The Burt Biography

[An Enormous BB Fan]

I never saw it reviewed, I never saw it in a store, nothing.

Whatever happened to it and why?

[Blair N. Cummings]

The only biography I know of is entitled "Bacharach: Maestro! The Life of a Pop Genius" by Michael Brocken and published in paperback by Chrome Dreams, a U.K. house. I found it through Amazon where it should still be available.

[mark]

Three books about Burt came out in short succession:

Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now by Robin Platts

Burt Bacharach: Song By Song by Serene Dominic

Bacharach: Maestro! The Life of a Pop Genius by Michael Brocken

These are three very different books. Platts' is a concise overview of Burt's career that focuses on the writing of the songs. Dominic's is a witty critical analysis of virtually every Bacharach composition, from his first to his most recent. While not strictly a biography, Brocken's book is almost scholarly in tone and features a comprehensive index as well as a wealth of bibliographic information.

The only review I came across was one of Brocken's book in Mojo Magazine, which was somewhat critical of his academic approach.

I don't think it's a coincidence that all three books focus more on the music than the man. For someone who has lived his life in the public spotlight, Burt has been reluctant to discuss his personal life in any detail. His focus is almost always on his current project and the stories you do get about his youth or personal life or his thoughts on the creative process are usually the same well-worn anecdotes he trots out for interviews. Until Burt decides to write an autobiography, I don't think we're going to get beyond the ready-made quotes and oft-repeated stories he favors with the press.

[ron]

I'd rather see Burt continue to do exactly what he's doing - focusing on the future and continuing to add to his body of work. While it would certainly be interesting to learn more in terms of what influenced his creativity and what has motivated him to keep on doing what he does so well - any additional information on his personal life would probably be geared toward the "sensational" aspects of his life and career. Should he ever feel the need to share this "stuff" - I hope he decides to sit down with a trustworthy biographer for a few days and after that - continues to focus his energy on composing and performing!

[mark]

You're right, Ron, that much of the general interest in a Burt biography would have to do with sensational, lascivious details. While I'm curious about some of those details (wouldn't you like to know if there were any sparks between Burt and Marlene Dietrich?), I'm more interested in his observations about the creative process--who and what inspires him, why he writes the way he does, how he chooses one arrangement over another, what changes he might make to old recordings if he had them to do over again, what criteria he uses to judge his compositions, etc.

In most interviews I've seen, Burt is remarkably inarticulate when discussing the songwriting process. I wonder sometimes whether it's due to his orientation toward the future rather than the past or if he simply isn't a verbal person--he communicates via his music but has a difficult time translating those feelings into words.