Obituary:

https://apnews.com/article/burt-bacharach-dead-at-94-

It's a long obit, naturally.

I remember being pretty surprised to find that he wrote certain songs, such as "Baby, It's You."

(I sensed that the Beatles didn't write that one, but I didn't know who did.. The Beatles' cover was the only cover of that song that I ever heard.)

And I NEVER would have guessed he wrote "Always Something There to Remind Me," since I didn't hear that until 1983, when it was famously arranged, 80s-style, by Naked Eyes!

Same for "This Guy's In Love With You," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "Close to You," "Arthur's Theme," and at least four songs sung by Dionne Warwick.

I came across the three-CD album "The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection."

It's in chronological order, more or less. The third CD has about seven songs that I love.

But I have to say that the first two CDs are pretty forgettable, regardless of who the singers are. Who says "it's the singer, not the song?" Not I!

One of the first songs is "The Blob," written for the classic 1958 movie.

But I think THIS song would have been more suitable, had it only existed 13 years earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezxvT3astFM&t=27s
(1:35 minutes)

And this is pretty funny, if not exactly complimentary:

https://fborfw.com/strip_fix/sunday-september-9-1979/

It's the 1979 debut of "For Better or For Worse."

What's odd is that THIS says the strip came out earlier, in August of 1979!

https://www.fborfw.com/news/tag/first-strip/

It includes a Jack Jones performance of the song.

Also, the notes say "Lynn recalls that she liked this song…until the day she listened to the lyrics."

On 2/9/23 3:26 PM, Lenona wrote:
> Obituary:
>
> https://apnews.com/article/burt-bacharach-dead-at-94-
>
> It's a long obit, naturally.
>
> I remember being pretty surprised to find that he wrote certain songs, such as "Baby, It's You."
>
> (I sensed that the Beatles didn't write that one, but I didn't know who did. The Beatles' cover was the only cover of that song that I ever heard.)

You never heard the Smiths? It was actually the biggest hit of the
song's recordings.

> And I NEVER would have guessed he wrote "Always Something There to Remind Me," since I didn't hear that until 1983, when it was famously arranged, 80s-style, by Naked Eyes!
>
> Same for "This Guy's In Love With You," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "Close to You," "Arthur's Theme," and at least four songs sung by Dionne Warwick.

Most people who were around in the 60s regard all of them as
quintessential Bacharach.

> I came across the three-CD album "The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection."
>
> It's in chronological order, more or less. The third CD has about seven songs that I love.
>
> But I have to say that the first two CDs are pretty forgettable, regardless of who the singers are. Who says "it's the singer, not the song?" Not I!
>
> One of the first songs is "The Blob," written for the classic 1958 movie.
>
> But I think THIS song would have been more suitable, had it only existed 13 years earlier:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezxvT3astFM&t=27s
> (1:35 minutes)
>
> And this is pretty funny, if not exactly complimentary:
>
> https://fborfw.com/strip_fix/sunday-september-9-1979/
>
> It's the 1979 debut of "For Better or For Worse."
>
> What's odd is that THIS says the strip came out earlier, in August of 1979!
>
> https://www.fborfw.com/news/tag/first-strip/
>
> It includes a Jack Jones performance of the song.
>
> Also, the notes say "Lynn recalls that she liked this song…until the day she listened to the lyrics."

--
John W. Kennedy
Algernon Burbage, Lord Roderick, Father Martin, Bishop Baldwin,
King Pellinore, Captain Bailey, Merlin -- A Kingdom for a Stage!

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 7:29:30 PM UTC-5, John W Kennedy wrote:
> On 2/9/23 3:26 PM, Lenona wrote:
> >
> > I remember being pretty surprised to find that he wrote certain songs, such as "Baby, It's You."
> >
> > (I sensed that the Beatles didn't write that one, but I didn't know who did. The Beatles' cover was the only cover of that song that I ever heard.)

> You never heard the Smiths? It was actually the biggest hit of the
> song's recordings.

This one, you mean?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIGo31k-qkw
No, I never did. (I'd remember such a heavy beat.) I doubt I ever even heard of the group.

But now that I think about it, I DO remember the Shirelles' version, which came earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8clnxViHdp8

I just didn't hear it until the 1980s or later.

> > Same for "This Guy's In Love With You," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "Close to You," "Arthur's Theme," and at least four songs sung by Dionne Warwick.

> Most people who were around in the 60s regard all of them as
> quintessential Bacharach.

Which I wasn't, so to speak. That is, I have no memory of the 1960s - and while I do remember Watergate, I had no idea that the war was going on at the same time. (I suspect my mother was careful to keep the TV news turned off during most of my childhood and read newspapers instead - and if other kids' parents were more careless, the kids certainly didn't talk about the war at school.)

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 9:07:51 PM UTC-6, Lenona wrote:
> On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 7:29:30 PM UTC-5, John W Kennedy wrote:
> > On 2/9/23 3:26 PM, Lenona wrote:
>
> > >
> > > I remember being pretty surprised to find that he wrote certain songs, such as "Baby, It's You."
> > >
> > > (I sensed that the Beatles didn't write that one, but I didn't know who did. The Beatles' cover was the only cover of that song that I ever heard.)
>
> > You never heard the Smiths? It was actually the biggest hit of the
> > song's recordings.
> This one, you mean?
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIGo31k-qkw
>
> No, I never did. (I'd remember such a heavy beat.) I doubt I ever even heard of the group.
>
> But now that I think about it, I DO remember the Shirelles' version, which came earlier:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8clnxViHdp8
>
> I just didn't hear it until the 1980s or later.
> > > Same for "This Guy's In Love With You," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "Close to You," "Arthur's Theme," and at least four songs sung by Dionne Warwick.
>
> > Most people who were around in the 60s regard all of them as
> > quintessential Bacharach.
> Which I wasn't, so to speak. That is, I have no memory of the 1960s - and while I do remember Watergate, I had no idea that the war was going on at the same time. (I suspect my mother was careful to keep the TV news turned off during most of my childhood and read newspapers instead - and if other kids' parents were more careless, the kids certainly didn't talk about the war at school.)

What the world needs now is love, sweet love...

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 7:29:30 PM UTC-5, John W Kennedy wrote:
> On 2/9/23 3:26 PM, Lenona wrote:
> > Obituary:
> >
> > https://apnews.com/article/burt-bacharach-dead-at-94-
> >
> > It's a long obit, naturally.
> >
> > I remember being pretty surprised to find that he wrote certain songs, such as "Baby, It's You."
> >
> > (I sensed that the Beatles didn't write that one, but I didn't know who did. The Beatles' cover was the only cover of that song that I ever heard.)
> You never heard the Smiths? It was actually the biggest hit of the
> song's recordings.

It was Smith who covered Bahcrach, not the Smiths. I could never imagine The Smiths covering a Bachrach song. Here is a taste of what they sounded like:

https://youtu.be/hnpILIIo9ek