All hail the King of Pops
Timeless tunesmith Burt Bacharach appears with Charlotte Symphony
COURTNEY DEVORES
Special to the Observer
As American songwriters of the 20th century go, few hitmakers can touch Burt Bacharach, who'll play piano, sing and conduct with the Charlotte Symphony tonight and Saturday.
Bacharach has written numerous American pop standards including hits for Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Marty Robbins, Perry Como, the Drifters, the Shirelles, Jackie DeShannon, Tom Jones, Herb Alpert, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Neil Diamond and the Carpenters. In his near-50-year career, the 76-year-old composer has scored 66 top 40 hits, 28 top 10 hits, and six No. 1s.
Bacharach's cool points skyrocketed in the '90s when a new generation of pop stars began dropping his name. Noel Gallagher of Oasis joined him onstage at London's Royal Festival Hall in 1996. He and Elvis Costello recorded an album for which they won a Grammy for the song "I Still Have That Other Girl."
Bacharach also appeared in all three of Mike Myers' "Austin Powers" films. His influence is evident in the lounge-inspired work of international artists such as Pizzicato Five, Stereolab, and the Cardigans. And everyone from early rap-metal purveyors Faith No More to blues garage revivalists the White Stripes to avant-garde composer John Zorn have paid homage to him.
Bacharach, who is currently upping his hip quotient even more by writing several tracks for his upcoming 2005 album with the help of Dr. Dre, spoke to the Observer Monday from his home in Los Angeles.
Q. You play with the Charlotte Symphony this weekend. Are you currently doing a symphony tour or is this a special occasion? We do intermittent symphony shows. Two weeks ago we were with the (Colorado Symphony) and the San Diego Symphony. As for going out for a month at a time, I don't do that anymore.
Q. How do the symphony performances compare to playing solo or with a band? I like working with the symphony. We've got strings, a larger orchestra, and (therefore) a larger palette. I look forward to it.
Q. Tell me about the new album you're working on. I'm getting back to work (now). I recorded five tracks before leaving for England and Italy this summer and I just started to get back to work on it now. It's going to be very different, mostly instrumental and a little bit cutting-edge.
Q. I read that you're working with Dr. Dre on the album. He gave me some drum loops. Rather than sitting down and writing with him, I took his drum loops and wrote music over it.
Q. Had you ever written songs in that manner before? No. Some songs, but never as a whole kind of instrumental adventure -- it's kind of challenging.
Q. Oasis and Elvis Costello have declared their love of your work and your influence on them, but are you aware of modern European and Canadian electronic and pop artists that you've influenced such as Stereolab, the Cardigans and Broadcast? I'm aware and very flattered. I think its great. You can't plan that. They have to be influenced on their own by your music. Whether it was Oasis, or someone like (French electronic group) Air -- a lot of these young people weren't even born when this music of mine that they hear was written.
Q. Projects like the album with Elvis Costello and your appearances in the Austin Powers movies have introduced you to a whole generation. Were those fun experiences? It was hard work with Elvis making that album. With Austin Powers, it was great fun. I'd read the first script and (Mike Myers) is brilliant. I didn't know it was going to be that kind of hit. Nobody did.
Q. The album you're working on now will be your first solo release in several years. I had the Ronnie Isley album, "Isley Meets Bacharach," which has a couple of new songs, last year. But as far as my own album, I had no desire to make an album really. It's preferable to write for other people because I'm an instrumentalist, plus the record business is in really lousy shape now.
Q. Is it harder to write a hit now than it was 20 or 30 years ago? Absolutely -- for a good song to become a hit. (Groans) Listen to the radio. PREVIEW
Burt Bacharach and the Charlotte Symphony
The versatile hit-making songwriter and conductor kicks off the Pops Series.
WHEN: 8 p.m. today and Saturday.
WHERE: Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St.
TICKETS: $18-$68.
DETAILS: (704) 372-1000; www.performingartsctr.org.
