Legendary composer and 'I Say A Little Prayer' hitmaker Burt Bacharach dies aged 94
9 February 2023, 14:59 | Updated: 9 February 2023, 17:30
Legendary composer Burt Bacharach has died aged 94.
Bacharach died of natural causes on Wednesday, at his home in Los Angeles, California, his publicist Tina Brausam has announced.
Famed for his orchestral and pop compositions, the writer and musician was best known for hits including 'I Say a Little Prayer', classic Quality Street theme 'Magic Moments' and 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head'.
Considered one of the most prominent composers of 20th-century pop music, the American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist, was a multi-disciplinary talent.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1928 the musician was raised in New York before moving to Los Angeles in his later years.
A six-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Academy Award winner, Bacharach scored 73 Top 40 hits in the US and 52 in the UK during his career.
During the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, Bacharach became known as one of pop's greatest orchestral composers, pen hits for a slew of pop icons including Dionne Warwick.
Classically trained at schools in Montreal, New York and California, Bacharach songwriting breakthrough came in 1957 when he began collaborating with fellow musician and composer Hal David.
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The pair went on to score back-to-back UK No 1s with 'The Story of My Life' performed by Michael Holliday and Magic Moments by Perry Como.
Dione Warwick became one of Bacharach’s longest and most loyal collaborators, crafting hits including Walk on By, Do You Know the Way to San Jose?, Anyone Who Had a Heart, A House is Not a Home (which later became a hit for Luther Vandross) and I Say a Little Prayer.
Things, however, turned sour when Warwick went on to successfully sue Bacharach when he and David ceased collaborating, leaving the pop icon without any material.
