Legendary composer Burt Bacharach dies aged 94
The composer was behind some of the most well-known hits of all time.
Legendary composer Burt Bacharach has died at the age of 94.
The US musician was behind classics including I Say a Little Prayer, Walk On By, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, and many more.
Bacharach died of natural causes on Wednesday (8th February) at his home in Los Angeles, according to his publicist Tina Brausam.
He was a composer, songwriter, pianist and record producer, who wrote hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s to the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David.
Over his career, he scored 73 Top 40 hits in the US and 52 in the UK, and his songs were sung by scores of artists, including Dusty Springfield, Sir Tom Jones, The Carpenter, Cilla Black, B J Thomas, Alicia Keys and The White Stripes.
His music spanned multiple genres, from traditional pop and bossa nova to jazz and rhythm and blues, but the melodies shared one thing in common: they were unforgettable.
The musician won six Grammy Awards, including the organisation's lifetime achievement honour in 2008 and three Oscars, including for the score of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and for the song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.
His other film soundtracks included the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale and What’s New Pussycat?.
Bacharach also made a cameo in all three Austin Powers movies. In the second film, he appeared alongside Mike Myers playing his hit I’ll Never Fall in Love Again on the piano on top of a double-decker bus.
The Atlantic wrote in 1997: “Bacharach has seen his name become synonymous with the craft of songwriting at its most elegant and imperiled. He is a cultural signifier — far more meaningful than being the face on a posthumous postage stamp.
“Just as John Coltrane’s name is dropped by black essayists and novelists to signify artistic commitment and racial pride, Bacharach’s is pressed into service by pop-record reviewers to commend groups that at least recognize the value of good songs, even if they haven’t figured out how to write any yet.”
He is survived by his wife Jane Hansen, as well as his children Oliver, Raleigh and Christopher, Brausam said.
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Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
