Burt Bacharach is responsible for some of the most beloved melodies in pop history. His songwriting efforts earned him six Grammy Awards, three Oscars, and cuts from more than a thousand different artists.
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The pop maestro died on Wednesday (Feb. 8) at his home in Los Angeles. In the wake of his death, we are remembering his biggest contributions to the music world.
Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Perry Como are some of the many artists who have recorded his tunes. Below, we uncover more of Bacharach’s legacy.
5. “Magic Moments” (Perry Como)
“Magic Moments” is one of the first songs Bacharach wrote with his frequent collaborator Hal David. Perry Como recorded the song in 1958 as the B-side of “Catch a Falling Star.”
In the 2003 book, Burt Bacharach, Song by Song, author Serene Dominic commented on Bacharach’s genius in this song. “Combined with the quizzical bassoon, the whistling and the ghastly white shadings of the Ray Charles Singers, these distant recollections must seem like occurrences on another planet to later generations,” Dominic wrote.
4. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (BJ Thomas)
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” was featured in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Another Bacharach/David composition, the song almost went to a number of artists before BJ Thomas was tapped – namely, Ray Stevens and Bob Dylan.
The song went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song and earned the No. 23 spot on The American Film Institutes’ “100 Years…100 Songs” survey of top songs in American cinema.
3. “Close to You” (The Carpenters)
Richard Chamberlain and Dionne Warwick recorded “Close to You” prior to Karen Carpenter’s lulling version but, both failed to become a hit. It wasn’t until The Carpenters included it on their album of the same name in 1970 that it became a massive breakthrough.
2. “I Say a Little Prayer” (Aretha Franklin)
Perhaps Franklin’s most famous song, Bacharach and David penned “this song”I Say a Little Prayer” originally for Warwick but, Bacharach was unhappy with the final product. “I thought I blew it,” he said. “The tempo seemed too fast. I never wanted the record to come out. So what happens? They put out the record and it was a huge hit. I was wrong. Aretha just made a far better record.”
1. “Walk on By” (Dionne Warwick)
Finally, a Warwick song that stayed Warwick’s. “Walk on By” helped to solidify Warwick’s place in the music industry, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. After Warwick’s hit version, several artists recorded “Walk on By,” including Isaac Hayes and Seal.
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