Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( BAK-ə-rak; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Starting in the 1950s, he composed hundreds of pop songs, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions and time signature changes, influenced by his background in jazz, and uncommon selections of instruments for small orchestras. He arranged, conducted, and produced much of his recorded output. Over 1,000 different artists have recorded Bacharach's songs. From 1961 to 1972, most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick, but earlier associations (from 1957 to 1963) saw the composing duo work with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels, and Jerry Butler. Following the initial success of these collaborations, Bacharach wrote hits for singers such as Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, and B.J. Thomas. Bacharach wrote seventy-three U.S. and fifty-two UK Top 40 hits. Those that topped the Billboard Hot 100 include "This Guy's in Love with You" (Herb Alpert, 1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (Thomas, 1969), "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (the Carpenters, 1970), "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (Christopher Cross, 1981), "That's What Friends Are For" (Warwick, 1986), and "On My Own" (Carole Bayer Sager, 1986). His accolades include six Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and one Emmy Award. Bacharach is described by writer William Farina as "a composer whose venerable name can be linked with just about every other prominent musical artist of his era"; in later years, his songs were newly appropriated for the soundtracks of major feature films, by which time "tributes, compilations, and revivals were to be found everywhere". A significant figure in easy listening, he influenced later musical movements such as chamber pop and Shibuya-kei. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Bacharach and David at number 32 for their list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. In 2012, the duo received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first time the honor has been given to a songwriting team. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 12, 1928 (Kansas City), Died February 8, 2023 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1966
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 118086 | 10/26/1966 | It doesn't matter anymore | Rick Nelson | composer | |||
Decca | 118087 | 10/26/1966 | Fender mender | The Celestials ; Joanie Sommers | composer | |||
Decca | 118088 | 10/26/1966 | They don't give medals (To yesterday's heroes) | Rick Nelson | composer | |||
Decca | 118089 | 10/26/1966 | Try to see it my way | Joanie Sommers | composer | |||
Decca | 118090 | 10/26/1966 | Juanita's place | Orchestra (unidentified; Decca Records) ; Vocal chorus (unidentified; Decca Records) | composer | |||
Decca | 118091 | 10/26/1966 | Take a broken heart | Rick Nelson | composer | |||
Decca | 118092 | 10/26/1966 | They're gonna love it | Donna Jean Young | composer | |||
Decca | 118093 | 10/26/1966 | Try to see it my way | Rick Nelson ; Joanie Sommers | composer | |||
Decca | 118094 | 10/26/1966 | Juanita's place | The Celestials | composer | |||
Decca | 118095 | 10/26/1966 | They don't give medals (To yesterday's heroes) (Orch.) | Orchestra (unidentified; Decca Records) | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bacharach, Burt," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/302472.
Bacharach, Burt. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/302472.
"Bacharach, Burt." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Burt Bacharach
Discogs: Burt Bacharach
Allmusic: Burt Bacharach
Apple Music: Burt Bacharach
Grove: Burt Bacharach
RISM: Burt Bacharach
IMDb: Burt Bacharach
Britannica: Burt Bacharach
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Bacharach, Burt - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80050147
Wikidata: Burt Bacharach - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q212762
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/84992800
MusicBrainz: Burt Bacharach - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2882ffa3-dec9-4055-a842-a950728bcb02
Getty ULAN: Bacharach, Burt - http://vocab.getty.edu/ulan/500335884
ISNI: 0000 0001 0920 9124 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000109209124
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.