The composer died of natural causes, according to publicist Tina Brausam, who acknowledged the news.
Bacharach is widely considered one of the most influential composers of twentieth-century popular music; the hundreds of songs he wrote between the 1950s and 1980s include several prominent singers’ hallmarks, chart-topping successes, as well as memorable movie soundtrack pieces.
He often worked with songwriter Hal David, and many of their songs were made popular by Dionne Warwick, for whom they composed expressly. Classics such as “Walk On By,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” are among them.
However, they also created success for other singers, several of whom reached the top of the Billboard 100 list. These include “This Guy’s in Love with You” by Herb Alpert, “(They Long to Be) Close to You” by the Carpenters, and “That’s What Friends Are For,” which became a success as an all-star charity record supporting AIDS research.
Bacharach also wrote remarkable music for the theater and the movie. He composed the music for the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, as well as films such as Arthur and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Those films also contained two famous theme songs that went on to become chart-topping successes and earned Bacharach & David two Academy Awards: “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” from Butch Cassidy and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” from The Godfather. Bacharach earned an extra Oscar for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Bacharach grew up in Kew Gardens, New York, but was born in Kansas City, Missouri. From an early age, he was drawn to music, especially jazz. He spent two years in the United States Army.
Bacharach’s music was often characterized as “easy listening,” and his compositions’ old-fashioned manner and inspirations put him at odds with the rising rock era. Yet Bacharach’s music defined the decade in its own right; his buoyant pop melodies and smooth, jazzy instrumentals will be synonymous with the 1960s for the rest of time. Both Mad Men and Austin Powers include his music.
And Bacharach was also well-liked by musicians for his great songwriting abilities, and his songs have been recorded by performers of different genres.
The short version of him is that he’s something to do with easy listening; Elvis Costello, a rock artist who worked with Bacharach, told in 2018. These tunes may be pleasant to listen to, but they are far from easy. Play with them. Make an attempt to sing them.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
— The Movie Badger (@TheMovieBadger) February 9, 2023
"Ladies and Gentlemen… Mr Burt Bacharach" pic.twitter.com/wkVax0qpr9
Bacharach has won three Academy Awards, six Grammy Awards, and the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which he shared with Hal David. The pair was ranked #32 on Rolling Stone’s list of the best songwriters of all time.
Hal David died of a stroke in 2012, at the age of 91.
Burt Bacharach, really one of the finest songwriters of all time. May he rest in peace. His music will carry on in perpetuity.
