The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Thanks for that, Vincent. It will be great to see some pictures of them all from the opening night. I'm sure BB will be surprised to learn that his birthday has moved from the 12th to the 29th and that he's somehow gained another year!

Regarding question No.6, legend has it that when Florence Greenberg heard Dionne Warwick's demo she said, "Hate the song, love the singer", or something similar. No, it's never been a favourite of mine either and whether it's sung by the Shirelles or the Merseybeats it always sounds insipi...

Did anyone else catch the harmonic sequence used again in 'Tears at the Birthday Party'?

I remember as early as 1964 that Bacharach was starting to become a household name in the UK, owing to the glut of covers by homegrown artists that were taking his songs regularly into the Top 10 and making his music such a staple of mid-60s British radio. For a non-performing composer to attain suc...

Yes, it's been mentioned here before but it's the line, "Bacharach is no music revolutionary", that beggars belief. Clive Barnes was steeped in the theatre and opera and I don't think he had a particular interest in popular music, as that absurd statement all too clearly demonstrates.

Steveo, it was the allusion to the Beatles, not known for their instrumental pieces and innovative jazz harmony, in your post that naturally made me think of songwriters or "tunesmiths" as you call them. There's no denying that Mancini was a terrific composer/arranger and being someone ste...

Of course it's all a matter of opinion but I'd put Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin well above Henry Mancini in the league of great 20th century popular composers. I have to say when the presenter at the start of the BBC Big Band show uttered the words, "....featuring...

Those of us who spend quite a bit of time in Germany will appreciate the irony of a town in the Fatherland called Bacharach because, believe me, the composer of the same name means nothing or next to nothing to most Germans I've come into contact with over the years. A browse through music stores in...

Sadly, it's now very common for revivals of hit shows to feature hit songs by the same songwriter (s) which weren't in the original production. A few years ago I went to see a new production in London of Cole Porter's legendary 'Anything Goes', which in 1934 introduced to the world 'You're the Top',...

You know, Sara, I'd made the same assumption about Dionne's recording of this unique song as the arrangement and production are just so lifeless and as flat as the proverbial pancake. It just goes to show that the combination of Dionne Warwick with a composition and arrangement by Bacharach didn't a...

I found a non-medley version by the Carpenters of 'Knowing When to Leave' on Youtube and I'm wondering what collection of theirs it's on. The arrangement is essentially the same as the one on their Bacharach & David Medley track, although it's quite a bit slower and has a long instrumental fade....

If you live in the UK and own a TV you'll no doubt by now be familiar with a remarkably catchy song that accompanies a BBC ad for the television license. It's called 'Push a Little Button' and was a single in 1966 for a young lady called Ninette. The real fascinating fact is that not only was the so...

Re Andy Williams and his voice being too smooth for Bacharach, a bit like Jack Jones, there are songs of BB's which suit his voice perfectly and, indeed, his version of 'Wives and Lovers' is terrific and with a stunning arrangement. Sadly it hasn't been posted on Youtube yet. It's from the 1964 albu...

Webb would be surprised to learn that he wrote Gentle on my Mind, one of the early Glen Campbell hits that he can't claim responsibility for! Most of Webb's output up to about 1970 betrays Bacharach's influence, especially the 5th Dimension albums, after that he set-out on an ill fated career as a s...

Yes, it's on Rhino's 3 disc compilation 'Magic Moments: The Definitive Burt Bacharach Collection' released in February last year. As for the collection as a whole, don't take much notice of the word 'definitive' in the title as there's no 'Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa', 'Message to Michael/Martha', ...