LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Songwriting virtuoso Burt Bacharach died Wednesday (February 8) at his home in Los Angeles, CA. His death was confirmed by his publicist Tina Brausam. The cause of death released was natural causes. He was 94.
He is one of the most respected and gifted writers of the 20th century, the kind we will most likely never see again. Genius is a term that is used lightly but shouldn’t be as in the case of Bacharach, it is truly deserved.
Born in Kansas City, MO, in May 1928, Bacharach grew up in the upper-middle-class suburb of Forest Hills, NY. The songwriting prodigy began taking piano lessons at the age of eight. He formed his first band with classmates while attending Forest Hills High School and began playing at school dances.
After high school, Bacharach attended McGill University in Montreal where he studied under a piano teacher who had been mentored by composer and violinist Paul Hindemith. During his second year, he traveled to CA to study with classical composer Darius Milhaud, who went on to become a major influence in the career of Dave Brubeck. He never returned to McGill University.
Bacharach served in the US Army after being drafted during the Korean War, after that – he returned to NYC and studied with composer and violinist Bohuslav Martinu and American pianist Henry Cowell, who had taught George Gershwin. His career began s a piano accompanist to Vic Damone, the Ames Brothers, and his first wife Paula Stewart.
His songwriting breakthrough came in 1957 when he and his partner Hal David scored 2 UK No. 1 hits with their earliest songs, “The Story of My Life (Marty Robbins) and “Magic Moments” by Perry Como. That was the beginning of a successful partnership as he and David were also behind “I Say a Little Prayer” (Aretha Franklin), “What’s New Pussycat?” (Tom Jones) and “Make It Easy on Yourself” (Walker Brothers), among many more.
Bacharach and David were both nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song for “The Look of Love,” and “Alfie”. They then wrote songs for the huge Broadway hit musical, Promises, Promises. Just three years after being nominated for the Oscar, Bacharach won a Grammy for the cast album from Promises, Promises, and another for Best Motion Picture Score for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Oscar came that same year when he and David were given the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Raindrops Keep Fallin on my Head,” from Butch Cassidy.
Years later, he collaborated with iconic singer Dionne Warwick on “That’s What Friends Are For.” It hit No. 1 on Billboard Singles Chart in 1986, won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, won Grammy Song of the Year, and raised nearly $3 million for AIDS research.
Before their iconic collaboration, Bacharach had worked with Warwick on the hits “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” and others. It wasn’t always “friends” as Warwick ended up suing Bacharach after he and lyrical partner David stopped working together – leaving her without any material to record. Bacharach told The Guardian in 2019 of the dispute, “I stupidly handled it wrong.” They reconciled for the 1985 AIDS single, mentioned above.
Throughout his storied career as a songwriter, composer, collaborator, and friend, he earned eight Grammy Awards and two Academy Awards.
Bacharach married and divorced Stewart and went on to marry three more times – to Angie Dickinson (1965), Carole Bayer Sager (1982), and Jane Hansen (1993). He and Hansen had two children, Oliver and Raleigh. He had one daughter, Nikki Bacharach with Angie Dickson, who committed suicide in 2007 at the age of 40.
He is survived by his wife, Jane Hansen, and two children, Oliver and Raleigh. RIP
