In the early 1960s, pop radio and music charts were dominated by the British Invasion and Motown.
“But every now and then, these great, catchy songs would sneak in there, and invariably, they were written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David,” said Ron Newmyer, who will host a concert paying tribute to two of America’s greatest songwriters this Friday.
“Burt Bacharach and Hal David were songsmiths that worked out of the Brill Building — essentially a songwriting factory in New York City — alongside other great songwriters like Carole King and Gerry Goffin,” said Newmyer.
His concert production company is presenting “The Songs of Burt Bacharach & Hal David,” Friday, at The Birchmere, in Alexandria, Virginia.
With Bacharach’s music and David’s lyrics, “They managed to write these two-and-a-half or three-minute songs that felt like you’d watched a whole movie, with the emotion that coursed through every one of their songs,” said Newmyer. “Amazing tempo changes, incredibly beautiful chords, orchestrations — things that you just didn’t hear on the radio.”
The pair began their collaboration in 1957, but in 1962 and 1963, Dionne Warwick had two hits with Bacharach/David compositions: “Don’t Make Me Over” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”
Extending through 1981, Warwick charted 38 singles cowritten or produced by Bacharach and David.
“Burt knew she had the vocal skills to pull off anything that he wanted to dream up melodically, and she had an incredibly agile voice, full of adult emotions,” said Newmyer.
Warwick’s hits with now-standards written by Bacharach and David include “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” written for the 1968 musical “Promises, Promises.”
‘Extraordinary songs needed extraordinary voices’
While Burt Bacharach recorded albums, singing songs he cowrote with David, “It wasn’t the kind of voice he would build a career around,” said Newmyer. “He knew that to achieve the greatness of the music they were writing, which was extraordinary, they needed some extraordinary voices.”
Herb Alpert’s version of “This Guy’s In Love With You,” became a chart-topping single, in 1968. The Carpenters’ “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” in 1970, was a breakthrough hit for the duo.
Bacharach and David’s “One Less Bell to Answer,” by the 5th Dimension was a huge hit, as was “What the World Needs Now is Love,” released by Jackie DeShannon in 1965, after it was initially turned down by Warwick.
In 1969, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” recorded by BJ Thomas, for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” won Bacharach and David an Oscar for best original song.
Newmyer said Bacharach and David songs reflected an unparalleled sophistication, based on their musical training and love of jazz.
“It was all incredibly catchy, yet really difficult to emulate,” said Newmyer. “Burt wrote in odd time signatures, and sometimes he needed extra syllables to make these great melodies fit.”
Yet listeners rarely focused on the difficulty of performing the songs: “People would walk down the street, singing their stuff. They had no idea that they were going from 4/4 time, to 5/4 time, to 7/4 time, because they could hum the melodies.”
Bacharach often conducted the orchestra in recording sessions for other artists. “He’d have a piano-driven track, and then for one little section there’d be a beautiful glockenspiel part, or there’d be a bell whistle at a certain point, or the violins would come in strong,” said Newmyer.
Newmyer is excited to perform the Bacharach & David songs live at The Birchmere: “We can’t afford a full 35-piece orchestra, but we’ve got a 12-piece mini-orchestra with strings, horns, backing vocalists and feature sings, with the rhythm section of some of D.C.’s best musicians.”
Performers include Steve Washington, Shuga Shang, Lynn Veronneau, Anita King, Nikko Atiim Nixon, Desson Thomson, Margot MacDonald and Deeme Katson.
