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.
Entertainment
‘An enigma’ to the end: John le Carré’s son on his father – and how his legacy lives on
Writing 26 books and a memoir in his lifetime, John le Carré is widely considered to be one of the best spy novelists of all time.
His son, Simon Cornwell, told Sky News: “I think there was only one thing that was more important to him than his family and that was his writing.”
Rory Keenand and Mat Betteridge in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Pic: Johan Persson
Tom Hiddleston returns in season two of The Night Manager. Pic: BBC/Ink Factory/Des Willie
First gaining attention in 1963 with his breakout novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, cementing his reputation 10 years later with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, his work is now enjoying a resurgence.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold has been adapted for the stage for the first time, with confirmation of a TV series to follow, while another of his works, The Night Manager, premieres its second season starring Tom Hiddleston in the new year.
There are further productions waiting in the wings, plus an unfinished le Carré play with the potential to be developed.
And archives of le Carré’s work – containing over 1,200 boxes of material – have gone on display at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford.
Writing under a pen name, le Carré, who was born David Cornwell, died in December 2020.
His elder sons, Simon and Stephen, now manage the film, TV and stage rights of his work through their studio The Ink Factory, while his youngest son, Nick, expands the George Smiley universe.
(R-L) Nick Harkaway, John Le Carré, and Simon, Stephen and Tim Cornwell. Pic: Clare Cornwell
Smiley’s continuation ‘could have gone horribly wrong’
One of le Carré’s most well-known creations, Smiley was the antidote to James Bond – bespectacled, balding and a little out of shape – and a recurring character in le Carré’s books.
Simon says Nick, who has two more Smiley books in the pipeline, was “taking on a big risk” developing the character, but insists, “he is the only person who could have done it and done it that well”.
He goes on: “He could find my father’s voice… he grew up talking every day to my dad, as we did, and he just knows at an instinctive level what’s important…
“There are so many ways in which it could have gone horribly wrong, and it went brilliantly right.”
Nick Harkaway with his first Smiley continuation novel, Karla’s Choice. Pic: AP
‘A family enterprise’
Explaining how they all work together – calling it a “family enterprise in the best of ways” – Simon explains: “A lot of authors, when they die, they leave very strict instructions to their children, their estate as to how things should be managed and lots of rules and restrictions and everything else. My dad didn’t do that.”
Le Carré’s fourth son, Tim, sadly died aged 59 in 2022, shortly after editing a collection of his father’s letters, titled A Private Spy.
Le Carré is by no means the only author whose legacy lives on via others.
Announcing a staggered retirement, Lee Child passed his hit creation Jack Reacher on to his younger brother Andrew in 2020.
PG Wodehouse’s much-loved Jeeves and Wooster stories have been rewritten this Christmas by celebrity fans including Frank Skinner and Alan Titchmarsh, half a century after his death.
Daniel Craig at the No Time To Die world premiere in 2021. Pic: Reuters
Staying part of the conversation is key
While Ian Fleming’s James Bond has been continued by 15 authors so far, and spilling into the young adult genre, capturing a whole new generation of readers.
Mark Edlitz, intellectual expert and author of The Many Lives Of James Bond, told Sky News such continuations are essential to the survival of the work.
Author Mark Edlitz has written about the Bond continuation novels
“We have seen all these detectives and spies who don’t have a movie series or a TV series to bolster their eyeballs, and then they fade from public view.
“These books and movies help keep the author’s work present and viable and part of the public conversation.”
Sarah Baxter, senior contracts advisor for The Society of Authors, says remaining relevant and visible has another big benefit too.
“That kind of partnership can go on to give a whole new lease of life to works that may have been written many, many years ago, and it can go on to generate a lot of income for a literary estate.”
Le Carré – an enigma, even to his family, to the end. Pic: AP
‘An enigma’
More than 60 million copies of Le Carré’s books have been sold worldwide, with new adaptations likely to boost those sales further.
But Simon Cornwell says the investment in his father’s work is about more than just profits.
“We became very, very close as a family because he was very keen to be a proper dad and we were working with him and his material as well, so it was particularly towards the end of his life. It was a beautiful, thrilling thing.”
A master storyteller, the moral ambiguity of the fictional world he constructed reflected back on to its creator.
Simon says: “He remained an enigma. I think in some ways he was probably an enigma to himself…
“He was an extraordinary man to be close with, but do you ever understand somebody like that? Probably not.”
His work more widespread than ever, but the man himself – still a mystery.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is at @sohoplace in London’s West End to 21 February before embarking on a UK Tour.
John le Carré: Tradecraft is at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford until 6 April.
Entertainment
Primal Scream says video with alleged antisemitic imagery shown at gig was meant to provoke debate
Primal Scream have said a video containing alleged antisemitic imagery was a “piece of art” and was intended to “provoke debate, not hate”.
Warning: This article contains alleged antisemitic imagery.
The Scottish rock band have been reported to the Metropolitan Police for showing a film at their Roundhouse concert in Camden, London on Monday which appeared to include imagery of the Star of David entwined with a swastika.
The force is now assessing the report.
‘Film is a piece of art’
Primal Scream said in a statement on Instagram: “The film is a piece of art. It clearly draws from history to question where the actions of current world governments sit in that context. It is meant to provoke debate, not hate.
“In a free, pluralistic and liberal society freedom of expression is a right which we choose to exercise.”
Primal Scream, founded by frontman Bobby Gillespie in 1982, were playing a 25-year anniversary show for their album XTRMNTR.
As the group performed Swastika Eyes, pictures of political figures including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared behind them, showing what appeared to be the Star of David combined with a swastika in their eyes.
The video from the gig that sparked the report to police
Venue ‘appalled’
The Roundhouse has apologised, saying it was “appalled” that “antisemitic imagery was displayed”, adding it was done entirely without its knowledge.
It said in a statement: “We deeply regret that these highly offensive images were presented on our stage and unequivocally apologise to anyone who attended the gig and to the wider Jewish community.”
It added: “Our organisation absolutely condemns antisemitism in every form.”
Call for ‘urgent investigation’
The Community Security Trust (CST), which provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK, said it had reported the band to police and called on the venue to carry out an “urgent investigation”.
In a statement, a CST spokesperson said: “CST is appalled by the grossly antisemitic image displayed at Primal Scream. Entwining a Star of David with a swastika implies that Jews are Nazis and risks encouraging hatred of Jews.
“There needs to be an urgent investigation by the venue and the promoter about how this happened, and we have reported this to the police.”
What have police said?
Responding to that report, a Met Police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, 10 December, we received a report in relation to a video shown on stage during a concert at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm Road, Camden on Monday, 8 December.
“It is being assessed by officers.”
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‘Unadulterated hatred’
The charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Nazi swastika represents the ideology that inspired people to industrially slaughter six million innocent Jewish men, women and children by bullet, gas and any other means available.
“To visually combine that with the Star of David – the pre-eminent symbol of Judaism – is absolutely sickening and totally inexcusable.
“This isn’t art. This isn’t edgy. This isn’t political statement. It is unadulterated hatred and a clear breach of the international definition of antisemitism.
“We will be writing to the Camden Roundhouse and our legal team is examining the footage to consider further steps.”
Author Joanna Trollope has died aged 82, her family has said.
Trollope was one of the nation’s most widely read authors, having published more than 30 novels during a career that began in the 1970s.
Her novels include “Aga sagas” The Rector’s Wife, Marrying The Mistress and Daughters-in-Law.
In a statement, Trollope’s daughters Antonia and Louise said: “Our beloved and inspirational mother Joanna Trollope has died peacefully at her Oxfordshire home, on December 11, aged 82.”
Trollope with Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. Pic: PA
Her literary agent James Gill said: “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.
“Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and – of course – her readers.”
Trollope was born in Gloucestershire in 1943. She won a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in the 1960s.
After graduating, she joined the Foreign Office before training as a teacher and then turning to writing full-time in 1980.
The author was best known for her novels set in rural middle England and centred around domestic life and relationships.
Her early historical romances were written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey, before she turned to contemporary fiction.
Her work tackled a range of topics from affairs, blended families and adoption, to parenting and marital breakdown.
Trollope with shortlisted novels for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Pic: PA
Trollope also took part in The Austen Project, which saw six of Jane Austen’s novels retold by contemporary writers.
She wrote the first book in the series, Sense & Sensibility, published in 2013.
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In 1996, Trollope was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature and later made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019.
She won the Romantic Novel of the Year in 1980 for the book Parson Harding’s Daughter and in 2010 was given a lifetime achievement award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) for her services to romance.
She went on to chair a number of award ceremonies, including the Costa Book Awards, formerly the Whitbread Prize, as well as the BBC National Short Story Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction.
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