Composer Burt Bacharach, known for hits like ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ dead at 94
LOS ANGELES – Legendary composer Burt Bacharach, known for a range of melodies, died at age 94.
Bacharach, credited for “Walk on By,” “Do You Know The Way to San Jose,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” among other hits died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, his publicist Tina Brausam told The Associated Press. Brausam said the composer died of natural causes.
Burt Bacharach was born on May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, before moving to New York City where he grew up, according to Biography.com. His mother, an artist/songwriter, encouraged her son to study music at the Mannes School of Music and McGill University. After leaving the U.S. Army he became a songwriter in the 1950s.
Over his 70-year career, Bacharach’s music was frequently performed by Dionne Warwick, his favorite interpreter, the AP reported. However, Bacharach also created material for Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and others, while Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra are among the artists who famously performed covers of his songs.
From 1962 to 1968, Dionne Warwick took 15 of Bacharach’s songs to the Billboard Top 40, including “Don’t Make Me Over,” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” according to Biography.com.
“The shorthand version of him is that he’s something to do with easy listening,” Elvis Costello told the AP in a 2018 interview. “It may be agreeable to listen to these songs, but there’s nothing easy about them. Try playing them. Try singing them.”
Bacharach took center stage and appeared as himself in the 1997 movie “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” where he performed his 1965 song, “What the World Needs Now is Love,” The New York Times reported. He also made cameo appearances in two of the movie franchise’s sequels.
Bacharach won eight Grammy awards, a Tony for “Promises, Promises” and three Academy Awards, the AP reported. Bacharach won the Academy Awards in 1970, for the score of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and for the song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” He was presented the Gershwin Prize in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama.
In his autobiography, Bacharach described himself as “luckier than most” in his career as a songwriter, The New York Times reported.
“Most composers sit in a room by themselves and nobody knows what they look like,” he wrote. “People may have heard some of their songs, but they never get to see them onstage or on television. I get to make a direct connection with people.”
Bacharach is survived by his fourth wife, Jane Hansen, as well as his children Oliver, Raleigh and Christopher, the AP reported.
American composer and songwriter Burt Bacharach, his wife, American singer-songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, American singer and actress Dionne Warwick, American singer-songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder, and American singer-songwriter Gladys Knight on the set of music show ‘Solid Gold’ in Los Angeles, California, 26th April 1986. The group performed ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ written by Bacharach and his wife, Bayer Sager. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – APRIL 25: (L-R) Neil Simon, Burt Bacharach and Hal David attend the Broadway Opening of "Promises, Promises" at Broadway Theatre on April 25, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: Burt Bacharach performs during a private dinner for The Kennedy Center’s National Committee For The Performing Arts on April 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for the Kennedy Center)
NEW YORK – APRIL 25: (L-R) Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach take their curtain call at the Broadway Opening of "Promises, Promises" at Broadway Theatre on April 25, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED – OCTOBER 10: In this screengrab Burt Bacharach appears during the 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball benefiting the Children’s Diabetes Foundation on October 10, 2020 in UNSPECIFIED, UNSPECIFIED – Region AMER. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for Children’s Diabetes Foundation )
HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 14: Musician Burt Bacharach onstage during the SeriousFun Children’s Network 2015 Los Angeles Gala: An Evening Of SeriousFun celebrating the legacy of Paul Newman on May 14, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for SeriousFun Children’s Network)
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 9: Gershwin Prize recipient Burt Bacharach plays the piano at a concert honoring him and fellow award winner Hal David, in the East Room at the White House on May 9, 2012 in Washington, DC. Burt Bacharach along with Hal David, were awarded the 2012 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 9: U.S. President Barack Obama awards a Gershwin Prize to legendary composer and performer Burt Bacharach at a concert honoring Bacharach and fellow prize winner Hal David, in the East Room at the White House on May 9, 2012 in Washington, DC. Burt Bacharach along with Hal David, were awarded the 2012 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Married American couple, composer and musician Burt Bacharach & Jane Hansen, with their children, Oliver and Raleigh, attend the ‘Tarzan’ premiere at El Capitan Theater, Hollywood, California, June 12, 1999. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
American composer, songwriter and musician Burt Bacharach performs live on stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 28th June 1996. (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images)
