Legendary composer Burt Bacharach died yesterday at age 94.
His songs could fit anywhere from Hollywood to Broadway, and they have never faded away. He has often been described as the “unapologetic epitome of cool.”
During his illustrious career, he scored over 50 chart hits in the United States and the United Kingdom, with artists including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, and The Beatles all recording his songs.
The winner of three Oscars, two Golden Globes, and six competitive Grammy Awards, Burt Bacharach was hailed as music’s “greatest living composer” when he accepted the Grammy Lifetime Achievement honor in 2008.
My favorite quotations from Burt Bacharach:
Music breeds its own inspiration. You can only do it by doing it. You may not feel like it, but you push yourself. It’s a work process. Or just improvise. Something will come.
Never be ashamed to write a melody that people remember.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love, It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.
The groovy thing about pop music is that it’s wide open. Anything can happen.
For me, it’s about the peaks and valleys of where a record can take you. You can tell a story and be able to be explosive one minute, then get quiet as kind of a satisfying resolution.
It wasn’t about writing songs to dance to. It was about recording music that felt right. I wanted to make it palatable. There are no guarantees.
You shouldn’t hold on to the past too much, even the good stuff.
Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing anyone can learn.
My favorite song:
Joanne Guidoccio 