A House Is Not A Homepage: The Music of Burt Bacharach

Roberto H. de la Garza sent in the lyrics to “Something Big.” Thanks, Roberto!

June 21, 1999
Bob Fead of the Burt Bacharach Music Group reports that Burt has just finished scoring the Universal film Isn’t She Great, a biopic based on the life of Valley of the Dollsauthor Jacqueline Susann and starring Bette Midler and Nathan Lane. Vanessa Williams will sing the end title, Chicago has recorded a track entitled “If I Should Lose You” and Dionne will perform a song. The film is due to be released this fall.

It’s been reported to me that the June 27 show listed on Burt’s touring schedule is not a Bacharach performance but in fact a tribute to Bacharach. You’ve been warned. For your information, the dates that feature a venue name came from Bob. The dates that have hypertext links to Tickets.com and Ticketmaster listings came from Web searches. Why the two sources don’t coincide, I don’t know.

Alberto Gerolimetto sent in three photos of he and Burt in Milan in 1996. He also sent in two two Bacharach midi files, which I’ll also post. Eventually. I’ve never been a huge fan of midi files, but if there’s enough interest, I’ll gladly start a Bacharach midi archive, if one doesn’t already exist. Let me know what you think.

Call Off the Wedding (Without a Groom There Can’t Be a Bride)–Babs Tino

Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed–Linda Scott

The above tracks are two more MP3 from the Japanese compilation Burt Bacharach Songbook. Enjoy.

Updated Burt’s tour itinerary with dates supplied by Bob Fead of the Burt Bacharach Music Group. Bob’s dates did not include some of the dates listed by Ticketmaster and tickets.com, so some dates listed may not be accurate.

Oh, behave! Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me opens nationwide today. Here is a review from the New York Times.

Added a link to the official Hal David Web site.

Davide Bonori just sent me the most recent version of his excellent Bacharach discography.

Alec Cumming sent in the link to this long, incisive essay/review, Burt Bacharach Comes Back, from the New York Review of Books.

At the request of several people, I’ve decided to start featuring a few “rare” Bacharach MP3 files on a rotating basis. I say “rare” because these tracks are fairly well known to the more devoted Bacharach aficionados, although to many more fans, these tracks will be new. First up are three cuts from a Japanese Bacharach collection entitled Burt Bacharach Songbook (MCA 1997).

Saturday Sunshine–Burt Bacharach (this vocal version is different from the one that appears on “Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits”)

Forgive Me (For Giving You Such a Bad Time)–Babs Tino

I Cry More–Alan Dale

Diane Caron writes to inform me that she has discovered three new Bacharach appearances: June 27 in Los Angeles, August 20 and 21 in San Diego, and Jan. 14, 15 and 16, 2000, in St. Louis.

Two new Bacharach records to be on the lookout for… The Love Songs of Burt Bacharach (Uni/Hip O Records) is on the whole a predictable collection of 18 greatest hits that aren’t terribly … “lovey.” The Reel Bacharach,on the other hand, is a collection of songs composed for films notable for its inclusion of more than a few tracks previously unavailable (or not readily availabe) on Bacharach collections, including B.J. Thomas’ “Long Ago Tomorrow,” Mark Lindsay’s “Something Big,” Richard Chamberlain’s “Rome Will Never Leave Us” and “Seconds,” a rare collaboration between Burt and lyricist Neil Simon performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips.