Hal David, the lyricist who teamed up with Burt Bacharach for many classic pop hits, died Saturday at the age of 91, The Associated Press reports. David passed away in hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke earlier this week.
David and Bacharach met in 1957 in New York’s famous Brill Building and formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in pop music history. In 1962, the pair began writing for Dionne Warwick, and together they created such hit songs as “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’” and “Always Something There to Remind Me,” among others.
David and Bacharach won multiple Grammy Awards and an Oscar in 1970 for best original song for “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Other hits penned by the duo include the Carpenters’ “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now is Love,” Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love,” Herb Alpert’s “This Guy’s in Love with You” and Tom Jones’s “What’s New Pussycat?”
David’s achievements include the Gershwin Prize awarded by the Library of Congress in 2011 and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.
Related:
Official Hal David website
CBC News: What's New Pussycat lyricist Hal David dies
Hal David music credits
