Army vet/tunesmith Bacharach, 94, dies
Burt Bacharach, multiple Grammy and Oscar winner, died of natural causes Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 94.
Bacharach was a Kansas City boy who attended the music conservatory at MacGill in Montreal. Drafted in the late ’40s, once officers learned of his musical talents he wound up in Germany working on musical arrangements at the rec center on post.
Post Army he worked with a dizzying array of stars: Marlene Deitrich, Perry Como, most notably with Dionne Warwick (“Walk on By”, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”), Elvis Costello, Dr. Dre, and his songs have been covered by such artists as Isaac Hayes, Ashanti, White Stripes, and Cyndi Lauper. May not have been your style, but he is one of the most influential songwriters of the last 60 years. If you know him from nothing else, you have to know “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.
When a friend who had been touring with Marlene Dietrich was unable to make a show in Las Vegas, he asked Bacharach to step in.
The young musician and ageless singer quickly clicked and Bacharach traveled the world with her in the late 1950s and early ’60s. During each performance, she would introduce him in grand style: “I would like you to meet the man, he’s my arranger, he’s my accompanist, he’s my conductor, and I wish I could say he’s my composer. But that isn’t true. He’s everybody’s composer … Burt Bacharach!”
Everybody’s composer…I think the old German gal got it right.
Category: America
If GPS was commercially available in the 1960’s, he never would have composed Do You Know The Way San Jose.
Seriously, the guy had a humongous impact on the music industry in the 1960’s. And sixty years later, performers are still releasing their versions of his hits. Willing to bet when this year’s Grammy winners pass on, no one will care. The music today is biodegradable, doesn’t last more than three months.
Spot on, Hack Stone. He may be gone, but his influence and music will live on.
Godspeed, Fare Well, and Rest Easy, Good Sir.
I can’t help but shed a tear for the man.
Such powerful music that will last for generations to come.
My piano teacher had a huge crush on him, all of her students were assigned various tunes he composed….
I was fortunate to perform Raindrops Keep Fallin on my Head at recital….she enjoyed my performance well enough to give a hug and a kiss on the forehead….high praise indeed at the time as she was usually sparse with any positive commentary….but still far better than my Irish/German male teacher and my German grandfather who was friends with my teacher…those two were brutal…
Reminds me of this joke.
I’m married to a German from the Fatherland. THAT hits home! Ach du lieber!
RIP Burt. You will be missed…
https://youtu.be/GqVx_2d4v4U