Regarded as one of the most influential and popular songwriters in American music history, the death of Burt Bacharach at age 94 marks the end of an unparalleled career.  The legend's work spanned decades and dominated the charts, simultaneously defining eras and minting a litany of some of music’s brightest singers along the way.

For his efforts, the songwriter was awarded a total of six GRAMMY Awards and 21 nominations, as well as multiple songs in the GRAMMY Hall of Fame including "The Look of Love" and "Walk On By."

"Burt Bacharach was a visionary who composed and arranged some of the most timeless songs in the late 20th century," said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, jr.  A six-time GRAMMY Award-winner and recipient of the Recording Academy Trustees and Lifetime Achievement Awards, Burt’s impact across the music industry is undeniable. We’ve lost one of music’s giants, and he will be dearly missed."

A testament to his longevity, Bacharach's first GRAMMY nomination occurred nearly 60 years ago. In 1964, he received the nod for Song Of The Year/New Song Of The Year for writing "Wives and Lovers," a tongue-in-cheek meditation on marriage for the artist Jack Jones. Most recently, Bacharach was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album at the 64th GRAMMY Awards in 2022. He wrote new songs for the Paris recording of Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater's Some Lovers.

The pillars of Bacharach's amazing career were supported by his three important partnerships: first with the songwriter Hal David, with whom Bacharach began his songwriting career. Upon their falling out, Bacharach began writing with third wife Carole Bayer Sager.

Throughout his career, Bacharach’s legendary collaboration with Dionne Warwick resulted in the singer’s biggest hits. "Burt’s transition is like losing a family member," Warwick said upon news of Bacharach’s death. "These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my dear friend and my musical partner."

From a discography that includes hit pop singles, memorable movie themes and blockbuster Broadway musicals, here are 10 of Bacharach’s most notable songs.

"Wives and Lovers" (1963)

The song that earned Bacharach his first GRAMMY turned into a hit for the singer Jack Jones, and was later recorded by Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, Vic Damone and Nancy Wilson. It was also his and David’s first collaboration. "We wrote ‘Wives and Lovers’ for the movie (of the same name)," David later recalled to the website Songwriter Universe, noting it was later cut from the final product. "It wasn’t in the movie because Burt was still under contract to another studio."

"Walk On By" (1963)

Another seminal hit courtesy Bacharach and David, "Walk On By" was recorded by Warwick in New York City weeks after the Kennedy assassination, then released in the spring of the following year.

Read more: The Making Of Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By"

A GRAMMY nominee for Best R&B Recording, it was one of many of the duo and Warwick’s acclaimed collaborations. The song was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1998 and has been covered by Issac Hayes, Aretha Franklin, Average White Band, and others.

"What the World Needs Now Is Love" (1965)

Starting off with a melancholy horn riff before blossoming into a hopeful melody, one of Bacharach’s most indelible tunes was written for Warwick before Jackie DeShannon released it as a single.
Just as any expertly-crafted pop song sounds deceivingly simple on its surface, "What the World Need Now Is Love" took over two years for Bacharach to complete. It was subsequently nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement at the 8th GRAMMY Awards.

"What’s New Pussycat" (1965)

This Tom Jones-sung pop confection was written for a 1965 comedy film of the same name, but nearly did not see the light of day. "The producer, Charlie Feldman loved it when he first heard it," Bacharach remembered in 1986. "But [Feldman] had a question of, ‘How are they going to dance to it in discotheques, you know? It's a waltz. How is it going to be a hit?’ [I said], I don't know, I think it could be, but I don't know, I just know that for your picture, it services your picture."

"Alfie" (1966)

"It took me three weeks to write the music for 'Alfie," Bacharach told the Guardian in 2015 of the song he’d later win the GRAMMY for Best Instrumental Arrangement. Penned for the hit movie of the same name, Bacharach noted his scrupulous process was one secret to his success. "I probably wound up using what I started with, or close to it. But I have to turn a song upside down and make sure it’s really as good as I can make it."

"The Look of Love" (1967)

Oozing with sultriness, the sensual "The Look of Love" was made popular by English singer Dusty Springfield and is another Bacharach entry into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame, inducted in 1998. Written for the 1967 movie Casino Royale (the first James Bond film), Bacharach was inspired after watching footage of star Ursula Andrews. The soundtrack later garnered him and David three GRAMMY nominations. 

"Promises, Promises" (1968)

With its adventurous melody and tongue-twister lyrics, "Promises, Promises" the Warwick-sung song comes from a Bacharach-David’s hit musical of the same name.  For the duo, it was a unique creative process which brought that show to life: "There were a few tunes in Promises, Promises that I did write where I started with the music first," Bacharach later said. "But the majority of it was lyrics first."

"Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head" (1969)

Inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2014 and recorded by the singer B.J. Thomas while recovering from laryngitis, "Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head" was produced as a part of Bacharach and David’s soundtrack for the movie classic Butch Cassiy and the Sundance Kid. A western was a unique choice for the colleagues, but the combination turned into a blockbuster choice.

"I wrote the entire melody, and the only words that kept running through my mind from top to bottom were 'raindrops keep fallin’ on my head,'" Bacharach wrote in his 2014 autobiography, before adding however: "David tried to come up with another title, as the sun is shining brightly throughout the sequence (in the movie)."

"Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (1981)

Yet another one of Bacharach’s contributions to film history, the song recorded by Christopher Cross resulted in a later-career hit for Bacharach in the early '80s. Co-written with Cross, director Peter Allen and Bayer-Sager, the ballad was nominated for Song Of The Year at the 24th GRAMMY Awards.

"That’s What Friends are For" (1985)

Winning GRAMMY Awards for both Best Pop Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals and Song Of The Year in 1987, one of Bacharach’s final hits of his career proved to be one of his biggest. Recorded by Warwick along with Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Elton John, the heartfelt track was produced to raise money for AIDS research, then at the height of the epidemic and wound up raising $3.4 million for the cause.

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