneaking into Manhattan jazz clubs and absorbing the sounds of such bebop innovators as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. After high school, he studied music at McGill University in Montreal and at New York's Mannes School of Music. It was at the latter school that he came under the influence of composer Darius Milhaud, who encouraged his young student to develop his melodic talents.

During a stint in the armed services from 1950 through 1952, Bacharach was kept busy performing at army bases as part of a dance band. Back in civilian life, he became a New York nightclub pianist and arranger, working with such singers as Vic Damone, Steve Lawrence and the Ames Brothers. In 1953, he married vocalist Paula Stewart and began to find work in Las Vegas. His horizons broadened further when he signed on as actress/singer Marlene Dietrich's musical director in 1958. Bacharach began to become more serious about songwriting during this time. Exposure to the music of Brazilian bossa nova composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Dori Caymmi helped him develop his style further.

First Recordings

Bachrach's first hit recordings included Marty Robbins' "The Story of My Life" (1957) and Perry Como's "Magic Moments" (1958). Undoubtedly his oddest early tune was "The Blob" (1958), the novelty theme song from the horror film of the same title. His songwriting partnership with lyricist Hal David was beginning to solidify, paving the way for the exceptional songs that would come out of them a few years later. David and Bacharach worked together in New York's legendary Brill Building, a haven for hardworking songwriters. Increasingly, Bacharach was taking chances with his music. Some of his more unusual melodic and harmonic ideas met resistance from record companies. "All those so-called abnormalities seemed perfectly normal to me," he commented in the liner notes to The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection, a CD retrospective released by Rhino Records in 1998. "In the beginning, the A and R [Artist and Repertoire] guys, who were like first lieutenants, would say, 'You can't dance to it' or 'That bar of three needs to be changed to a bar of four,' and because I wanted to get the stuff recorded, I listened and ended up ruining some good songs. I've always believed if it's a good tune people will find a way to move to it." His unorthodox but appealing work began to reach a wider audience with such tunes as "Baby It's You" (recorded by the Shirelles and, later, by the Beatles) and "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" (a 1962 hit for Gene Pitney).

The elements that would define the Bacharach sound began to fall into place in the early 1960s. "Make It Easy On Yourself," released as a single by pop/rhythm and blues singer Jerry Butler in 1962, displayed the melodic grandeur and bittersweet lyric sentiments that would become the hallmarks of later hits. An even more significant release that same year was "Don't Make Me Over," the first Bachrach/ David song recorded by Dionne Warwick. Her delicate phrasing and ability to convey both strength and vulnerability made her the ideal interpreter of the duo's songs. Warwick was able to handle the intricacies of Bacharach's demanding music with ease. The result was a series of enduring hit singles, among them "Anyone Who Had A Heart" (1963), "Walk On By" (1964), "I Say A Little Prayer" (1967) and "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" (1968). Bacharach arranged and co-produced his hits with Warwick, surrounding her voice with elegant strings, muted trumpets, tastefully-used background singers and other touches that became his trademarks.

Numerous other artists in both America and Britain found success with Bacharach/David songs, including Jackie DeShannon ("What the World Needs Now is Love"), Dusty Springfield ("Wishin' and Hopin"'), Herb Alpert ("This Guy's in Love With You"), and Sandie Shaw ("(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me"). Such films as What's New, Pussycat? Alfie, and Casino Royale featured the duo's material on their soundtracks. Bacharach and David made yet another leap when they wrote the score for the 1969 stage musical Promises, Promises, which enjoyed a long Broadway run and earned both a Tony and a Grammy Award.

In an era when songwriter/performers became the norm, Bacharach remained largely behind the scenes. His limited singing abilities were not seen as the best vehicles for his music. That being said, he did release a series of albums on his own, among them 1965's Hit Maker and 1967's Reach Out. These and subsequent efforts emphasized his arranging abilities as much or more than his vocal talents. The 1970s began on a high note for Bacharach when his score for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won an Academy Award, with the Bacharach/David song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" chosen as best theme song as well. The success of "One Less Bell to Answer" by the 5th Dimension" and "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by the Carpenters (both 1970) continued the songwriting team's winning streak into the new decade.

Collaboration with David Ended

Unfortunately, the chemistry between Bacharach and David began to sour after their music for the 1973 film Lost Horizon proved to be a critical and commercial failure. The songwriters sued each other over a publishing dispute and their years of collaboration ended. Bacharach's career went into decline and he was largely absent from the record charts for the remainder of the 1970s. He remained a familiar enough figure to appear in television advertisements for Martini and Rossi vermouth with his then wife, actress Angie Dickinson.

It wasn't until the early 1980s that Bacharach began to emerge from his career doldrums. A working relationship with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager led to the pair's marriage in 1982. Among the Bacharach/Sager songs of note from this period was "Arthur's Theme (The Best that You Can Do)," recorded by Christopher Cross for the 1981 film Arthur. Another tune of theirs, "That's What Friends Are For," was released as an AIDS research benefit recording in 1986 and featured vocals by Dionne Warwick and Elton John, among others. The song became a hit and led to further recordings with Warwick in the early 1990s.

Revival in 1990s

Remarkably, a Bacharach revival began in the mid-1990s, when a younger generation discovered the so-called "easy listening" music of the 1960s. Such notable young rock acts as Oasis and Stereolab began to perform Bacharach songs, reworking his classic melodies in a modern context. The composer was the subject of a British television documentary and his recordings were reissued in several CD anthologies. British singer/songwriter Elvis Costello, a long-time fan, collaborated with Bacharach on a song for the 1996 film Grace of My Heart, which led to an album's worth of songs together, Painted From Memory two years later. Bacharach and Costello went on a concert tour in 1998 as well. Enjoying his renewed celebrity, Bacharach shared the stage with Oasis at a 1996 London concert and made a cameo appearance in the 1997 film comedy Austin Powers.

Bacharach continued to remain active into the new century, performing occasional shows with symphony orchestras and working on stage musicals. In May 2001, he accepted the Royal Academy of Music award, presented by King Carl Gustav XVI in Stockholm. Such recognition confirmed Bacharach's stature as one of popular music's most distinctive and enduring songwriting talents.

Books

Contemporary Musicians, Gale, 1997.

Gammon, Peter. Oxford Companion to Popular Music, Oxford University Press, 1991.

Stambler, Irwin, Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul, St. Martin's Press, 1977.

Online

"Burt Bacharach Biography," Rolling Stone. com,http:www.rollingstone.com (November 15, 2001).

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Burt Bacharach
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(born May 12, 1928, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.) U.S. songwriter and pianist. He studied under Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinu, and Henry Cowell. In the 1950s he wrote arrangements for Steve Lawrence and Vic Damone and later toured with Marlene Dietrich. In the late 1950s he began his long association with lyricist Hal David (b. 1921), which would produce many hits especially for singer Dionne Warwick (b. 1940), including "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer," and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" He and David wrote the successful musical Promises, Promises (1968) and the score for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, Academy Award). Bacharach collaborated with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello (b. 1954) on the album Painted from Memory (1998).

For more information on Burt Bacharach, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Burt Bacharach
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Bacharach, Burt (băk'ərăk'), 1928-, American composer, arranger, and conductor, b. Kansas City, Mo. He began his career playing piano with jazz bands in the 1940s and then as a pianist and arranger for nightclub acts, notably with Marlene Dietrich in the 1950s. With lyricist Hal David, Bacharach produced many popular songs from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, including more than 50 top singles. These include "Don't Make Me Over," "What the World Needs Now," "Walk On By," and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose." The team also provided words and music for the successful Broadway musical Promises, Promises (1968) and the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969; Academy Award). The partnership ended in 1973, and Bacharach began working with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager in 1981 (they married the following year). The two scored a big hit with their song "That's What Friends Are For" in 1986. Bachrach has also written soundtracks for later films, e.g., Arthur (1981; Academy Award), Grace of My Heart (1996, with rocker Elvis Costello), and Austin Powers (1997). Bacharach's music utilizes a variety of styles, including Latin, rock, and gospel, and is marked by unexpected chord changes.
Quotes By: Burt Bacharach
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"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of."

Artist: Burt Bacharach
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Burt Bacharach

Similar Artists:

Phil Spector, Steve Lawrence, The Walker Brothers, Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, The Carpenters, Herb Alpert, Dionne Warwick, Perry Como, Paul McCartney, Elton John, The Drifters, Neil Diamond, Noel Harrison, Scott Walker, Petula Clark, Neil Sedaka, Marlene Dietrich, Tony Hatch, Sounds Orchestral, Marvin Hamlisch, Sergio Mendes

Influenced By:

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie

Followers:

The Heavy Blinkers, Swan Dive, Kid Loco, Louis Philippe, The High Llamas, Stereolab, Brent Cash, Unicorn Jones, Aluminum Group, Jai, Pansies, The Negro Problem, Alpha, Adventures in Stereo, The Ladybug Transistor, The Divine Comedy, Eels, The Wondermints, Eric Matthews, Holiday, Portishead, Mr. Bungle, Billy J. Kramer, Billy Joel, Faith No More, The Carpenters, The Beautiful South, The Peaces, Sore, Candie Payne, El Perro del Mar, Bejole, Paul Bertolino, The National Bank, Baby Dayliner, The Sharp Things, Mello Cads, Linus of Hollywood, Dave Fischoff, Cindy & Bert, Air, Broadcast, Cardinal, Future Bible Heroes, Magnetic Fields, Archer Prewitt, Leroy Burgess, Pizzicato Five, Scott Walker, Moose, St. Vincent, Unified Tribe, Marc Teamaker, Cousteau, Christian Anders, Frida Hyvönen, Declan O'Rourke, B.C. Camplight, Dave Tough, The Januaries, Mario Castro-Neves, Perry Blake, Stew, Euroboys, Nicole Willis, Goldfrapp

Performed Songs By:

Mack David

Worked With:

Neil Stubenhaus, Phil Ramone, Randy Kerber, Paul Jackson, Jr., Paulinho Da Costa, Michael Boddicker, Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster

Formal Connection With:

Elvis Costello, Hal David
See Burt Bacharach Lyrics
  • Born: May 12, 1928, Kansas City, MO
  • Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Producer, Composer, Songwriter
  • Representative Albums: "The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection," "The Very Best of Burt Bacharach," "Casino Royale"
  • Representative Songs: "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "The Look of Love," "Alfie"

Biography

With a hit-single track record spanning four decades, Burt Bacharach became one of the most important composers of popular music in the 20th century, almost equal to such classic tunesmiths as George Gershwin or Irving Berlin. His sophisticated yet breezy productions borrowed from cool jazz, soul, Brazilian bossa nova, and traditional pop to virtually define and undoubtedly transcend the staid forms of Brill Building adult pop during the 1960s.

Born May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, he studied cello, drums, and piano as a child, and was later transplanted to New York City by his father, a syndicated columnist. The time spent in New York gave him a chance to sneak into clubs to watch his bebop heroes Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker; he also played in several jazz bands during the 1940s. Bacharach studied music theory and composition at the Mannes School in New York, at Berkshire Music Center, at the New School for Social Research (with Darius Milhaud), at Montreal's McGill University, and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. A period in the Army interrupted his concentration of music study, but even while serving in Germany, Bacharach arranged and played piano for a dance band. He also played in nightclubs and backed Steve Lawrence, the Ames Brothers, and Paula Stewart. Bacharach was discharged in 1952, and he married Stewart on December 22nd of the following year.

On returning to the U.S., he began writing songs for Lawrence, Patti Page, the Ames Brothers, and others, but his first hit came from Marty Robbins in late 1957 when Robbins took "The Story of My Life" to the American Top 20 and the number one spot in England. The single was also notable for its co-composer, Hal David, who became Bacharach's songwriting partner and collaborated on most of his big hits. The Bacharach/David team followed up in January 1958 with Perry Como's "Magic Moments," another U.K. chart-topper and a Top Five entry in America. Bacharach's marriage dissolved in 1958, and he left for Europe to tour with Marlene Dietrich. He returned in 1961, and wrote several songs for the Drifters with Bob Hilliard (including "Mexican Divorce" and "Please Stay") before reuniting with Hal David. At an arranging session, he found the singer who became the ultimate vehicle for his songs: Dionne Warwick who was working as a member of the Drifters' backup vocal group, the Gospelaires.

By late 1962, Bacharach and David began focusing most of their composing energy on Warwick, who was the recipient of 15 Top 40 singles from 1962 to 1968 (including the Top Tens "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "Walk on By," "Message to Michael," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Valley of the Dolls," and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?"). The duo also remained dominant in England, where Frankie Vaughan, Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, the Walker Brothers, and Herb Alpert all hit number one with Bacharach/David compositions. As if their schedule wasn't busy enough throughout the '60s, the songwriters contributed film scores for What's New Pussycat?, Alfie, and Casino Royale. The film featuring their most celebrated score, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), won Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Theme Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (plus two non-musical Academy Awards). Bacharach and David began working on the musical Promises, Promises in the late '60s; it won a Tony and a Grammy Award (for cast album) during a popular three-year Broadway run. Bacharach hit the charts himself in 1969, with the show's "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" reaching the Top 100. Surprisingly, this was not his only foray into recording; Bacharach had reached number four in the U.K. charts in May 1965 with "Trains and Boats and Planes," and he released several popular solo albums during the late '60s.

The beginning of the '70s looked bright for Burt Bacharach, as the Carpenters took "(They Long to Be) Close to You" to number one in the U.S. in July 1970. The forecast was premature, though, as three of his closest partners -- Hal David, Dionne Warwick, and his second wife Angie Dickinson -- left him. He gathered several accolades for an eponymous 1971 album featuring renditions of his previous hit compositions, but later albums were disappointing and Bacharach's next hit was over a decade in coming. Finally in 1981, he collaborated with Christopher Cross, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen on the Oscar-winning "Arthur's Theme." Bacharach married Bayer Sager just one year later, and together they wrote Roberta Flack's Top 20 hit "Making Love," as well as "Heartlight" which Neil Diamond took to number five.

Once Bacharach resumed composing he began to hit, and 1986 was one of his finest years, with two American number ones: "That's What Friends Are For" (by an all-star group including Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder) and a duet by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald titled "On My Own." He divorced Sager in 1991, but worked with Dionne Warwick again two years later on "Sunny Weather Love," from her Friends Can Be Lovers album. Also in 1993, Bacharach contributed songs to James Ingram, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Tevin Campbell. Around the same time, many alternative bands began name-checking the hitmaker as an influence, and Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher joined him on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall as well as including a picture of him on the cover of Oasis' Definitely Maybe. BBC-TV focused on Bacharach in a January 1996 documentary, and a three-disc retrospective of his compositions was released by Rhino in 1998. That same year he collaborated with Elvis Costello on the acclaimed Painted From Memory, and was celebrated at an all-star concert at Radio City Music Hall which later formed the basis for the LP One Amazing Night. The 2005 album At This Time found Bacharach writing lyrics for the first time. Tonio K helped with the lyrics, Elvis Costello, Dr. Dre, Chris Botti, and Rufus Wainwright also contributed to the album. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Discography: Burt Bacharach
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At This Time [LP]

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At This Time [LP]

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Bacharach! The Instrumental Side

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Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection [2-CD 50 Tracks]

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Man & His Music [Karussell]

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Magic of Burt Bacharach [Charly]

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Definitive Collection

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Live at the Sydney Opera House

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Gold

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Gold

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Plays His Hits

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Night to Remember

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Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection [2-CD 30 Tracks]

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One Amazing Night

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One Amazing Night

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Something Big: The Complete A&M Years...And More

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Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection

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At This Time

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At This Time

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Easy Loungin' Collection, Vol. 3

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Plays His Hits [Japan Bonus Tracks]

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Casino Royale [Classic]

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Very Best of Burt Bacharach [Rhino]

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I'll Never Fall in Love Again

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Woman

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On the Flip Side

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Reel Burt Bacharach

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Best Selection

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20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Burt Bacharach

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Hits of Burt Bacharach

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Isn't She Great

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Millennium Edition

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60 Greatest Hit Songs

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Unforgettable Music of Burt Bacharach

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Colour Collection

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Greatest Hits [Disky]

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Greatest Hits of Burt Bacharach

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Close to You [St. Clair]

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Universal Masters Collection

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What the World Needs Now: Burt Bacharach Classics

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Burt Bacharach's Greatest Hits: The Story of My Life, Vol. 3

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Burt Bacharach's Greatest Hits: The Story of My Life, Vol. 1

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Best of Burt Bacharach

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Futures

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Greatest Hits [A&M]

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Lost Horizon [Bell]

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Living Together

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Burt Bacharach

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Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

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Make It Easy on Yourself

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Reach Out

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Reach Out

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Casino Royale [1966 Original Soundtrack]

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Casino Royale [1966 Original Soundtrack]

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Casino Royale [1966 Original Soundtrack]

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After the Fox

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Hit Maker! Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits

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Actor: Burt Bacharach
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  • Born: May 12, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '50s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Romance
  • Career Highlights: GoodFellas, Without You I'm Nothing, My Best Friend's Wedding
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Sad Sack (1957)

Biography

During his heyday in the mid-to-late 1960s, American composer and songwriter Burt Bacharach wrote many popular tunes for Broadway and films. Many of these songs such as "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," and "What the World Needs Now" have become American standards. He is the son of syndicated newspaper columnist, Bert Bacharach. After receiving professional training, Bacharach served in Korea as a concert pianist in the Army. After his military stint, he became a professional accompanist for such entertainers as Vic Damone, Joel Grey, and Polly Bergen, but he did not really get his big break until he began working as the conductor-arranger for Marlene Dietrich, on her world concert tour, while simultaneously penning songs for Broadway musicals and films. Bacharach's songs during the '60s and early '70s are distinguished for their complex, highly syncopated rhythms and clever lyrics. Many of them were made popular by Dionne Warwick and Jack Jones. He won two Academy Awards in 1969 for the soundtrack for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and for the song Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head from the same film. Many of his tunes were written with lyricist Hal David. Though not as popular as he once was, Bacharach continues to score films and has also established a career as a solo entertainer and performs concerts and in nightclubs all over the country. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Burt Bacharach
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Burt F. Bacharach

Burt Bacharach in concert, 2008
Background information
Born 12 May 1928 (1928-05-12) (age 81)
Origin Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Genres Pop, vocal
Occupations Composer, pianist, singer
Instruments Piano
Years active 1957–present
Associated acts Hal David, Elvis Costello, Dionne Warwick, Marlene Dietrich, Cilla Black, Dr. Dre

Burt F. Bacharach (pronounced /ˈbækəræk/; born 12 May 1928) is an American pianist and composer. He is known for his pop hits from the early 1960s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David, many of which were produced for and recorded by Dionne Warwick.

As of 2006, Bacharach had written 70 Top 40 hits in the US, and 52 Top 40 hits in the UK.[1]

Contents

Biography

Early life

Burt Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Irma (née Freeman) and Bert Bacharach, a syndicated newspaper columnist.[2] He is of German Jewish descent.[3] Bacharach studied music at McGill University, the Mannes School of Music, and the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California. His composition teachers included Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinů, and Henry Cowell. After leaving the Army Bacharach worked as a pianist, sometimes playing solo and sometimes accompanying singers such as Vic Damone, Polly Bergen, Steve Lawrence, the Ames Brothers and Paula Stewart (who became his first wife).

Early songwriting work

In 1957, Bacharach and lyricist Hal David were introduced at the Brill Building in New York City, and began their writing partnership. Almost a year later, they received a significant career break when their song "The Story of My Life" was recorded by Marty Robbins for Columbia Records, becoming a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Country charts in late 1957. Soon after, "Magic Moments" was recorded by Perry Como for RCA Records, and became a No. 4 U.S. hit in February of that year. These two songs hit No. 1 in the UK back-to-back ("The Story of My Life" in a version by Michael Holliday), giving Burt and lyricist Hal David the honor of being the first songwriters in UK history to have written consecutive No. 1 hits. "Heavenly" was recorded by Johnny Mathis and became a gold record in the UK. Later the same year another Bacharach song, "Faithfully", also achieved gold record status with Mathis in the UK. In 1959, their song "Make Room for the Joy" was featured in Columbia's film musical "Jukebox Rhythm," sung by Jack Jones.

In the early 1960s, Bacharach wrote well over a hundred songs with David. Bacharach and David were associated throughout the sixties with Dionne Warwick, a conservatory-trained vocalist whom the duo met in 1961. She began working for the duo when they needed a singer to "demo" their songs for other artists. Bacharach and David noticed that Warwick's demos often surpassed the quality of the performances others were recording[citation needed]. They started writing a portion of their work specifically with Warwick in mind, which led to one of the most successful teams in music history.[4] Over a twenty year period, beginning in the early 1960s, Warwick managed to chart 38 singles co-written or produced by Bacharach, including twenty-two Top-40 hits on the American Billboard Hot 100 charts. During the early '60s, Bacharach also collaborated with Bob Hilliard on a number of songs such as "Mexican Divorce" for The Drifters, "Any Day Now" for Chuck Jackson, and "Dreamin' All the Time" and "Pick Up the Pieces" for Jack Jones.

Other singers of his songs in the 60s and 70s included Dusty Springfield ("The Look of Love" from Casino Royale), ("Wishin' and Hopin"), Cilla Black (a cover of Dionne Warwick's "Anyone Who Had A Heart"), ("Alfie"), The Shirelles, The Beatles ("Baby, It's You"), The Carpenters ("(They Long to Be) Close to You"), Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes ("Walk On By" on the Hot Buttered Soul album), B.J. Thomas ("Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head"), Tom Jones ("What's New, Pussycat"), The Stranglers, The Drifters, Jack Jones ("Wives and Lovers"), Jackie DeShannon ("What the World Needs Now is Love"), Gene Pitney, Herb Alpert, Jerry Butler and Luther Vandross in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bacharach songs were adapted by jazz artists of the time, such as Stan Getz, Cal Tjader and Wes Montgomery. The Bacharach/David composition, "My Little Red Book", originally recorded by Manfred Mann for the film What's New, Pussycat?, and promptly covered by Love in 1966, has become a rock music standard; however, according to Robin Platts' book "Burt Bacharach and Hal David", the composer did not like this version.[5] Bacharach composed and arranged the soundtrack of the 1967 film Casino Royale which was "The Look of Love", performed by Dusty Springfield. Bacharach and David also collaborated with Broadway producer David Merrick on the 1968 musical production of Promises, Promises, which yielded hit songs (including the title tune). The year 1969 featured, perhaps, the most successful Bacharach-David collaboration, with the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", which was written for and prominently featured in the acclaimed film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Style

Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions, striking syncopated rhythmic patterns, irregular phrasing, frequent modulation, and odd and changing meters. It tends toward a greater climactic effect than most popular music, especially greater than most popular music of the period with which he is most associated. Bacharach has arranged, conducted, and co-produced much of his recorded output. An example of his distinctive use of changing meter is found in "Promises, Promises" (from his score for the musical of the same name). His style is sometimes also associated with particular instrumental combinations he is assumed to favor or to have favored, including the prominent use of the flugelhorn in such works as "Walk on By", "Nikki", and "Toledo".

1970s and 1980s

In 1970 Johnny Mathis issued a double-LP album set, "Sings the Music of Bacharach & Kaempfert," for Columbia. It consisted of a total 21 tracks in a heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve. The Bert Kaempfert tracks were done in the arrangement style of the German composer and orchestra leader, and the Bacharach tracks were in the Americans' upbeat style.

In 1973, Bacharach and David were commissioned to score the Ross Hunter-produced revival of the 1937 film, Lost Horizon for Columbia Pictures. The result was a critical and commercial disaster, and resulted in a flurry of lawsuits between the composer and the lyricist, as well as from Warwick, who reportedly felt abandoned when Bacharach and David refused to work together. Bacharach tried several solo projects (including the 1977 album Futures), but the projects failed to yield hits.

By the early 1980s, Bacharach's marriage to Angie Dickinson had ended, but a new partnership with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager proved rewarding, commercially and personally. The two married, and collaborated on several major hits during the decade, including "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (Christopher Cross), "Heartlight" (Neil Diamond), "Making Love" (Roberta Flack), "On My Own" (Michael McDonald with Patti Labelle), and perhaps most memorably, "That's What Friends Are For" in 1985, actually the second single which reunited Bacharach and singer Warwick. The profits for the latter song were given to AIDS research. Bacharach's 1980s tunes showed a new sound.

Other artists continued to revive Bacharach's earlier hits, giving them a new audience in the 1980s and 1990s. Examples included Naked Eyes' 1983 pop hit version of "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", Ronnie Milsap's 1982 country version of "Any Day Now", and others. Bacharach continued a concert career, appearing at auditoriums throughout the world, often featuring large orchestras as accompaniment. He occasionally joined with Warwick, appearing in sold-out concerts in New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

1990s and 2000s

In 1996, jazz pianist McCoy Tyner recorded an album of nine Bacharach standards that featured Tyner's trio with an orchestra arranged and conducted by John Clayton. In 1998, Bacharach co-wrote and recorded a Grammy-winning album with Elvis Costello, Painted from Memory, on which the compositions began to take on the sound of his earlier work. In 2006, he recorded a jazz album with Trijntje Oosterhuis and the Metropole Orchestra called The Look of Love (Burt Bacharach Songbook) which was released in November that year.[6] Bacharach collaborated with Cathy Dennis in 2002 to write an original song for the Pop Idol winner Will Young. This was "What's In Goodbye", and it appears on Young's debut album From Now On. During July 2002, Young was a guest vocalist at two of Bacharach's concerts, one at the Hammersmith Apollo and the other at Liverpool Pops.

Another star treatment of his compositions was the 2003 album Here I Am featuring Ronald Isley, revisiting a number of his 1960s compositions, and also the Vandross arrangement of A House Is Not a Home.

Bacharach's 2005 solo album At This Time saw a departure from past works in that Bacharach penned his own lyrics, some of which dealt with political themes. Guest stars on some tracks included Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright.

He worked with hip-hop producer Dr. Dre on his recent album At This Time and is expected to work on Dr. Dre's Detox album.

On October 24, 2008, Bacharach opened the BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse in London, performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra accompanied by guest vocalists Adele, Beth Rowley and Jamie Cullum. The concert was a retrospective look back at his unparalleled six-decade career, including classics such as "Walk On By", "The Look of Love", "I Say a Little Prayer", "What The World Needs Now", "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "24 Hours from Tulsa" and "Make It Easy On Yourself", featuring Jamie Cullum.

In early 2009 Bacharach worked with Italian soul singer Karima Ammar and produced her critically acclaimed debut single Come In Ogni Ora. The song has been heard during the 59th Sanremo Music Festival and also features him playing piano.

Film and television

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bacharach was featured in a dozen TV musical and variety specials videotaped in the UK for ITC, several of which were nominated for Emmy awards for direction (by Dwight Hemion). The guests included artists such as Joel Grey, Dusty Springfield, and Barbra Streisand. Bacharach and David also did the score for a short-lived ABC-TV series, ABC Stage 67, for a show titled On the Flip Side, starring Rick Nelson as a faded pop star trying for a comeback. While the series' ratings were dismal, the soundtrack showcased Bacharach's abilities to try different kinds of musical styles, ranging from (almost) 1960s rock, to pop, ballads, and Latin-tinged dance numbers.

In 1969, his instrumental composition "Nikki" (named for his daughter) premiered as the theme for the ABC Movie of the Week, a TV series which eventually ran on various nights of the week until 1975. Also during the 1970s, Bacharach and then-wife Angie Dickinson appeared in several TV commercials for Martini & Rossi beverages, and even penned a short jingle ("Say Yes") for the spots. Bacharach also occasionally appeared on TV/variety shows, such as The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and many others.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Bacharach has had cameo roles in Hollywood movies including all three Austin Powers movies. His music is credited as providing inspiration for these movies, partially stemming from Bacharach's score for the 1967 James Bond film Casino Royale. During subsequent Bacharach concert tours, each show would open with a very brief video clip from the movie Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, with Mike Myers (as Austin Powers) uttering "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Burt Bacharach."

Bacharach appeared as a celebrity performer and guest vocal coach for contestants on the television show, "American Idol" during the 2006 season, during which an entire episode was dedicated to his music. In late 2006, Bacharach appeared as the celebrity in a Geico auto insurance commercial, where he sings and plays the piano. He translates the customer's story through song ("I was hit...in the rear!")

In 2008, Bacharach featured in the BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse with the BBC Concert Orchestra[7]. He performed similar shows in the same year at the Walt Disney Concert Hall[8] and with the Sydney Symphony.

Legacy and influence

  • Popular songwriter Jimmy Webb has acknowledged Bacharach's influence on his work. So did singer-songwriter Laura Nyro.
  • On Status Quo's album Heavy Traffic, Track number 8 is named "Diggin' Burt Bacharach."
  • In interviews, Donald Fagen from Steely Dan has frequently cited Bacharach's combination of "Ravel-like harmony and street corner soul" as an early influence. Bacharach has praised Steely Dan's Aja highly.
  • On the cover of Oasis' first album Definitely Maybe, there is a framed picture of Bacharach to the left resting up against the sofa. Later, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher performed a duet of "This Guy's In Love With You" live with Bacharach. Gallagher also admits to having stolen elements of that same song when composing the Oasis track "Half the World Away".
  • Alternative-avant garde guitarist and composer Leonid Soybelman released an album named Much Ado About Burt Bacharach's Walk On By.
  • The British duo Swing Out Sister cites Bacharach as a major influence as well.
  • Composer/singer-songwriter Mary Edwards used Bacharach-influenced motifs on her debut album "A Smile in the Mind".
  • The British band Saint Etienne were influenced heavily by Bacharach's piano motifs.
  • Beach Boys lead man Brian Wilson has cited Bacharach as a heavy influence on his songwriting.
  • Welsh rock/electronic/psychedelic band Super Furry Animals have also been influenced by Bacharach's distinctive sound.


Marriages and children

Bacharach has been married four times. His first marriage was to Paula Stewart, which lasted five years (1953–58). His second marriage was to actress Angie Dickinson, which lasted fifteen years (1965–80). Bacharach and Dickinson had a daughter, Nikki, who is now deceased (see Angie_Dickinson#Personal_life). His third marriage was to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, which lasted nine years (1982–91). Bacharach and Bayer Sager collaborated on a number of musical pieces, and had a son, Cristopher. In 1993, Bacharach married Jane Strauss Hanson, and their marriage continues today. Bacharach and Strauss Hanson have a daughter, Raleigh, and a son, Oliver.

Film appearances

Discography

Albums

  • Hitmaker! Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (1965)
  • What's New Pussycat (Film Soundtrack) (1965)
  • After the Fox (Film Soundtrack) (1966)
  • Reach Out (1967)
  • Casino Royale (Film Soundtrack) (1967)
  • On The Flip Side (Television soundtrack) (1967)
  • Make it Easy on Yourself (1969)
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Film Soundtrack) (1969)
  • Promises, Promises[9] (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (1969)
  • Burt Bacharach (1971)
  • Lost Horizon (Film soundtrack) (1973)
  • Burt Bacharach in Concert (1974)
  • Living Together (1974)
  • Futures (1977)
  • Woman (1979)
  • Arthur (Film soundtrack) (1981)
  • Night Shift (Film soundtrack) (1982)
  • Arthur 2: On The Rocks (Film soundtrack) (1988)
  • One Amazing Night (1998)
  • Painted From Memory with Elvis Costello (1998)
  • The Look Of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection [2-Disc Compilation] (2001)
  • Motown Salutes Bacharach [Compilation] (2002)
  • Isley Meets Bacharach: Here I Am with Ronald Isley (2003)*
  • Blue Note Plays Burt Bacharach [Compilation] (2004)
  • At This Time (2005)
  • Colour Collection [Compilation] (2007)
  • Marlene Dietrich with the Burt Bacharach Orchestra (2007)
  • Burt Bacharach: Live at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (Live) (2008)

Singles

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, 1965.
This song was also recorded much later by Oasis' Noel Gallagher in tribute to Bacharach on his 70th Birthday. According to Robin Platts' book What The World Needs Now the song was not written with Alpert, a non-singer with limited range, in mind, but was altered to suit him. Originally written as "This Girl's In Love With You" and recorded with that title by Dionne Warwick.
This song was originally written for the movie Night Shift and performed on the soundtrack by Rod Stewart. In 1986, a version by Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Elton John became an enormous hit, raising millions for AIDS charities. The song also won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Grammy nominee for Record of the Year

Broadway works

Other recordings

  • Jazz musician John Zorn produced a 2-CD set of Bacharach tunes (1997), featuring several avantgarde musicians, as part of his Great Jewish Music series.
  • Marie McAuliffe's Ark Sextet released the Bacharach tribute album "Refractions" in 1998. McAuliffe had been featured on John Zorn's tribute album.
  • To Hal and Bacharach is a 1998 tribute album with 18 tunes, performed by notable Australian artists.
  • In 2007, West End Singing Sensation Michael Ball recorded an album entitled 'Back to Bacharach' full of songs which have inspired him over the years. Michael sang 'You'll Never Get to Heaven' Live on GMTV, 'Arthur's Theme' Live on This Morning, 'What The World Needs Now Is Love', Live on BBC Breakfast and 'The Look of Love' Live on Paul O'Grady.
  • 2007 Marlene Dietrich with the Burt Bacharach Orchestra

References

  1. ^ A House Is Not A Homepage: Burt Bacharach Bio
  2. ^ Burt Bacharach Biography (1928?-)
  3. ^ ireland.com - The Ticket
  4. ^ "The Burt Bacharach Collection" - CD issued by WEA Europe (liner notes)
  5. ^ Robin Platts "Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What The World Needs Now", 2003 ISBN 978-1-896522-77-7
  6. ^ PlatoMania.nl Scheduled Dutch album releases. Retrieved: 25 October 2006
  7. ^ BBC Electric Proms 2008
  8. ^ Close to you
  9. ^ Internet Broadway Database: Promises, Promises Production Credits

External links



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