Burt Bacharach, a renowned songwriter, is credited with writing several well-known songs, including I Say A Little Prayer, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, Love Is What the World Needs Now, and I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.
Bacharach created hundreds of songs over the course of his long career, many of which we have all at some point danced or sung along to. The top 40 American charts were reached by 73 of his songs in total.
Tragically, the renowned songwriter passed away on February 8th at the age of 94. Bacharach died as a result of natural causes.
Born and raised in New York, Bacharach was a classically trained musician. He had also served in the US Army.
However, he didn’t become as well-known as we know him today until he met fellow lyricist Hal David in 1957. Together, they produced Marty Robbins’ The Story of My Life (which featured Michael Holliday in the UK hit version) and Perry Como’s Magic Moments. Both songs are a top-selling record in the UK.
History, as they say, is what happened after that. David and Bacharach went on to write several other number-one songs after the success of their first two singles, including I Say a Little Prayer by Aretha Franklin, What’s New Pussycat? by Tom Jones, The Look of Love by Dusty Springfield, and Make It Easy on Yourself by the Walker Brothers.
According to the Guardian, the soundtrack for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which included the song Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head by BJ Thomas, won an Oscar for best original score as well as a Grammy.
Bacharach married four times over the course of his life. In 1993, he married Jane Hansen, who would become his fourth wife.
Together with himself, three of Hansen’s four kids live. In 2007, at the age of 40, Nikki Bacharach, the singer’s daughter, committed suicide.
