Oscar-winning songwriter Burt Bacharach dies aged 94
Burt Bacharach, the peerless Oscar and Grammy-winning songwriter and composer responsible for such all-time classic pop hits like Walk on By, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, Close to You and so many more, has passed away.
His publicist Tina Brausam confirmed the news to the Associated Press on Thursday, although no cause of death has been provided yet. He was 94.
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Burt was considered one of his generation's greatest songwriters, with his work spanning across the decades from the 50s to the 90s.
He is responsible for several US number one hits, including songs for Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Christopher Cross, and The Carpenters, having worked on several of them with frequent writing partner Hal David.
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Some of the other popular artists he's written for include Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, Tom Jones, Nat King Cole, Elvis Costello, and Rod Stewart.
His other most enduring hits include I Say a Little Prayer, That's What Friends Are For, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, Arthur's Theme, and On My Own.
He wrote several songs with writing partner Hal David
His work on the films Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Arthur have also earned him three Academy Awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.
He was generally seen as one of the 20th century's most important composers and producers, even being inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame with Hal David.
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The New York Times wrote of him: "A die-hard romantic whose mature style might be described as Wagnerian lounge music, Mr. Bacharach fused the chromatic harmonies and long, angular melodies of late-19th-century symphonic music with modern, bubbly pop orchestration, and embellished the resulting mixture with a staccato rhythmic drive."
Burt was first married to Paula Stewart for five years, following which he married actress Angie Dickinson, and they remained together for 15 years.
Burt was 94
He then wed Carole Bayer Sager, a lyricist with whom he frequently collaborated throughout the 80s and early 90s, with their nine-year marriage ending in 1991.
He is survived by his current wife of nearly 30 years Jane Hansen and his three children, Cristopher, Oliver, and Raleigh.
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