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

McCormick Presents Burt Bacharach Tribute on Ice, an NBC television special combining the musical talents of Bacharach, Aretha Franklin, James Ingram and Michael McDonald with the ice skating artistry of Brian Boitano, Ilia Kulik and Nicole Bobek, among others, will be taped Saturday, September 20, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The program will air on NBC-TV on Saturday, December 20, from 4-6 PM.

I posted an email interview I conducted with Robin Platts, author of Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now.

First of all, sorry (again!) for my long absence. We’re more than overdue for an update. To begin with, I want to sincerely thank Linda Dozoretz and Allison Ravenscroft who arranged for me to see Burt perform with the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall in Houston on May 24. It was the first time I’ve seen Burt perform a show accompanied by a full orchestra and it proved to be a great night. The set list would be familiar to most people who have seen Burt perform recently, but he replaced “I Still Have That Other Girl” with “God Give Me Strength,” which, Burt said, lost the Grammy but is a better song. After the show, thanks to Sue Maine, Burt’s tour manager, I had a chance to go backstage and say hi to Burt. He was kind enough to autograph my “Look of Love” box set. I also had a long conversation with Rob Shrock, Burt’s keyboardist and musical director, David Crigger, Burt’s drummer, and Dennis Wilson, Burt’s reed player (and a fellow New Orleans native). Burt has been writing new material, Rob told me, although as of yet there are no plans to go into the studio. Keep your fingers crossed.