BURT BACHARACH
Biography
"...popular music's magic man hasn't missed a beat."
THE EDMONTON SUN, January, 2002
"Bacharach reminded us why he endures as pop's reigning melodist
at a concert last night…."
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, October, 2001
"He personifies the word ‘unruffled,’
and no one over the last 40 years has written more or better pop songs."
VANITY FAIR, November, 2000
"As a presence in the last half-century of music history, he’s simply inescapable."
THE PHOENIX NEW TIMES, October, 2000
"He is the greatest American composer since George Gershwin and the closest to Gershwin anyone born in the second half of the 20th Century is ever going to see."
ARIZONA TRIBUNE, October, 2000
It’s no wonder Burt Bacharach is spoken of with such famous names as Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers. His hit-single track record runs the gamut from rock and soul to polished Broadway scores; few writers can match the golden era of his work."
THE DENVER POST, September, 2000
"It is rare that a music segment of an Oscar show gets a standing ovation but this one orchestrated by Burt Bacharach certainly deserved it.…"
DAILY VARIETY, March, 2000
"What the world wants now is more Burt Bacharach."
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, August, 1999
"He has an uncanny knack for giving the instruments voices in a bold and self-reverential way.…"
INKBLOT ONLINE, 1999
"What’s great about the renewed interest in Bacharach is that it’s sincere."
NEWSWEEK, October, 1998
"Bacharach’s program also pointed to an influence on modern music that’s so pervasive it’s virtually subliminal. Although he has recently become ‘hip,’
his songs never went out of style, and they never will."
LOS ANGELES TIMES, October, 1998
"Burt Bacharach’s greatest revival ever."
BILLBOARD, August, 1998
"The Burt Bacharach revival has proven
the composer’s sophisticated style of pop, film music to be ageless."
VARIETY, October, 1998
"It was 10 o’clock on a Saturday night, and several hundred people were…having a religious experience: Burt Bacharach was giving a miniconcert."
NEW YORK TIMES, October, 1998
"Melodic, and then some, Bacharach’s tunes have an almost
supernatural ability to stick in the mind."
TV GUIDE, April, 1998
"Mr. Bacharach is cool. It isn’t just that his audience today is more sophisticated; it’s that there is a yearning for the lush sophistication that Mr. Bacharach stands for."
NEW YORK TIMES, July, 1997
"Bacharach is currently enjoying greater popularity than at any other time since his heyday in the 1960s and early 70s… In fact, Hollywood has been Bacharach’s biggest promoter."
TIME Magazine, July, 1997
"Bacharach’s suave melodies have crawled into the consciousness in the same seductive way they first did."
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, August, 1997
"Bacharach has seen his name become synonymous with the craft of songwriting at its most elegant and imperiled. He is a cultural signifier... With no apparent effort on his part he has become a figure of cult admiration."
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY, June, 1997
"Apparently what the world needs now is Burt Bacharach...Bacharach
is brilliantly back."
US, October, 1996
"'God Give Me Strength' [is] an epic in triple time, six minutes long, the best thing Bacharach has done in years.…"
VANITY FAIR, October, 1996
"The pearl is ‘God Give Me Strength’ by Bacharach and Elvis Costello. Broody and complex, it suggests a tune Bacharach might have given Dionne Warwick to sing in an
uptown nightclub at 3 a.m."
TIME, October 7, 1996
"Pure pop truth and beauty."
Q, February, 1996
"If you asked thousands of record-buyers and record-makers who they considered to be the most gifted pop melodicist of the last 30 years, most of them would probably agree on three men: Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach."
MELODY MAKER, October, 1995
"The music had a sophistication you would not encounter in the formulaic fare of the late '50s. It married unexpected rhythms with daring melodic leaps; it shimmered with rich jazz-like changes and complex harmonies; it teased with its uneven form and challenged with its mild yet exotic dissonance."
MOJO, February, 1996
"Long considered the soundtrack to a national cocktail hour, Burt Bacharach's music seemed to single-handedly ring in a sophisticated, breathlessly fun era in American pop."
INTERVIEW, February, 1996
"The 1960s may have been Burt's decade but, in the 1990s, his sonic opulence has been rediscovered. The unforgettable hooks have not been forgotten. Unexpectedly, they still touch, smooth and sear."
STYLE, February, 1996
Six decades into one of songwriting's most successful and honored careers — with scores of "firsts" and "#1s" — Burt Bacharach's music continues to set industry records and standards. His audiences span all generations, and he is considered everything from one of the greatest of all composers to the "coolest cult hero" of the contemporary music set.
His recent projects range from performing as co-musical director on the 72nd Academy Awards in March, 2000, to a top 10 CD in the UK in 2001, plus contributions in the first two "Austin Powers" films (and, perhaps, in the third "Austin Powers" feature, as well), to his critically-acclaimed collaboration with Elvis Costello ("Painted From Memory") on Mercury Records, and its Grammy-winning single, "I Still Have That Other Girl," to his pairing with lyricist Tim Rice on "Walkin’ Tall" performed by Lyle Lovett for the movie "Stuart Little." His songs continue to set records and make history, with, most recently, Diana Krall’s new CD, "The Look of Love," gaining critical praise and topping sales in 2001 and 2002. Last May, he received the prestigious Polar Music Prize, presented in Stockholm by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In 2001, A&E Network also produced a one-hour biography special about Bacharach.
PEOPLE MAGAZINE named his one of "the Sexiest Men Alive" for 2000, and one of "the 50 Most Beautiful People" in 1999. The Royal Albert Hall hosted a tribute to Bacharach and Hal David in July, 2000, to benefit Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy with performances by Petula Clark, Costello and Dionne Warwick, and the songwriting duo picked up the prestigious lifetime achievement award.
DAILY VARIETY named him the "American Music Legend" of 1998, noting "from hit songs to film scores, Burt Bacharach has turned pop conventions on their ear."
Rhino Records released "The Very Best of Burt Bacharach" in March 2001, featuring tracks with artists including Warwick, Dusty Springfield, The Carpenters and Jackie DeShannon. Rhino had earlier released a three-CD Greatest Hits collection in 1998, "The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection." Tributes to the diversity and appeal of his music have been paid by recording artists from Costello ("I’ll Never Fall in Love Again"), to Ben Folds Five, Krall, Barenaked Ladies, Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, and Mike Myers. The Platinum-selling soundtrack from "My Best Friend’s Wedding" featured several Bacharach songs, with interpretations by Ani DiFranco ("Wishin’ and Hopin’") and Diana King, whose recording of "I Say A Little Prayer" hit the top of the charts.
Bacharach currently divides his time between performing live concerts worldwide (including some with Warwick) and writing. Bacharach's songs are in albums by artists including Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Nnenna Freelon, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Warwick and Tevin Campbell. He was the subject of a PBS "Great Performances" biography, "Burt Bacharach: This is Now," which aired in May 1997.
In April 1998, TNT launched its highly-acclaimed "TNT Masters Series" with "Bacharach: One Amazing Night," a special tribute show with many of today's hottest stars -- including Costello, Crow, Judd and Myers — performing his songs.
The Warner Music International release "The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection," entered the U.K. compilation charts at #4 in 2001. With the special reverence the British hold for this gifted musician, Gabrielle's cover of a Burt Bacharach—Hal David hit, "Walk On By," entered the U.K. Top Ten at #9, in 1997. Bacharach and Costello were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997 for their collaboration, "God Give Me Strength" (from the movie, "Grace of My Heart"). In 1997, he and David received the prestigious Trustees Award from NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) as part of the Grammy Awards broadcast.
One of his standards, "Close To You," was recorded by the Cranberries for the "If I Were A Carpenter" tribute album to Karen and Richard Carpenter. Michael Stipe of R.E.M also covered a Bacharach song, as did English notables Massive Attack and Paul Weller. Two more of his songs, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" and "What the World Needs Now Is Love," were featured in "Forrest Gump" and on the film’s top-selling soundtrack album.
Along with Lennon and McCartney, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, Bacharach is a legend in popular music. He revolutionized the music of the 1950s and 1960s and remains one of America's most popular songwriters, bracketed with such famous names as Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers. As a record producer, he ranks with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Phil Spector and a handful of tough-minded musical visionaries who pioneered new forms of rhythm and blues from the early '60s through the end of the 20th Century.
His music in the 1980s made as much of an impact as his early songs. Two of the songs Bacharach co-wrote and co-produced with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager captured the #1 positions on three of the most prestigious year-end record charts in 1986. "That's What Friends Are For" (recorded by Warwick with Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight) was the #1 song on both the "Hot 100/Pop" and "Adult Contemporary" charts for 1986, and it received the Grammy for "Song of the Year."
Also, "On My Own" (recorded by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald) became the #1 R&B song for that year, and that Grammy nominee was #4 for 1986. Other 1980s hits include "Love Power," one of the Bacharach-Sager songs produced and written for Warwick's "Reservations For Two" album; "Everchanging Times," recorded by Siedah Garrett for the film, "Baby Boom" (and later by Aretha Franklin and a number of singers in the U.K.); "Over You," by Natalie Cole and Ray Parker, Jr.; "Love Always," by El DeBarge, and "They Don't Make Them Like They Used To" (recorded by Kenny Rogers for the film, "Tough Guys"), the country hit nominated for a Golden Globe.
"That's What Friends Are For" has also become an international anthem for friendship. It became an overnight icon when released by Dionne and Friends, won a Grammy award, and holds a special place in Bacharach's heart. The songwriters and artists donated all the proceeds from the song to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), and more than $1,500,000 has been donated. Ironically, the song was one of the first Bacharach-Sager collaborations, originally written for Rod Stewart for the film, "Night Shift."
Bacharach-Sager-Diamond also collaborated on "Heartlight," the Neil Diamond hit. Inspired by the film, "E.T.," the song had a sentimental meaning to Bacharach. He and Sager named one of their horses "Heartlight No. One" in hopes that the filly would do as well as the hit record and album. The Bacharachs and Diamond sang "Heartlight" to her before her races. Indeed, the horse was a champion — winning the prestigious Eclipse Award.
Bacharach might have also been expected to be talented in writing, being the only son of the late nationally-syndicated columnist Bert Bacharach. From an early age, though, he demonstrated more interest with musical notes than with words; in fact most of his songs have been collaborations, including many with lyricist Hal David, which resulted in scores of top 10 records.
Bacharach started taking piano lessons while in elementary school. His family had moved from Missouri to New York, where he spent most of his youth. An avid fan of bebop music, Bacharach was influenced by such legends as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, two musicians he credits with having a major impact on his career.
After graduating from high school, Bacharach studied at McGill University, the New School for Social Research in New York and Mannes School of Music. His training included music composition with such famous teachers as Darius Milhaud, Boguslav Martinu and Henry Cowell.
He began his career as a conductor and arranger, and toured widely for three years as accompanist-conductor for the legendary Marlene Dietrich.
As a teenager, he was composing songs, and by the late 1950s some of his songs were hitting the charts in performances by artists from different segments of the popular music field. He wrote a number of country-rock classics for Gene Pitney and Marty Robbins. Soon afterwards, he established himself as one of the music industry's top producers, working with singers like Chuck Jackson and, of course, Warwick.
With Warwick alone, Bacharach and David scored an incredible string of 39 chart records in ten years. At the same time artists from the Beatles to Tom Jones were recording their distinctive songs.
Bacharach's scores and songs for films include the two "Austin Powers" films, the 1997 Grammy nominated, "God Give Me Strength," a collaboration with Costello for the film, "Grace of My Heart" (1996); "Walkin’ Tall" with lyricist Rice, performed by Lovett for the film "Stuart Little" (1999); "Wives and Lovers" for "The First Wives Club" (1996); "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" for Forrest Gump (1996); and "Always Something There to Remind Me" for "Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion" (1997). Others include "Alfie" (1966); "What's New Pussycat?" (1965) (the title song was a million-seller for Tom Jones); "Casino Royale" (1967) ("The Look of Love" was gold for Dusty Springfield as well as Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66, and was a top ten hit for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass); "After The Fox"; "Together?" (with Michael McDonald, Jackie De Shannon and Libby Titus); Academy Award winner for Best Song, "Arthur" (1981); "Night Shift" (1982); "Making Love" (1982); "Baby Boom" (1987) and the movie for which he received two more Academy Awards and a Grammy award, "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" (1969).
Bacharach broke new ground stylistically and won another Grammy Award for his collaboration with his lyricist David on the smash Broadway musical, "Promises, Promises."
Although his first love remains writing, Bacharach feels performing is another bonus of his illustrious career. He is one artist who will always remain in the limelight no matter what endeavor he pursues.
Burt Bacharach's compositions include:
Classic Songs:
"Walk On By"
"Close To You"
"I Say A Little Prayer"
"Don't Make Me Over"
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again"
"Are You There With Another Girl"
"Message To Michael"
"The April Fools"
"There's Always Something There To Remind Me"
"What The World Needs Now Is Love"
"Wishin' And Hopin'"
"The Look Of Love"
"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself"
"The Story Of My Life"
"Magic Moments"
"Baby It's You"
"Make It Easy On Yourself"
"Any Day Now"
"Only Love Can Break A Heart"
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
"Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa"
"Blue On Blue"
"Wives and Lovers"
"This Guy's In Love With You"
"Trains and Boats and Planes"
"My Little Red Book"
"Do You Know The Way To San Jose"
"One Less Bell To Answer"
"Anyone Who Had A Heart"
"Finder Of Lost Loves"
"Here I Am"
"Tower Of Strength"
"A House Is Not A Home"
"The Windows Of The World"
"Making Love"
"Heartlight"
"On My Own"
"Love Always"
"Everchanging Times"
"Love Power"
"Sunny Weather Lover"
"Don't Say Goodbye Girl"
"God Give Me Strength"
Film Scores - A Sampling:
"What's New Pussycat"
"Casino Royale"
"After The Fox"
"Alfie"
"Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid"
"Arthur"
"Night Shift"
"Isn’t She Great"
Academy Awards:
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" - Best Song
"Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" - Best Score
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" - Best Song
Grammy Awards:
"Alfie" - Best Instrumental Arrangement
"Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" - Best Original Score For A Motion Picture
"Promises, Promises" - Best Score From An Original Cast Show Album
"That's What Friends Are For" - Song Of The Year
"I Still Have That Other Girl" — Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (with Elvis Costello).
The Trustees Award (with collaborator Hal David)
Recent Releases Featuring Bacharach’s Works:
"The Very Best of Burt Bacharach" (Rhino)
"20th Century Masters: The Best of Burt Bacharach" (Univerval/A&M)
"Painted From Memory" with Elvis Costello, (Mercury Records)
Recent Releases Featuring Bacharach’s Work cont.:
"The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection" (Rhino)
"Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night" (N2K Encoded Music)
"The Music of Burt Bacharach" (McCoy Tyner for Impulse!)
"Loungapalooza" (Hollywood Records)
"Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach" (Tzadik)
"The Very Best of Burt Bacharach" (Rhino)
Recent Movie Soundtracks Featuring Bacharach’s Works:
"Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (Hollywood Records) — featuring "What the World Needs Now Is Love"
"Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (Maverick) — "I’ll Never Fall In Love Again"
"Stuart Little" (Universal/Motown) — "Walkin’ Tall"
"Forrest Gump" (Epic) — "Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head", "What the World Needs Now Is Love"
"My Best Friend’s Wedding" (Sony) — "I Say A Little Prayer", "Wishin’ and Hopin’"
"The First Wives Club" (Work Group) — "Wives and Lovers"
"Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion" (Hollywood Records) — "Always Something There to Remind Me"
"Grace of My Heart" (Universal/MCA) — "God Give Me Strength"
"One Fine Day" (Columbia) — This Guy’s In Love with You"
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Contact: Linda Dozoretz/Allison Ravenscroft
(323) 656-4499
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