Burt Bacharach Dead: Legendary Composer For Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin & More Dies At 94

Regarded arsenic “one of the astir important composers of fashionable euphony successful the 2nd fractional of the 20th century,” Burt Bacharach wove unneurotic elements from chill jazz, soul, and accepted popular successful a prolific vocation that resulted successful 2 Academy Awards, a fistful of Grammys, and a bequest arsenic a songwriter’s songwriter. Sadly, that astonishing beingness came to an extremity connected Wednesday. Burt, astatine property 94, passed distant of earthy causes connected Feb. 8, successful his Long Angeles home, his publicist told USA Today.

Born successful Missouri successful 1928, Burt spent astir of his puerility successful New York. Influenced by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, helium pursued jazz and euphony astatine Montreal’s McGill University, the New School for Social Research successful New York, and the Mannes School of Music. His aboriginal vocation saw him enactment arsenic an accompanist and conductor for Marlene Dietrich‘s nightclub act, per the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He had his archetypal breakthrough arsenic a songwriter with the country-rock hits “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and “Only Love Can Break A Heart” for Gene Pitney.

After forming a songwriting duo successful the precocious 1950s with Hal David (who passed distant successful 2012), Burt Bacharach began a agelong collaborative vocation with Dionne Warwick. Together, the 3 produced a drawstring of 39 consecutive illustration hits, including “Walk On By,” “Don’t Make Me Over,” “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” “Promises, Promises,” and “Message To Michael.” Burt and Hal besides helped constitute “That’s What Friends Are For,” a opus Warwick recorded with Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Gladys Knight and co-written with Carole Bayer Sager.

“That’s What Friends Are For” won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year successful 1987. Burt’s enactment connected Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid would triumph him different Grammy and a brace of Oscars: helium took location the Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”) and Best Original Score.

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“It’s not astir resting connected your laurels,” Burt told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2013. “It’s astir penning due to the fact that this is thing you privation to do. You ever grow.”

In his life, Burt was joined 4 times: to histrion Paula Stewart; to histrion Angie Dickinson; to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager; and to his 4th wife, Jane Hansen, who helium wed successful 1993. He had 4 children — a girl Nikki (with Dickinson); a lad Cristopher (with Sager) and a lad Oliver and a girl Raleigh (with Hansen).

“When you person kids aboriginal connected successful your life, it’s not truthful important that you get that adjacent portion of euphony (written),” Burt told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s called: ‘You’ve got a family, walk clip with them,’ which I person done.”

“There are immoderate compromises on the way, sometimes,” helium added erstwhile reflecting connected his bequest of collaborating. “I cognize erstwhile I recorded (‘I Say a Little Prayer’) with Aretha Franklin, you benignant of person to springiness up thing to get something, truthful possibly (as a singer) you don’t deviate from the melody until the 3rd clip through. And then, okay, it’s Aretha, and the worldly she sings (extemporaneously) is wonderful. Remember, it is simply a opus that is not a screen record; it’s the archetypal clip the opus volition beryllium retired there. As the writer, I truly privation it right. It each lives and dies with me, successful the (recording) studio, anyway.”

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