Burt Bacharach stars in a GEICO commercial. How cool is that?

 

Burt Bacharach is in the "Austin Powers" movies. How cool is that?

 

Burt Bacharach has recently recorded with Elvis Costello and Dr. Dre. How cool is that?

 

Burt Bacharach now blogs for Huffington Post. How cool is that?

 

And Burt Bacharach --- at 77, with 52 "Top 40" hits to his credit --- has just been fired. He finds this humorous: "The last time I was fired I was 19 years old and was playing piano in a restaurant in Cape Cod." The problem: on his recent tour, he's been singing the first songs he's created for which he's written the lyrics --- and they're angry, anti-war, anti-Bush lyrics. A business executive who had hired Bacharach for a private party did not hear these songs, but he read an interview with the composer and said he didn't want "someone like Bacharach." Bacharach offered to play only his hits. But no go. "I was proud to be fired for those reasons," Bacharach says.

 

Burt Bacharach can be proud of pretty much everything he's ever done --- he's the man with the golden keyboard. As a kid, he got a fake ID so he could see Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. He studied under the masters of modern classical music. And then, when he set out to make a living as a professional musician, he incorporated many of those funky chord changes and time signatures.

 

His collaboration with Hal David began in l957. They promptly wrote hits for Marty Robbins and Perry Como. Corny stuff. As was the novelty hit, "(Theme From) The Blob." For three years, Bacharach toured Europe and America as Marlene Dietrich's musical director. At the same time, he wrote the music for three American hits: "Please Stay" by the Drifters, "Tower of Strength" by Gene McDaniel and --- gasp --- "Baby It's You" by the Shirelles.

 

The hits just kept on coming: "Any Day Now", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "Only Love Can Break a Heart", and "Make It Easy On Yourself." Dionne Warwick thought "Make It Easy On Yourself" was for her. When she learned it wasn't, she snapped, "Don't make me over, man!" (which was slang for: "Don't lie to me"). That became the title of her first "Top 40" hit. Over the next decade, Bacharach and David would create 20 "Top 40" hits for Warwick, seven of them reaching the "Top Ten."

 

But really, why hype the guy? Whether you know he was behind them or not, you know his hits. The list on this CD tells the story:

 

Baby It's You - The Shirelles

Only Love Can Break A Heart - Gene Pitney
Anyone Who Had A Heart - Dionne Warwick
(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me - Sandie Shaw

Walk On By - Dionne Warwick
What The World Needs Now Is Love - Jackie DeShannon
Alfie - Dionne Warwick
What's New Pussycat? - Tom Jones
I Say A Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick
The Look Of Love - Dusty Springfield
Do You Know The Way To San Jose - Dionne Warwick
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head - B.J. Thomas
I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Dionne Warwick
One Less Bell To Answer - The 5th Dimension
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
That's What Friends Are For - Dionne & Friends

For a life's work, for a real contribution to human happiness, I give you Burt Bacharach. For just $10.99.  How cool is that?

 

-- by Jesse Kornbluth, for HeadButler.com

 

To buy "The Very Best of Burt Bacharach" from Amazon.com, click here.

 

Copyright 2006 by Head Butler Inc.