Bacharach, Burt

(born May 12, 1928, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.) U.S. songwriter and pianist. He studied under Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martin, and Henry Cowell. In the 1950s he wrote arrangements for Steve Lawrence and Vic Damone and later toured with Marlene Dietrich. In the late 1950s he began his long association with lyricist Hal David (b. 1921), which would produce many hits especially for singer Dionne Warwick (b. 1940), including “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” He and David wrote the successful musical (1968) and the score for the film (1969, Academy Award). Bacharach collaborated with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello (b. 1954) on the album (1998).

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