Burt Bacharach, the man behind ‘Magic Moments’ and ‘Walk On By,’ died at 94 of natural causes at his California home
Burt Bacharach, Oscar-, Grammy-, and Tony-winning composer of ‘easy listening’ tunes, has passed away in Los Angeles, his publicist confirmed on Thursday. Bacharach was 94 and died at home of natural causes,
Born to a Jewish family in Kansas City in 1928, Bacharach grew up in New York and studied classical music at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He started working with lyricist Hal David in 1957, producing their first US pop hit ‘Magic Moments’ for singer Perry Como.
“Music softens the heart, makes you feel something if it’s good, brings in emotion that you might not have felt before,” Bacharach told AP in a 2018 interview. “It’s a very powerful thing if you’re able to do it, if you have it in your heart to do something like that.”
Bacharach would end up with over 70 songs on the US Top 40 charts. Among them were ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ performed by Aretha Franklin, ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ sung by Tom Jones, and ‘The Look of Love,’ a hit for Dusty Springfield.
He wrote a lot for Dionne Warwick, including ‘Walk on By,’ ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose?’ and ‘A House is Not a Home.’
A failed musical adaptation in 1973 ended Bacharach’s partnership with Hal David, and the composer withdrew to his summer home and refused to work. Both David and Warwick sued him. He eventually reconciled with Warwick in 1985, producing ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ to raise money for AIDS research.
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