Burt Bacharach

Following his discharge from the Army, Burt Bacharach first served as Vic Damone's accompanist before later working with such performers as the Ames Brothers, Imogene Coca, Joel Grey and Paula Stewart (his first wife), but his career did not take off until he met lyricist Hal David one day in 1957 at the historic Brill Building in NYC. Within a year, the pair had their first Number 1 hit, the country tune "The Story of My Life" (1957), recorded by Marty Robbins, which they followed with Perry Como's "Magic Moments" (1958). Bacharach gained considerable attention touring Europe and America as musical director for Marlene Dietrich from 1958 to 1961 and then worked extensively with the Drifters, arranging horn and string parts and collaborating with lyricist Bob Hilliard on their 1961 singles "Mexican Divorce" and "Please Stay". After meeting a backup singer named Dionne Warwick, whose voice seemed particularly well-suited to his music, Bacharach began writing songs with David by day and recording them with Warwick until 2 AM. The Bacharach-David-Warwick triumvirate would go on to have 39 chart records in 10 years, beginning with "Don't Make Me Over", which climbed to Number 21 in 1962. Eight of them would make it into the Top 10, and though Warwick has sang Bacharach infrequently since the early 70s, she remains the chief interpreter of his work.

Bacharach-David tunes began to adorn films beginning with "Lizzie" and "The Sad Sack" (both 1957). Though they provided memorable title songs for 1966's "Alfie" (sung by Cher) and "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970), for which Bacharach also composed the score, they gained perhaps their greatest acclaim (filmwise), winning two Oscars for their work on "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), which included the infectious "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head". At the same time, the Bacharach-David musical "Promises, Promises", based on the 1960 Billy Wilder movie "The Apartment" and featuring the hit "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", had begun its three year run on Broadway, earning a 1969 Grammy for Best Score From an Original Cast Album. That same year, he also earned a second Grammy for Best Original Score Written for Motion Picture or Television ("Butch Cassidy"). The score for "Lost Horizon" (1973) signaled the end of his most prolific songwriting period, and he withdrew exhausted to a beach house, alienating both David and Warwick.

Bacharach's marriage to second wife Angie Dickinson did not survive the period of relative inactivity that ensued, and his relationship with next wife lyricist Carole Bayer Sager mixed romance and art. They wrote (along with Peter Allen and Christopher Cross) the Oscar-winning theme for "Arthur" (1981), and the following year, Ron Howard's "Night Shift" introduced "That's What Friends Are For". Old friend Dionne Warwick and a few friends (like Gladys Knight) scored a Number 1 hit in 1985 with the song, which served as a rallying cry for AIDS awareness and brought Bacharach his last Grammy to date. The 90s have seen a resurgence of vintage Bacharach as a new generation led by the likes of Oasis' Noel Gallagher and REM's Michael Stipe have discovered his music and paid homage to him in interviews and through recordings. Elvis Costello co-wrote with Bacharach (via fax and answering machine) the show-stopper "God Give Me Strength" for Allison Anders' "Grace of My Heart" (1996), and five classic Bacharach-David tunes brightened the film comedy "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997). Though "Promises, Promises" proved too dated to revive, it has been staged at NYC's "Encores!" and L.A.'s "Reprise! Broadway's Best in Concert" Director-choreographer Gillian Lynne conceived "What the World Needs Now" (1998) a stage musical combining Bacharach-David songs with a book by Kenny Solms telling a 90s romance story.

• Born:
  May 12, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA
• Job Titles:
  Songwriter, Arranger, Composer, Producer, Entertainer, Pianist, Race horse owner

Family

• Daughter: Lea Nikki Bacharach. born c. 1966; mother, Angie Dickinson; suffered from Asperger s Disorder; committed suicide January 4, 2007
• Daughter: Raleigh Bacharach. born on December 19, 1995; mother, Jane Bacharach
• Father: Bert Bacharach.
• Mother: Irma Bacharach.
• Son: Cristopher Elton Bacharach. born c. 1986; adopted with Carole Bayer Sager
• Son: Oliver Bacharach. born on December 21, 1992; mother. Jane Bacharach

Education

• Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, California

Milestones

• 1950 Served with US Army, playing piano at the officer s club on Governor s Island (NYC) and giving concerts at Fort Dix (New Jersey); also spent time overseas
• 1952 Met Vic Damone and toured with him as accompanist following discharge from the military
• 1955 Became a member of ASCAP
• 1957 First Number 1 hit (with David), the country song The Story of My Life , recorded by Marty Robbins
• 1957 First film as composer of title (theme) song only, The Sad Sack
• 1957 First film credit, pre-composed song for Lizzie
• 1957 Met lyricist Hal David at NYC s Brill Building
• 1958 Perry Como scored a big hit with the Bacharach-David tune Magic Moments
• 1961 Met a backup singer named Dionne Warwick, whose voice seemed well-suited to his material; Bacharach and David wrote songs by day and recorded them at night with her, resulting ultimately in eight Top 10 hits
• 1961 Worked extensively with the Drifters, arranging horn and string parts and collaborating with lyricist Bob Hilliard on the group s singles Mexican Divorce and Please Stay
• 1962 First hit with Warwick, Don t Make Me Over , climbed to Number 21 on the charts
• 1965 First film as composer, What s New, Pussycat? ; title song was a Top 5 hit for Tom Jones
• 1968 Composed score for Broadway musical, Promises, Promises , which ran for three years and 1,281 performances
• 1969 Had one of his biggest successes with Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head , written for the feature Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ; won first two Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Original Song
• 1973 Burned out after rushing to finish the score of the musical film Lost Horizon , retreated to beach house and reneged on a Warwick album, leading her and David to file lawsuits (eventually settled out of court)
• 1981 Co-wrote with Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Allen and Christopher Cross the hit theme from the film Arthur ; won third Oscar
• 1982 Composed the music for Ron Howard s Night Shift , which introduced That s What Friends Are For (co-written by Sager)
• 1985 Dionne (Warwick) and Friends score Number 1 hit with That s What Friends Are For , earning him last Grammy to date; proceeds of the recording were donated to AIDS research
• 1993 Reunited with Warwick on the song Sunny Weather Love , included on her album Friends Can Be Lovers
• 1996 Appeared at London s Royal Festival Hall, where Oasis Noel Gallagher joined him to croon This Guy s In Love with You
• 1996 Co-wrote with Elvis Costello (via fax and answering machine) the show-stopping tune God Give Me Strength for Allison Anders Grace of My Heart , proving that his return was not just a rehabilitation of reputation but a creative renaissance as well
• 1997 Appeared as himself in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
• 1997 Five vintage Bacharach-David tunes brightened the film comedy My Best Friend s Wedding
• 1998 A stage musical utilizing Bacharach-David songs, What the World Needs Now , bowed at San Diego s Old Globe Theatre
• 1999 Collaborated with Tim Rice on the song Walking Tall for the film Stuart Little
• Bacharach resurgence fueled by such notables as British superband Oasis (who put a picture of him on their 1994 mega-selling album Definitely Maybe ), The Cranberries, REM s Michael Stipe and acid jazz masters Massive Attack
• Gained considerable attention touring Europe and America as musical director for Marlene Dietrich
• Raised in Forest Hills, Queens, New York