He created world hits like “Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head”, “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Walk On By”. Legendary American songwriter Burt Bacharach has died at the age of 94.
Burt Bacharach performing in Sydney in 2007
The composer, best known for his romantic ballads between jazz and pop, passed away at his home in Los Angeles – “peacefully” surrounded by his family, according to his agent. Bacharach died of natural causes on Wednesday. His songs have been sung by star performers such as Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin and Tom Jones and have repeatedly stormed the charts for decades. During his career, he placed more than 70 songs in the US Top 40 and won six Grammys.
Bacharach, who was also an arranger, conductor, producer and sometimes sang himself, was born in Kansas in 1928 City, Missouri, USA. The passionate jazz pianist studied composition at several US universities and, after serving in the army, worked as musical director for Marlene Dietrich's tours.
Creative duo with Hal David
In 1957 he met the songwriter Hal David, with whom he entered into one of the most successful artistic partnerships in US music history. Four years later, the pair discovered singer Dionne Warwick, for whom they wrote a string of hits. Between 1962 and 1968, Bacharach and David's songs made it into the top 40 of the US charts 15 times.
One of the duo's well-known songs is “Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head” for the cult film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” with Paul Newman and Robert Redford from 1969. The song won an Oscar, and there was another Oscar for best film score. Bacharach won a third Oscar for the song for the 1981 film Arthur.
In 1973 he and David fell out due to financial reasons. For ten years they communicated only through lawyers, they never worked together again. David died in 2012.
kle/ie (afp, dpa, ape)