In 1957, Bacharach and lyricist Hal David were introduced while at the Brill Building in New York City, and began their writing partnership. Almost a year later, they received a significant career break when their song The Story of My Life was recorded by Marty Robbins for Columbia Records, becoming a No. 1 hit on the U.S. country music charts[4] in late 1957. Soon after, Magic Moments was recorded by Perry Como for RCA Records, and became a No. 4 U.S. hit in February of that year. These two songs were back-to-back No. 1 singles in the UK ( The Story of My Life in a version by Michael Holliday), giving Bacharach and David the honor of being the first songwriters to have written consecutive No. 1 UK singles. In 1959, their song Make Room for the Joy was featured in Columbia's film musical Jukebox Rhythm,, sung by Jack Jones.
Bacharach songs were adapted by jazz artists of the time, such as Stan Getz, Cal Tjader and Wes Montgomery. The Bacharach/David composition My Little Red Book , originally recorded by Manfred Mann for the film What's New, Pussycat?, and promptly covered by Love in 1966, has become a rock standard; however, according to Robin Platts' book Burt Bacharach and Hal David, , the composer did not like Love's version.[6] The title of the song is likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to Mao Zedong's Little Red Book, which was first published by the Communist Party of China in April 1964.
Burt is better known than me for a number of reasons. Composers tend to be better known than lyricists, just look at Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Bernie is a brilliant lyric writer, but Elton is the showman. And like Elton, Burt is a performer, heCrs"s good out in the open. Thatsrs"s never been my thing. (Hal David)
This weekend, the Tony Awards will open with a medley of songs from Broadway musicals, including a tune from the Burt Bacharach-Hal David classic, Promises, Promises. The musical has also been nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Actor (Sean Hayes), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical(Katie Finneran), Best Orchestrations (Rob Ashford) and Best Choreography (Rob Ashford.) On May 5, 2010, Burt Bacharach and Hal David spoke to Terry Gross about their 50-year musical relationship and their lengthy careers in the music industry.
