Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach was an American composer, songwriter, and pianist whose sophisticated pop songs, many written with lyricist Hal David, shaped popular music from the 1950s onward.

Hal David: Hal David was an American lyricist who wrote many hit songs with composer Burt Bacharach. Their long partnership produced Bacharach’s best-known songs, including “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”
Time signature: A time signature specifies how musical beats are grouped into measures. Bacharach’s shifting and uncommon meters disrupt the expected pulse of pop songs.
Casino Royale (1967 film): Casino Royale is a 1967 spy comedy featuring a score by Burt Bacharach. The film’s music includes “The Look of Love,” one of Bacharach’s most enduring compositions.
I Say a Little Prayer: “I Say a Little Prayer” is a 1967 song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Dionne Warwick’s recording became one of the defining performances of their partnership.
Brill Building: The Brill Building is a Manhattan building associated with professional pop songwriting and music publishing. Bacharach worked within the same New York songwriting world, but his harmonies and rhythms stood apart.
Dionne Warwick: Dionne Warwick is an American singer whose recordings helped define the Bacharach–David sound. Her precise, understated performances became the signature voice for many of their songs.
Polyrhythm: Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of contrasting rhythmic patterns. Overlapping rhythmic groupings help explain the unsettled motion in songs such as “Promises, Promises.”
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 Western film directed by George Roy Hill. Bacharach’s score and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” helped shape the film’s sound.
Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head: “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” is a song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, recorded by B. J. Thomas. Its Academy Award-winning film placement carried Bacharach’s songwriting to a broad audience.
Tin Pan Alley: Tin Pan Alley was a New York-centered music publishing and songwriting industry that flourished from the late nineteenth century. Bacharach inherited its professional songcraft while stretching pop forms and harmonic language.

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