Tue, 15 Mar 2016

Hal David and His Collaboration with Burt Bacharach


Hal David and his collaboration with Burt Bacharach was strongly and all willingly admired and accepted by their fans worldwide. These two brilliant and talented personalities created great selections of classic memorable hit songs during their time. Who has not heard of Dionne Warwick's "Walk on By" or Oscar's best original song three decades ago, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." Another music genius will be missed as Hal David departed at the age of ninety-one in 2012.


At The White House


There was a ceremony at the White House headed by President Obama that saluted these wonderful geniuses who shared their blessings open heartedly for the world to appreciate. Hal David and Burt Bacharach are awarded with The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The President has meaningful messages to put across. He expressed these by expressing that Hal David and his collaboration with Burt Bacharach remained true to who they really are. With inimitable genuineness, their music and lyrics were able to sum up the emotional ups and downs of people's lives through their relatable songs. It was unfortunate that Hal was too sick to witness this memorable moment and accept personally the prestigious award. His loving wife was there on his behalf.


How Hal and Burt Started Their Collaborative Partnership


A music historian said Hal David is a great lyricist and a very innovative expert on words. He was able to elevate the colloquial speech of the time to the lyrical levels with strong hints of flowing poetry. David was born and raised in Brooklyn. He collaborated with other musicians and produced a number of popular songs. He then teamed up with Burt Bacharach at the renowned center of songwriters and music publishing entities on Broadway. Bacharach was much younger than David. They achieved their very first hit song in the year 1957 entitled "The Story of My Life." It was recorded by Marty Robbins in that same year.

In 1958, although David expressed it was not as cutting-edge as they thought, Perry Como's "Magic Moments" became a hit song. After that, Bacharach and David had also worked with other music professionals. Later on, the two decided to concentrate their efforts by consigning themselves to an exclusive partnership in producing and making songs. This had taken place during the time they met their best song interpreter, Dionne Warwick. David regarded her as exceptionally talented. She was only a backup singer during recording sessions when she was discovered.


Dionne Warwick: Hal And Burt's Magical Interpreter

Hal and Burt composed "Don't Make Me Over" for Dionne. She recorded the song in 1962. As the musical geniuses expected, she made her first single that made it in the American and international music industry. From thereon, she had recorded lots of popular songs by David and Bacharach including "Alfie," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "Anyone Who had a Heart," "I Say a Little Prayer," Message to Michael," Reach Out for Me," "Trains and Boats and Planes," among other hit songs. She was able to record all these songs because Hal and David had so much faith in her and on her innate talents. David mentioned that Dionne was so appropriate for their kind of songs. It is so hard for them to find an individual who could interpret their song and sing their melodies in such a magical way. There was just no other person who met their standards like she did.


Professional Partnership With Bacharach

When it came to Hal David and his collaboration with Burt Bacharach, David said they were actually getting competitive and gaining attention against rock 'n roll music. He believed extremely in the original songs they made. Because they are so fresh and soothing to the ears of listeners, they were able to win the hearts and imagination of their audience during that period. Nonetheless, their songs were not limited to Warwick. They also created songs for other artists like Bobby Vinton's "Blue on Blue," Jack Jones' "Wives and Lovers." These two along with others became hit songs as well.



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