US composer Bacharach dies at age 94: reports

COMPOSER Burt Bacharach, whose hits such as “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” provided a mellow alternative soundtrack to rock and roll in the 1960s and 1970s, has died at the age of 94, according to multiple media reports on Thursday (Feb 9).

His publicist Tina Brausam said the composer died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles of natural causes.

CBS News reported that over the past 70 years, only Lennon-McCartney, Carole King and a handful of others rivalled his genius for instantly catchy songs that remained performed, played and hummed long after they were written. He had a string of top 10 hits from the 1950s right into the 21st century, as movie soundtracks and staples on radio stations.

Bacharach often worked with lyricist Hal David, and together, the pair wrote music that became big hits for singers such as Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield. His music was covered by many other big-name singers.

He was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for “Promises, Promises” and a three-time Oscar winner. He received two Academy Awards in 1970, for the score of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and for the song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (shared with David).