Burt Bacharach was more than prolific, he was damn good. More than 1,000 artists sang his songs. Seventy of his songs became Billboard Top 40 hits.
Bacharach died February 8, in Los Angeles. He was 94.
The Song of the Day is paying tribute to the musicians, singers and songwriters who died in 2023.
Bacharach made music for seven decades. One of his earliest jobs was Marlene Dietrich’s accompanist for her night club act. He wrote some country hits in the early 1960s, including “Story of My Life” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”
He and Hal David hooked up in the late 1950s. They wrote more than 100 songs together in the early 1960s. They wrote 39 songs straight that reached the singles chart over the next decade. They discovered Dionne Warwick in 1961. Bacharach and David quit their collaboration after disagreements led to lawsuits. Warwick filed a lawsuit saying they abandoned her.
Carole Bayer Sager became his new writing partner and wife. They wrote several hits, including Warwick’s, “That’s What Friends Are For.”
Bacharach and David were a hot commodity when it came to writing for the movies. They won two Oscars for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” including “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Bacharach wrote the music and David wrote the lyrics for our Song of the Day, “Walk on By,” for Warwick in 1964. The song was the first time Bacharach used two baby grand pianos in a studio recording.
The song was supposed to be the B-side to “Any Old Time of Day.” Influential New York deejay Murray the K would only play the B-side. He thought it was the hit.
He was right. The song revived Warwick’s career. It reached number six on Billboard’s Hot 100.
Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. Audio production is by Simon Dunham, WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
