Burt Bacharach

Burt (F.) Bacharach
(b Kansas City, MO, 12 May 1928). American composer and pianist. He learnt the cello, drums and piano from an early age and developed a particular interest in jazz.

He played as a night club pianist, and then served in the army, touring as a pianist (1950–52). He went on to study music at the Mannes College of Music, New York, the New School of Social Research, McGill University, Montreal and gained a scholarship to the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, California. His composition teachers included Milhaud, Martinů and Cowell. Bacharach became an accompanist for Vic Damone, subsequently working with such performers as Polly Bergen, Steve Lawrence, the Ames Brothers and Paula Stewart, to whom he was married from 1953 to 1958. From 1958 to 1961 he toured internationally with Marlene Dietrich. Bacharach began writing arrangements and composing songs in the mid-1950s, working at the Brill Building and collaborating with the lyricist Hal David (b Brooklyn, NY, 25 May 1921), the brother of the lyricist Mack David, on a large number of popular songs, including The Story of My Life (1957), Magic Moments (1958), Anyone Who Had a Heart (1963), Walk on by (1964) and (There’s) Always something there to remind me (1964). Some 60 of their songs were recorded by their protégée Dionne Warwick and these, along with recordings by Dusty Springfield (notably I just don’t know what to do with myself and The Look of Love), remain among the best interpretations of the Bacharach-David repertory. Such songs, in addition to the Broadway musical Promises, Promises (1968), which was also staged to great success in Australia and Europe, made them one of the most successful songwriting teams in American music history.