Burt Bacharach, a prolific pop composer and songwriter known for writing some of the catchiest songs of the 20th century, such as “Walk on By,” “Promises, Promises,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Alfie” and the Oscar-winning “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” has died. He was 94.
Bacharach’s death was confirmed by his publicist, Tina Brausam. He died in his Los Angeles home on Wednesday of natural causes, per The Associated Press.
Often working alongside his lyricist partner, Hal David, Bacharach wrote music for a variety of artists, including Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Diane Warwick, the Carpenters, Neil Diamond and Elvis Costello. More than 1,000 artists recorded his music, per The Washington Post.
Although Bacharach’s music had a wide range — pop, country, soul and film scores — his songs were often classified as “easy listening,” which some critics believe is an underwhelming label for Bacharach’s talent.
“(Bacharach and David) were often dismissed as little more than background music by listeners who preferred the hard edge of rock or the intimacy of the singer-songwriter genre. But in hindsight, the Bacharach-David team ranks high in the pantheon of pop songwriting,” music critic Stephen Holden wrote in The New York Times.
During his career, 70 of Bacharach’s songs made the top 40. He also received multiple Grammy and Tony awards. For his film scores in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “Arthur,” he won Oscars, per The Washington Post.
“I always tried to create songs that were like mini movies” the composer said, per the Post.
Friends and fans remember Bacharach
Bacharach’s friends and fans took to Twitter to honor the late composer for his outstanding talent and contributions to music.