Tribute 79: Burt Bacharach

In our latest tribute, Janet, John, (and Pen) celebrate the life and career of an extremely talented musical genius who wrote some of the most iconic and enduring songs of the 20th century... Burt Baharach! Born in Kansas City, Missouri on May 12th, 1928, Burt seemed to be destined for greatness. Encouraged by his amateur painter and songwriting mother, Burt took up practicing piano, drums, and the cello during his childhood. Using his musical gift, Bacharach continued his education at McGill University in Montreal, Mannes School of Music, and the Musica Academy of the West studying all kinds of music. At the age of 28, he was reccomended to Marlene Dietrich (fun fact: the star our logo is modeled after!) by Peter Matz as she needed an arranger and condutor for her nightclub shows. After becoming her part-time musical director, Baharach and Dietrich toured worldwide together, on and off, until the early 1960s. Eventually this musical genius met Hal David and Dionne Warwick. This trio would make songs that would sell over 12 million copies and have 39 consecutive chart hits. Some of those songs being "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (1963), "Walk On By" (1964), "Message to Michael" (1966), "I Say a Little Prayer" (1967), "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" (1968), "This Girl's in Love with You" (1969) and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (1969). Eventually this composer moved towards creating scores for film such Casino Royale (1967) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), which won them a Academy Award, an Oscar, and a Grammy for best score. In his lifetime, Burt would go onto to creating many wonderful songs, gain many nominations, and win many awards for his absolutely outstanding music. 

To learn more about this episode and others, visit the official Cinema Sounds & Secrets website!