The American Spectator

Lyricist Hal David passed away today of complications from a stroke. He was 91.

David got his start in the 1940s working with the likes of Sammy Kaye and Guy Lombardo. But he really came into his own in the 1960s with his collaboration with Burt Bacharach.

Bacharach-David were responsible for turning Dionne Warwick into a star. They composed hits such as “Do You Know The Way to San Jose?”, “Message to Michael”, “Walk on By”, and “I Say a Little Prayer”.

Consider this list of Bacharach-David compositions which became part of the Great American Songbook:

“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” - B.J. Thomas

“This Guy’s In Love With You” - Herb Alpert

“What The World Needs Now is Love” - Jackie DeShannon

“One Less Bell to Answer” - Fifth Dimension

“Look of Love” - Dusty Springfield

“Only Love Can Break a Heart” - Gene Pitney

“What’s New Pussycat” - Tom Jones

“(They Long to Be) Close to You” - The Carpenters

That’s an album unto itself.

“(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” was written in the early 1960s but didn’t become a huge hit until the British duo Naked Eyes recorded it in 1983. R.B. Greaves also did a great version of that song in 1970.

David also collaborated with Albert Hammond “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” which became a monster hit for the unlikely duo of Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias.

Last year, Bacharach and David were honored by the Library of Congress with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song although David was to ill to attend the ceremony.