Few modern songwriters have the stature, prestige, and reputation of Burt
Bacharach, who - in partnership with lyricist Hal David - created many of the
best-loved songs of the late 20th Century, including a string of hits for Dionne
Warwick. Born into a German Jewish family on May 12, 1928, in Kansas City,
Missouri, he grew up in Forest Hills, New York. Burt Bacharach studied music in
California and, strongly influenced by jazz, worked as a pianist accompanying
singers like Vic Damone and Steve Lawrence. He met Hal David in 1957 at the
Brill Building in New York and the new songw...