The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Burt was the celebrity guest on Saturday's edition of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me," the NPR news quiz.

If you missed it, you can hear Burt's interview segment by clicking the link on this page:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/r ... p?prgId=35

It's a surprisingly good interview, with a few nuggets that I hadn't heard before. Give it a listen.

Bonjour Mark;

Thanks for the link!

Take care mon ami!

Vincent

I love the part where Burt says.....
"My mother came in to my bedroom, and she was tucking me in, putting me to bed,
.....I must have been about twenty-four at the time...."

Many thanks Mark !!!!

"blue"

I just listened to it... thanks for posting the link. Burt seems to tell that same story over and over about his mother and his decision to favor her by continuing with his piano lessons. Nothing wrong with that -- I'm just sayin'.

By the way, who taught Burt to play the piano that way anyhow? No one did. If someone taught him to play the piano the way he does, then other people would be playing like that. You can't develop an "ear" like that either. What's my point? My point is that Burt took to the piano like a fish takes to water. And then, probably after a few lessons, he figured out his own way of playing thanks to his musical genius. This is what I think anyhow. Care to discuss?

The interviewer tells a story about President Johnson’s favorite song being “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” during his presidency. Most readers to this post are aware that the song was written in 1969 and was in number one hit in January 1970. This was well after President Johnson left office. I am sure Burt realized that, but, just politely acted amused by the story.

I think the host simply experienced an error in memory in recounting the anecdote. From the Lyndon B. Johnson biography on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service website related to the Johnson Family Cemetery:

'Though often plagued with poor health, he spent his final years writing his memoirs and overseeing the construction of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum on the campus of the University of Texas. He was also active in community affairs and attended numerous local events. He loved to ride around the ranch in his white convertibles overseeing the cattle operations and visiting with the many children who were growing up on the ranch. He often listened to the song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" by B. J. Thomas while driving around the ranch in his Lincolns. President Johnson heard this song when he saw his favorite movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. On January 22, 1973, he was in his bedroom when he suffered his third heart attack and passed away. He was 64 years old.'