Burt Bacharach obituary: Composer worked with stars including Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones during seven-decade career
Composer Burt Bacharach – perhaps best known for his Oscar-winning song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head – has died aged 94.
Hailed as one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, he wrote more than 500 songs, which were performed by more than 1,200 different artists, across his seven-decade career.
Despite numerous collaborations, it was the songs he wrote in the 1960s and 1970s with lyricist Hal David and performed by singer Dionne Warwick that achieved the greatest recognition, establishing all three as musical stars in their own rights.
Pic: Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock
His music – which was often described as ‘easy listening’ or ‘elevator music’ thanks to its catchy melodies – was inspired by an early love of jazz.
But fans of his work would argue that although instantly memorable and addictively hummable, the mixed meters, complex melodies, unusual chord progression and asymmetrical rhythms mean his work was far from ‘easy’.
An accomplished pianist as well as a composer, Bacharach arranged, conducted, and produced the majority of his own songs.
A six-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Academy Award winner, his composing skill earned him comparisons with American music greats including George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers.
Early collaborations included Perry Como and Jerry Butler, going on to work with stars including Frank Sinatra, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and the Carpenters.
Some of his biggest hits include the Oscar-winning Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, (They Long to Be) Close to You, Anyone Who Had A Heart, Always Something There To Remind Me, and What the World Needs Now Is Love.
Hollywood also played its part in amplifying his career, with many of his songs going on to become soundtracks to major films.
Pic: AP
The Look of Love, which was used in the 1967 spy parody of a James Bond film, Casino Royale, became a gold record for Dusty Springfield and Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes, and was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Many years later, the spoof movie would lead to cameo roles for Bacharach in all three Austin Powers films, with Mike Myers calling him a “lucky charm” for the films.
What’s New Pussycat? – which featured in the 1965 Woody Allen film of the same name – gave Welsh singer Tom Jones his second top 40 US hit and was also nominated for an Oscar for best original song the following year. It went on to be sung by stars including Barbra Streisand, The Four Seasons and The Wailers.
His mention in Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life was proof of his rightful place in pop culture, as well as his reputation as a ladies man.
‘I did not want to disappoint my mother’
Born Burt Freeman Bacharach on 12 May 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, his father was a newspaper columnist and his mother an amateur painter and pianist.
The family moved to New York when he was three. A Jewish family in a largely Catholic neighbourhood, Bacharach said in his 2013 autobiography, Anyone Who Had A Heart: My Life And Music, that he kept his faith to himself, and “didn’t want anybody to know about it”.
It was thanks to his mother’s love of music that Bacharach undertook piano lessons as a child. He hated them with a passion, but later told fans during gigs that he persevered as “I did not want to disappoint my mother”.
He went on to study music at Montreal’s McGill University, Quebec, Canada, before completing his training at Mannes School of Music, in New York, and at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California.
Not a fan of the classical music he would play in his classes, he would later sneak into jazz clubs as a teenager, with the style going on to influence his songwriting later in his career.
Drafted into the US army for two years in 1950 during the Korean War, and stationed in Germany, he got his first taste of working in music serving as a pianist at officer’s clubs and arranging music for dance bands.
Burt Bacharach pictured at a media event in Sydney in June 2007
Hitting it off with big band singer and actor Vic Damone during his time in the military, he went on to work with him as a pianist and conductor following his discharge.
Touring with Hollywood royalty
From there he began to play with other artists, including actress Marlene Dietrich who is said to have called working with him “seventh heaven,” according to the 1989 biography Marlene.
Looking back on his time with her in his autobiography, Bacharach wrote: “We went to Russia, Israel, the Middle East. Going with Marlene was like going in with a conquering army.”
As the Hollywood star’s musical director, arranging and conducting her nightclub shows, he gained greater public prominence, however their working relationship came to an end in the early 1960s, when Bacharach decided to devote himself to his own songwriting full time.
Looking back to the start of his career, Bacharach said he initially thought songwriting was “so startlingly simple, I thought I could write five or six a day”.
However, after a year or so of working, and “about a thousand” rejection letters, he concluded: “It’s hard to be simple.”
Without doubt, his most enduring and fruitful professional relationship was with lyricist Hal David, who he met in 1957. In the early and mid-sixties alone, the pair wrote over 100 songs together.
Work with Hal David and Dionne Warwick
But it was in 1961, when they discovered Dionne Warwick who was working as a session singer, that their partnership really took off.
During their time creating songs for Warwick, they wrote 39 of her chart hits including Don’t Make Me Over, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, Walk On By and Do You Know The Way To San Jose.
In 1969, Bacharach and David ventured into theatre, writing hit musical Promises, Promises, based on the 1960 film The Apartment. Their first and only Broadway show, it won them a Grammy.
Less auspicious was their soundtrack for the 1973 movie Lost Horizon, a massive flop which led to lawsuits between the pair and their professional breakup.
In turn, their parting of ways led Warwick to sue them for failure to honour their contract working with her on her music. It was finally settled out of court in 1979 for $5m (£4.1m).
In 1975, Bacharach worked briefly with David again, producing a Motown album together.
And in 1985, Warwick and Bacharach were reunited too, when she sang his hit That’s What Friends Are For.
Co-written with his then-wife Carole Bayer Sager, the track featured Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight and went on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year.
Warwick described her relationship with Bacharach at the time as: “Not just friends. We’re family.”
The three would work together once more in 2000, on songs for film Isn’t She Great, based on the life of Valley Of The Dolls novelist Jacqueline Susann.
In the 1980s, Bacharach’s music inspired many of the songs coming out of the post-punk era, and in the 1990s his work was introduced to a whole new generation of fans thanks to a lounge music resurgence, led by bands including Divine Comedy and The Mike Flowers Pops.
Named the “Sexiest Man Alive” by People Magazine in 2000, the noughties saw remixes and samples of his work high in the charts on numerous occasions.
Bacharach performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2008
An American Idol
A guest vocal coach on American Idol, an entire episode was also dedicated to his hits in 2006.
More modern collaborations include Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Noel Gallagher and hip-hop producer Dr Dre.
In June 2015, Bacharach played the main stage at Glastonbury Festival, 15 years after he had been forced to pull out of the event due to a shoulder injury.
Bacharach was awarded the Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honour in the Songwriters Hall of Fame In 1996.
Other honours include the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Musical Achievement from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Grammy lifetime achievement award, where he was proclaimed music’s greatest living composer, in 2006.
A performer as well as a composer, Bacharach played concerts all over the world throughout his career, often accompanied by large orchestras.
Not known for his political songs, he made an exception in 2018 with Live To See Another Day, dedicated to the survivors of gun violence and with proceeds going to a charity run by the families of some of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
In late 2022, a New York dance troop celebrated Bacharach’s music in an evening of dance titled The Look Of Love, named after one of his biggest hits.
Even his pastime of horseracing – he was an owner and breeder of thoroughbreds for over 30 years – was influenced by his love of music, naming one of his champion horses Heartlight No. One after his Neil Diamond collaboration, inspired by film E.T.
Bacharach was married four times, first to TV actress Paula Stuart between 1953 and 1958, then to actress Angie Dickinson between 1965 and 1980.
Bacharach and Dickinson had one daughter together, Nikki, who took her own life in 2007, aged 40, after battling with Asperger’s Syndrome from a young age.
His third marriage to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager lasted from 1982 to 1991, and they adopted a son, Christopher.
His fourth and final marriage was to former ski-instructor Jane Hanson, 32 years his junior, with whom he has a son and a daughter – Oliver and Raleigh.
Bacharach is survived by ex-wives Dickinson and Bayer Sager, his wife Jane, and children Christopher, Oliver and Raleigh.
Tim Davie has resigned as the BBC’s director-general after five years in the role.
The chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness has also resigned.
It comes as the corporation is expected to apologise on Monday following concerns about impartiality, including how a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama.
White House and others react to resignations – latest
Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs. Pic: PA
The concerns regard clips spliced together from sections of the US president’s speech on 6 January 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell” in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election.
Mr Davie sent a message to staff on Sunday afternoon, saying it was “entirely” his decision to quit.
Admitting the BBC “is not perfect”, he said: “We must always be open, transparent and accountable.”
“While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.
“Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How ‘Teflon Tim’ was forced to resign
Ms Turness told staff the “ongoing controversy” around the edition of Panorama “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love.
“The buck stops with me – and I took the decision to offer my resignation to the director-general last night.
“In public life, leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down. While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”
Donald Trump boarding Air Force One last week. Pic: Reuters
BBC Chair, Samir Shah called it “a very difficult day”, thanking Ms Turness and crediting her with having “transformed” the corporation’s news output.
Mr Trump said Mr Davie and Ms Turness were “very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election”. In a post on Truth Social, he called it “a terrible thing for democracy!”
Mr Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, posted a triumphant two-word reaction on X, using the drinking term “shot” to describe reports that the US president was “going to war with fake news”, referring to the BBC programme, and describing Mr Davie’s resignation as a “chaser” – a drink taken after the shot to soften the taste of the alcohol.
In an interview published on Friday, she had described the BBC as “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine”.
Farage: ‘BBC’s last chance’
In a message posted on social media, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for leading the BBC through a period of “significant change”.
She called the organisation “one of our most important national institutions”, adding that “now, more than ever, the need for trusted news and high-quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life, and our place in the world”.
Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said it was “right that Tim Davie and Deborah Turness have finally taken responsibility and resigned from the BBC”.
She said: “The culture at the BBC has not yet changed. BBC Arabic must be brought under urgent control. The BBC’s US and Middle East coverage needs a full overhaul.”
Ms Badenoch said it “should not expect the public to keep funding it through a compulsory licence fee unless it can finally demonstrate true impartiality”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Sunday’s resignations “must be an opportunity for the BBC to turn a new leaf, rebuild trust and not give in to the likes of [Reform UK leader] Nigel Farage who want to destroy it”.
Mr Farage said the pair’s resignations must be “the start of wholesale change” at the BBC.
He urged the ministers to appoint “somebody with a record of coming in and turning companies and their cultures around”, preferably someone “from the private sector who has run a forward-facing business and understands PR”.
Mr Farage said: “This is the BBC’s last chance. If they don’t get this right, there will be vast numbers of people refusing to pay the licence fee.”
As well as the Panorama show on Mr Trump, the BBC has also been accused of failing to maintain its neutrality in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and over trans issues.
Read more on the BBC:
Glastonbury complaints partly upheld
Gaza documentary ‘breached Ofcom rules’
Wallace responds to Masterchef sacking
Who are BBC’s highest earners?
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) called for an independent inquiry into potential bias at the BBC, saying “growing bias” had been evident for “many years across a wide array of issues”.
The group claimed that, under Mr Davie and Ms Turness, the BBC had “often served as a mouthpiece for Hamas” and “gaslit” its audience “by claiming to be a bastion of ethics and truthful journalism”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ex-Panorama staffer: Trump edit ‘worst crime imaginable’
Marcus Ryder, a former executive producer of current affairs at the BBC, called the resignations “really sad”, adding that “it shows the pressure and ethical climate that the BBC is operating in, that this edit can actually bring down the director- general”.
Dame Melanie Dawes, chief executive of Ofcom, thanked Mr Davie, saying he had led the organisation “at a time of great change and challenge”.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that a memo by a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee raised the issue, as well as other concerns about impartiality, in the summer.
Dealing with controversies
Mr Davie took the role in 2020, replacing Tony Hall.
During his time in charge of the broadcaster, he has dealt with a number of high-profile controversies within the corporation.
They include a row over former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker’s sharing of his political views, top presenter Huw Edwards being convicted of making indecent images of children, and the BBC’s broadcasting of Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury performance.
There were also controversies surrounding some of its top shows, such as MasterChef and its former presenter, Gregg Wallace, as well as Strictly Come Dancing.
Mr Davie, who had a career in marketing and finance before joining the BBC’s marketing team in 2005, was previously acting director-general from November 2012 until April 2013.
He said his departure will not be immediate and that he is “working through” timings to ensure an “orderly transition” over the coming months.
A person familiar with the situation said Davie’s decision had left the BBC board stunned by the move.
Former Top Gear and Fifth Gear presenter Quentin Willson has died.
The Leicester-born car dealer and motoring journalist joined the BBC show in 1991, appearing alongside the likes of Jeremy Clarkson and James May, until the original format was cancelled 10 years later.
He then moved to Channel 5 to join its rival motoring show, Fifth Gear, and did not rejoin when Top Gear relaunched in 2002.
The 68-year-old died on Saturday following a short battle with lung cancer, his family said.
Pic: PA
In a statement, they described him as a “true national treasure” who “brought the joy of motoring, from combustion to electric, into our living rooms”.
The broadcaster created and presented both Britain’s Worst Drivers and The Car’s The Star.
He went on to perform on Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, where he continues to hold the lowest score in the show’s history.
He was also an avid “consumer champion”, having advocated for a number of campaigns, including helping to freeze fuel duty with his FairFuel campaign.
He recently worked “tirelessly” to make electric vehicles affordable through his FairCharge campaign, his family said.
The statement continued: “Long before it was fashionable, he championed the GM EV1 and the promise of electric cars, proving he was always ahead of the curve.
“Much-loved husband to Michaela, devoted father to Mercedes, Max and Mini, and cherished grandfather to Saskia, Xander and Roxana.
“Quentin will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him personally and professionally.
“The void he has left can never be filled. His knowledge was not just learned but lived; a library of experience now beyond our reach.”
Davina McCall has revealed she has had breast cancer, nearly a year after she had surgery to remove a brain tumour.
The TV presenter revealed the diagnosis in a video posted to her Instagram on Saturday, saying she was “very angry” when she found out, but now is in a “much more positive place” after undergoing surgery to remove the tumour three weeks ago.
“I found a lump a few weeks ago. It came and went but then I was working on The Masked Singer and Lorraine, the TV show, and Lorraine Kelly had put signs on the backs of all the doors saying ‘check your breasts’ and every time I went for a wee, I did that,” she said.
“It was still there, and then one morning I saw myself in the mirror and thought ‘I’m going to get that looked at’. I had a biopsy. I found out it was indeed breast cancer and I had it taken out in a lumpectomy nearly three weeks ago.”
McCall, 58, said the “lump” was “very, very small” and was discovered early.
Davina McCall said she had surgery to remove the “lump” three weeks ago. Pic: PA
“I am so relieved to have had it removed and to know that it hasn’t spread. My lymph nodes were clear, I didn’t have any removed, and all I’m going to do now is have five days of radiotherapy in January as kind of an insurance policy,” she explained.
The former Big Brother presenter thanked her medical team, family and fiance for their support, before adding: “It’s been a lot. I was very angry when I found out, but I let go of that, and I feel in a much more positive place now.
“I think my message is: get checked if you’re worried. Check yourself regularly. If you are due a mammogram, then get it done.
“I have dense breasts and I had a mammogram in August, and I was postponing the ultrasound; I just couldn’t find time to do it. Don’t do that. Get the ultrasound.”
Her breast cancer diagnosis came nearly a year after McCall revealed that she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.
McCall revealed last November that she had a benign brain tumour. Pic: PA
She said in a video posted in November last year that chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
In recent years, McCall has spoken regularly on women’s health and the effects of menopause in a bid to break taboos around the subject. Her 2022 book, Menopausing, won book of the year at the British Book Awards.
McCall’s brain cancer was found after she was offered a health check-up as part of her menopause advocacy work. Pic: PA
The same year, McCall fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, and told the BBC that perimenopausal symptoms caused her difficulties multi-tasking and she considered that she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s disease at the time.
In 2023, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to broadcasting.
The presenter has previously raised money for Cancer Research UK by running the Race For Life in honour of her late sister, Caroline Baday, who died from lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 50.
Read more from Sky News:
Kendrick Lamar leads Grammy nods
Celebrity Traitors star reveals double-bluff
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She lives with her fiance, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and presents a weekly lifestyle podcast with him, called Making The Cut.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024