Born May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, Burt Bacharach met Hal David, born May 25, 1921, in the Brill Building, a New York City office building. From there, an award-winning partnership grew.
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While the duo is largely associated with Dionne Warwick today, their first hit together was “The Story of My Life,” recorded by Marty Robbins. The song became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Country chart in 1957 and portended big things for the tag team.
Their next hit was “Magic Moments,” recorded by Perry Como. The success of those songs marked the first time a songwriting duo had ever earned back-to-back No. 1 hits in the U.K.
Early Time Apart
In the early ’60s, Bacharach found himself working with a different writing partner, Bob Hilliard. They wrote “Please Stay,” recorded by the Drifters, along with a few other hits songs.
Bacharach and David, though, got back together in 1963 and formed a more formal writing partnership, earning success again with the 1963 song, “Make It Easy on Yourself,” recorded by Jerry Butler.
Dionne Warwick
Prior to getting back together with David, Bacharach had discovered burgeoning young talent Warwick in 1961. That year, Bacharach, Warwick, and her sister Dee Dee released the single, “Move It on the Backbeat,” under the name Burt and the Backbeats. The lyrics were written by Mack David, Hal’s brother.
The next year, Dionne released her first solo hit, “Don’t Make Me Over.” Bacharach brought Warwick to Hal David and the three got to work.
Over the next two decades, Warwick recorded Bacharach and David songs, selling some 12 million copies and garnering 22 Top 40 singles. Some of the biggest include “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.”
More Bacharach and David
In 1967, the duo wrote “The Look of Love” recorded but Dusty Springfield and featured in the James Bond film Casino Royale. In 1968, the jazz saxophonist Stan Getz recorded a number of Bacharach and David songs for his album, What The World Needs Now: Stan Getz Plays Burt Bacharach and Hal David. That same year the two worked on a Broadway musical, Promises, Promises, with producer David Merrick.
That brought the song “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” which hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to Warwick’s recording. Also in 1968, the duo’s song “This Guy’s in Love with You” was recorded by Herb Alpert and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1969, the two won an Oscar for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They won a Grammy for Promises, Promises and were nominated for a Tony. Bacharach and David were nominated for more Oscars later, too, for the Tom Jones song “What’s New Pussycat?” “The Look of Love” by Dusty Springfield and the Warwick song, “Alfie.”
Controversy and Split
Their partnership continued for a few more years, including in 1973 when the two wrote the score for the musical movie Lost Horizon. However, this work led to myriad lawsuits between David and Bacharach. This, in turn, hurt their relationship with Warwick who felt abandoned when the duo’s partnership dissolved.
Solo Work
Bacharach released several more solo projects including the 1977 album, Futures. He and David reunited briefly in 1975 for the Stephanie Mills album, For The First Time, from Motown, but nothing materialized as it had in the past.
In his solo career, David worked with artists including Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias.
2011 and Beyond
In 2011, the duo won the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, given to them by the Library of Congress. That marked the first time a songwriting team earned the honor. In 2019, What the World Needs Now: Words by Hal David aired on television, hosted by Bette Midler.
The two are remembered today for their timeless music. David died on September 1, 2012, at 91, while Bacharach passed on February 8, 2023, at the age of 94.
Photo by JMEnternational/Redferns
