The American composer Burt Bacharach is dead. He died on Wednesday at the age of 94 surrounded by his family, according to his spokeswoman Tina Brausam German press agency announced on Thursday. She cited “natural causes” as the cause of death. At the age of 91 he was still on the stage in Munich.
Bacharach, who was also an arranger, conductor and producer, and even sang himself at times, placed more than 70 tracks in the top 40 of the US charts during his career. His evergreens include songs like “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”, “Walk On By”, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” or “That’s What Friends Are For”. He has worked for artists such as Cher, the Beatles, Aretha Franklin and Isaac Hayes, among others. “The music is created in my head,” he said.
And for that he was celebrated and awarded several times with Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes. In 2012, then-US President Barack Obama presented him with the prestigious Gershwin Prize after he was honored by King Carl XVI of Sweden. Gustaf had already received the Polar Prize, the unofficial Nobel Prize for music.
The multiple Oscar and Grammy winner was considered the favorite composer of beach boy Brian Wilson. Frank Zappa was also enthusiastic about the elegance and lightness that he brought to the charts in the 1960s. The German icon Marlene Dietrich also accompanied Bacharach for several years.