One of the greatest songwriters in pop music, Burt Bacharach, has died at the age of 94.
The celebrated American songwriter, singer, and producer wrote enduring hits like I Say A Little Prayer, The Look of Love, and What The World Needs Now Is Love.
Along with American lyricist Hal David, he also wrote a long catalog of movie themes, including What’s New, Pussycat, Alfie, and The Look Of Love, a huge hit for Dusty Springfield.
Bacharach died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes, his publicist Tina Brausam said.
Known for his melodies and sumptuous orchestral arrangementsBacharach was one of the most important composers of the 20th century.
Over the course of his career, he had 73 Top 40 hits in the US and 52 in the UK, working with artists such as Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Barbara Streisand, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin y Elvis Costello.
Bacharach won 6 Grammy Awards and was nominated 21 times. REUTERS
His music touched multiple genresfrom cool jazz and rhythm and blues, to bossa nova and traditional pop, but they had one thing in common: you could recognize them in a couple of notes.
It was a style inspired by his tutor, the French jazz musician Darius Milhaud.
“His remark was: ‘never be ashamed of something that is melodic, that one might whistle,'” recalled Bacharach, who met the French composer while studying at the Western California Academy of Music in the 1940s.
“So that was a valuable lesson I learned from him. I never forgot it. Never be afraid of something you might hiss.”
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