As a kid I came to enjoy Dionne Warwick. Looking back I suspect that was due in no small part to the material she had to work with, songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. This trio of singer and songwriters was so good that even an ordinary grade schooler paid attention.
Bacharach and David met Warwick in 1961 and 39 of her hit singles penned by the songwriting team.
Bacharach died yesterday at 94.
The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Music poured out of Burt Bacharach like martinis out of an ice-cold shaker.
“For more than half a century, the composer, producer, conductor and sometime performer provided the soundtrack for a persuasive and accessible idea of American sophistication — on the radio, in movies, on television and on Broadway. Bacharach, who died Wednesday at age 94, used his songs to toy with harmony and rhythm and to sneak elements of jazz and classical music into hit-parade pop.
“Yet to listen to one of his dozens and dozens of classic tunes — which he wrote with lyricists including his most steadfast collaborator, David, and his ex-wife Carole Bayer Sager — was never to feel intimidated by the expertise that close listeners knew he was showing off.”
The first time I heard a new wave song I recognized it right away as something familiar. It was another Bacharach and David song that Warwick had performed. This version of “Always Something There To Remind Me” was by Naked Eyes. (After all these years I had not seen the video until today while searching for a copy of the song to post.)
(This is still my favorite new wave song, although I did become a fan of A Flock of Seagulls after the Krux skate video “Feelin’ It” used the song “I Ran” for its opening sequence.)
Here’s the Hollywood Reporter’s obituary for Bacharach.