R.I.P. Burt Bacharach

[Big Magilla]

Generational to be sure, but there are so many of his songs I find it impossible to get out of my head, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose", which indeed I do, and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", topping the list.

[Sonic Youth]

Years ago when I was a young wise-ass, I called him Burt Bach-a-hack. In fact, I called him that many years ago on this discussion board, for which I was roundly chided. Sorry, but his songs sounded like ad jingles to me. Over the years (and with a little help from Elvis Costello), I learned to listen more closely. And I could hear it: the intricate structures and melodies, that distinct musical identity that was unmistakably his. But you know what? No matter which genres he “dabbled” in, they STILL sounded like ad jingles to me. He may have been contemporary for his time, but appreciation of his work appears to be VERY generational. His music may have bridged the generation gap at the time, but I’m not sure it did as much beyond that.

OTOH, it was with his collaborations with Dionne Warwick that he transcended himself. Together they built a substantial song catalogue, and he deserves immortality for at least that. And even songs that are less compelling to me are swimming in my head right now. IOW, my opinion really doesn’t matter, does it. He had his own identifiable sound, and the only reason “Bacharach-sequel” isn’t commonly used is because it’s hard to say.

[Mister Tee]

Bacharach did have an interesting career -- we probably think of him mostly for his ballads, but, as dan notes, he straddled genres a bit: writing a number of pop/rock hits in the early 60s (Baby It's You, Tower of Strength, The Man Who Shot LIberty Valance, What's New Pussycat?), and his score for Promises, Promises, along with Hair, brought contemporary pop to a Broadway that otherwise was pretty much limited to Golden Age Rodgers & Hammerstein/Lerner & Loewe.

So many songs to choose from: Alfie, Make It Easy on Yourself, Walk on By, This Guy's in Love with You (personal favorite), I'll Never Fall in Love Again, Raindrops, Arthur's Theme... If you don't like ballads, he's probably not, overall, your guy. But his impact on American pop is undeniable.

[Big Magilla]

Obituary here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/burt- ... 50d779fe86

[danfrank]

Winner of 3 Oscars and nominated for 3 others, this man’s music was ubiquitous while I was growing up in the 60s. During an era when music was radically changing, his songs somewhat bridged the gap between the generations. Dionne Warwick’s version of his Walk On By is one of the great pop songs of that era. Rest in peace.