American musician and composer Burt Bacharach, winner of three Oscars and six Grammys, died today at the age of 94 of natural causes.
His death occurred in the vicinity of Los Angeles, surrounded by his relatives, according to news media in the United States.
Bacharach scored huge hits throughout a long career with songs like I say a little prayer y Do you know the way to San Josealthough the largest of them was raindrops on my headbelonging to the film Butch Cassidystarring Paul Newman and Robert Redford in 1969.
Their songs did not strictly belong to rock or pop, but during the 1960s and 1970s they massively shared radio programming with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
Bacharach wrote more than 500 songs, many performed by himself on high-pitched piano and subtly seductive horn arrangements; he wrote hits for singers ranging from Dionne Warwick to the Carpenters and more than 1,200 artists covered his songs, winning six Grammy Awards and three Oscars.
Our music-making process @ElvisCostello ????????
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— Burt Bacharach (@BurtBacharach) January 31, 2023
Born Burt Freeman Bacharach in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 12, 1928, he learned to play the piano after his family moved to New York.
Bacharach served in the US Army during the Korean War, but wore a tuxedo instead of a military uniform and played piano in officers’ clubs in US-occupied areas.
He later worked in New York clubs and became a pianist and arranger for singers such as Marlene Dietrich, Vic Damone, Polly Bergen, and Paula Stewart, who became his first wife. Eventually, he decided that he could write better songs than what was being submitted to the singers he worked for.
While great singers made their songs hits, Bacharach said he also enjoyed the stage and making a personal connection with smaller audiences.
He came to compose more than 700 soundtracks for films and series of all kinds, among which are Arthur, the seductive millionaire (1981), The babysitter (one episode) and Fargo (1996), My best friend’s Wedding (1997), Austin Powers: The Seductive Spy (1999), The diaryof Bridget Jones (2001), Alfie (2004), Doctor Who (2006) y Hellboy (2019).