Hal David

by Jason AnkenyAs one half of the greatest American songwriting duo of the postwar era, lyricist Hal David teamed with composer Burt Bacharach to elevate the common pop song to fine art; the perfect complement to Bacharachs elegant melodies and shimmering arrangements, Davids lyrics boasted an uncommon sophistication and maturity, achieving a poetic grace unparalleled in their sweeping romanticism and heartbreaking poignance. The younger brother of tunesmith Mack David, he was born May 25, 1921 in Brooklyn, NY, and had already penned a series of hits including American Beauty Rose, Broken Hearted Melody and Bell Bottom Blues prior to first meeting Bacharach at the Brill Building offices of the Famous Paramount Music Company in 1957. The duo quickly scored their first hit with Marty Robbins The Story of My Life, followed a year later by Perry Comos Magic Moments; still, despite their initial success, David and Bacharach collaborated only intermittently over the next several years, with the former writing alongside composers Bob Hilliard, Sherman Edwards and Lee Pockriss. While working with the Drifters in 1962, Bacharach and David discovered session vocalist Dionne Warwick, whom they asked to sing on some of their upcoming demos; soon she was the duos regular demo singer, quickly signing to Scepter Records as a solo act. Beginning with the smash Dont Make Me Over, Warwick emerged not only as Bacharach and Davids muse but also their finest interpreter, her inimitable blend of intimacy and intensity navigating Davids increasingly expressive lyrics and Bacharachs elaborate structures with an ease and dexterity unmatched by any other singer. Over time, the duo began writing together exclusively, in 1963 alone scoring smashes with Bobby Vinton (Blue on Blue), Gene Pitney (Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa), Warwick (the sublime Anyone Who Had a Heart) and Jack Jones (Wives and Lovers); their records sounded like no one elses, with a complexity and depth virtually absent from the standard pop fare of the pre-British Invasion era. Throughout the remainder of the decade, Bacharach and David generated hit after hit; the roll call is staggering, with just a small sample including perennials like Warwicks Walk on By, Jackie DeShannons What the World Needs Now Is Love, Tom Jones Whats New Pussycat?, Cilla Blacks Alfie, Dusty Springfields The Look of Love and Herb Alperts This Guys in Love with You. Everyone from the Beatles to Aretha Franklin covered their songs; the duo also scored hit films including Casino Royale, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which launched B.J. Thomas Academy Award-winning chart-topper Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head. In 1968, Bacharach and David teamed with playwright Neil Simon on Promises, Promises, a musical inspired by the Billy Wilder film The Apartment which enjoyed a hugely successful run on Broadway on its way to winning a Tony Award; the 1970s began with similar promise, with hits from the Carpenters (Close to You) and the Fifth Dimension (the lovely One Less Bell to Answer), but within two years their partnership was over. The turning point was the 1972 film musical Lost Horizon, an unmitigated commercial and critical disaster which brought long-simmering tensions between David and Bacharach to a head; not only did they agree to sever their collaboration, but worse, Warwick was forced to sue the team for their failure to deliver any new material for her to sing. The fallout was catastrophic for all involved, with neither Bacharach nor David recapturing their past success with new collaborators, although David scored a major hit in 1984 with the Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson duet To All the Girls Ive Loved Before, penned with composer Albert Hammond. Between 1980 and 1986, David served as president of ASCAP, and was later inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; in 1991, he also earned a Doctor of Music degree from Lincoln College for his contributions to American music. Finally, in 1999 — more than a quarter century after their last collaboration — he reunited with Bacharach to compose a pair of new songs for the film Isnt She Great.