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Sun breaks through as great composer checks in
By PJ TAYLOR
Thursday, 19 July 2007
• Howick and Pakuranga Times
IT was ironic that the sun shone brightly as one of the world’s leading songwriters, legendary United States composer Burt Bacharach, awoke in Auckland yesterday.
The king of songwriters, the man who has created more memorable melody lines than just about anyone, legendary US composer Burt Bacharach, relaxes and reflects on an amazing career. Times photo Wayne Martin.
After the region’s recent mid-winter wild weather, it was fitting that Wednesday was calm, sunny and warm in marking the New Zealand arrival of a man whose music has touched millions worldwide with his emotive, optimistic and soulfully romantic melody lines. In many ways, Bacharach has for five decades provided a musical backdrop to life.
It’s very easy to recall a Bacharach melody line, when considering he has written some of the biggest selling hits, sung by the world’s principle singers such as Aretha Franklin – a leading Bacharach favourite – Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick and Neil Diamond, to mention a few.
Those melody lines are easily remembered when it’s time for a whistle, as he says, popping up in hits such as Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, The Look of Love, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, Do You Know The Way To San Jose, (They Long To Be) Close To You and the anthem of the 1960-1970s peacenik generation, What The World Needs Now Is Love.
During a press conference yesterday afternoon, a very relaxed Bacharach mentioned that Alfie was probably his most complete and favourite composition. But he first admitted that singling-out one song was rather difficult.
He opened the question and answer session saying one of his personal bags had gone astray on the transfer and flight from Sydney to Auckland, but that didn’t seem to worry him. If anything, he was more sympathetic to the person who was to discover that the contents of the bag weren’t the collector’s, but Bacharach’s personal belongings. The bag has been returned.
He also rates highly the Sydney Opera House, where he has just played five nights and is now inspired by the Australian landmark to write new music for larger orchestral settings.
Bacharach spoke at length of his career and mentioned some of his early musical influences, famous US jazz bebop musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, and touring years ago with Elvis Presley and Marlene Dietrich.
Bacharach’s New Zealand visit this year, first scheduled last summer, was delayed by tough personal circumstances. A daughter passed away earlier in the year at the same time he suffered a serious injury while skiing.
As he sat back and fielded questions, Bacharach, dressed in comfortable training clothes and running shoes, spoke freely about coming to terms with his family’s loss, while closing recognising New Zealand’s great pedigree for breeding harness and gallop race horses. The full interview with Burt Bacharach will be available for reading from next week.