What The World Needs Now is BURT

An interview with Burt Bacharach By Ken Sharp

Championed as one of the 20th Century’s most seminal and inventive composers, Burt Bacharach, with partner Hal David, created some of the most sophisticated, complex and beautifully crafted pop songs ever written. The list of Bacharach/David evergreens is truly mindblowing. Walk On By… I Say A Little Prayer… The Look Of Love… Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head… Do You Know The Way To San Jose?… A House Is Not A Home. It’s enough to send any aspiring songwriter back into a cave for another 50 years.

Whether it’s his landmark recordings with Dionne Warwick, seminal work on such films as Alfie, Casino Royale, What’s New Pussycat?, and Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, to his recent acclaimed collaboration with Elvis Costello on the Painted From Memory album, and high profile appearances in the Austin Powers films, Bacharach still continues to enthrall generation after generation of listeners with his urbane, cool, elegant musicality – and those haunting, unforgettable melodies. 

At age 77, Burt Bacharach is showing no signs of slowing down. He recently released a provocative new solo album, At This Time, which is a striking departure from his previous work, earmarked by a gritty political slant, drum loops courtesy of Dr Dre, and guest appearances from Costello, Rufus Wainwright, …

by Ken Sharp
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