Burt Bacharach was a Titan of songwriting composing and Performing the legendary
musician died February 8 2023 and left behind an incredible Legacy of songs his impact on the
music industry was gigantic and his creativity was revered by fans and fellow musicians the
world over in this video we're taking a look at how he died but more importantly how he
lived stay tuned as facts first presents Burt bacharach's cause of death officially revealed
Burt bacharach's career began in the 1950s and he managed to stay relevant for six more decades his
accomplishments as a songwriter and composer are vast and they include eight Grammys three Oscars
73 top 40 hits in the U.S and 52 in the UK he created hundreds of incredible pop songs and was
able to collaborate with many of the top musicians around during each era in which he composed and
there were more than one thousand artists who recorded his songs over the years so even if
he didn't work directly with him he did indirectly his influence on popular music can't be overstated
bacharach's death sadly Bert's time on Earth came to an end February 8 2023 but as fans and family
could take solace in the fact that not only did he live an incredibly long life dying at age 94
but he also didn't have to endure a long and hard final few years instead he died of natural causes
of course that silver lining doesn't make his death any less sad to the many people around
the world who loved him and his work Bert's career is nearly impossible to give a worthwhile summary
of such a legend in a short video so suffice it to say we won't try to dive into every aspect
of his career that's because it was long fruitful and influential Bacharach is perhaps only rivaled
by a handful of songwriters names like McCartney Lennon and Carol King in terms of his ability to
craft so many catchy yet accessible songs his songs ran the gamut of successes and not only
won awards but always had a ton of radio play and were used in countless films and TV shows some of
the top hits from his catalog include I say a little prayer I'll Never Fall in Love again and
Alfie he wrote songs for some of the top artists of all time including Dionne Warwick Tom Jones and
Aretha Franklin and Giants like Elvis Sinatra and the Beatles All released cover versions of Burt
bacharach's songs even more modern artists like the White Stripes Ashanti and Twista
included samples from his Works in their Tunes his friend and collaborator Elvis Costello once
remarked about the misconception that Bert wrote quote easy listening music Elvis pointed out that
for some reason Bert got painted with the easy listening label but that while it might be quote
agreeable to listen to these songs there's nothing easy about them try playing them try singing them
baccarat spread out his talent in many forms he won eight Grammys for his many hit songs and
he wrote music for Broadway shows including his award-winning show promises promises and in 1970
he was handed two Oscars for his score of the classic Western Bush Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid he and his ex-wife Carol Bayer Sager also won Oscars for the song best that you can do for the
movie Arthur he also scored films like Casino Royale Alfie and what's new pussycat Bert was
also a man about town of sorts he was considered a ladies man and was one of the first songwriters
and composers to also be considered a bit of a heartthrob and he was connected politically too
so he was a frequent guest at the White House regardless of which party was in office and
President Obama even awarded Bert the Gershwin price in 2012. Bacharach continued to work in
his later years scoring a movie called A Boy Called Poe at age 88 in 2016. and in 2020 he
collaborated with Daniel tashian a songwriter and performer on an EP it was the first new
material he'd released in 15 years but it still managed to Garner both artists Grammy nominations
Bert's rule about honesty from 1982 to 91 Bert was married to fellow musician and songwriter Carol
Bayer Sager in 2016 Sega released a memoir Called They're Playing Our Song in it she revealed some
startling things about Bert the first was that he became convinced that if he was dishonest it would
cause him to get sick these thoughts began for him after discussions about honesty with his therapist
according to Sager while the therapist might have simply been encouraging honesty and saying there
can be sometimes negative physical symptoms that can arise if people are in a bad mental state to
Bert it meant something more literal namely that if he lied to her he'd get cancer Bert
seemed convinced of this notion leading him to a bizarre confession near the end of their
marriage Sega wrote that one evening as they were getting ready for bed Bert said he needed
to reveal something to her so that he didn't get cancer she was confused and Bert told her
it was something his therapist had told him about and with that he continued to reveal some harsh
truths about his feelings on their relationship he apparently told Carol that when she physically
touched him it made him feel nauseated Carol was shocked to hear this Bert continued that he often
felt trapped when she was lying in bed next to him obviously these statements hurt Carol's feelings
tremendously in the book she wrote that after Bert said these things he turned off the light and went
to bed and shortly after they separated things really turned sour soon after when Bert continued
his quest to be honest with her and admitted to being involved in an affair he was apparently
dating a 28 year old he was 63 at the time again he suddenly felt that if he didn't tell Carol
about the affair he would get cancer but what he got in the immediate was a dressing down and a
Diet Coke thrown in his face and shortly after he got a divorce years after the divorce Carol was
able to look at the marriage with more perspective she wrote that she then realized their marriage
was perhaps more about music than love or romance she claims they didn't spend a lot of time being
passionate or romantic with each other eventually it felt more like a Business Partnership and a
friendship and she wrote that she was put off by Bert's love of watching adult movies primarily
because it made her worry that he was more connected to the women in the movies than to her
dealing with his daughter's death in 2013 Bacharach released an autobiography called
Anyone Who Had a Heart my life in music in it he talked about the incredibly sad story of
his daughter and how it had a profound effect on him his daughter Nikki tragically died in 2007
after taking her own life but according to Bert her troubles started long before
that day for starters she was born premature and only one pound and 10 ounces so she had
to deal with the rigors of Health complications that can come from that but the bulk of Nikki's
problems were emotional and psychological Bert said they started when she was a child he said
that while she was never diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum he found out later on that
her symptoms were very common among patients with Asperger's Syndrome he talks about how she had an
extreme sensitivity to sound for example she would complain that the helicopters outside or even leaf
blowers were too loud and that they made her want to kill herself at that point Bert hoped she was
being being hyperbolic and that they just made her uncomfortable but eventually her mental and
psychological issues got the better of her and she took her own life at age 40. Bert wrote that
he always thought the strong relationship Nikki had with her mom Angie Dickinson would keep her
from trying to hurt herself and he admitted that it's possible they made major mistakes
when raising her but that they were doing their best throughout their childhood of particular
note is the fact that he and Angie sent Nikki to a special school away from the family he
said Nikki was left feeling resentful about that decision and that it may have led to her pulling
away from her parents more and more Bacharach was haunted by her death until his recent passing but
he did manage to find solace in his music he was able to compartmentalize as well so
he could continue writing amazing music without his daughter's death seeping into every aspect
of his work still he felt the pain of her passing every day now it's time to hear from you what's
your favorite song written by Bert Bacharach let us know in the comments section below