What movies did Burt Bacharach write for? Oscar-winning composer dies age 94
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Burt Bacharach was an American songwriter who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s
Legendary singer-songwriter Burt Bacharach has passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a wealth of award-winning soundtracks and compositions.
Burt started writing pop songs from the late 1950s including hits ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ and ‘What’s Up Pussycat’ for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield, and also composed for over 40 movies.
While Burt appeared as himself in the movie franchise Austin Powers, he is most-known for his Oscar-winning composition for another spy movie, among others.
Before Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale, a spoof of the James Bond franchise was made with the same name in 1967, featuring David Niven and Peter Sellers. The late composer worked on the soundtrack for the production, getting Herb Alpert to take on the vocals.
Burt was nominated for an Oscar for his work on Casino Royale, but he would not take home the golden statuette until two years later.
Bacharach won his first two Academy Awards after three previous nominations (namely, Casino Royale, Alfie and What’s New Pussycat?) for his 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, for which he wrote the music while his long-time collaborator Hal David wrote the lyrics.
The 94-year-old, from Kansas City, clinched the Original Song prize and the Original Score for a Motion Picture in 1970, and would soon return to the legendary awards ceremony to be successful once again.
In 1982, Burt shared the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song with Carole Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross and Peter Allen after they featured on the soundtrack for ‘Arthur’ the year before.
With a host of film compositions under his belt, Burt started to work on movie soundtracks too, evident from his 722 credits on IMDB.
A recent movie that lists Burt Bacharach as part of their soundtrack is Austin Butler’s Elvis. Although Austin sings most of the King of Rock and Roll’s tunes, Baz Luhrman includes some of Elvis’ original recordings such as ‘Any Day Now’ and ‘Don’t Fly Away’ which Burt Bacharach wrote earlier in his career.
Steve McQueen’s The Blob (1958) featured a smash-hit by Burt titled ‘Beware of the Blob’ in addition to Julia Roberts’ cult-classic 'My Best Friends’ Wedding’ using Burt and Hal’s ‘Wishin and Hopin’ in the production.
It must be noted that many of the 700 credits listed to Burt as a member of the soundtrack stem from his original masterpieces, with his hit songs ‘Walk on By’ and ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’ as just two that appear in movies almost 65 years after their release.
This is evident that despite Burt’s sad passing on 8 February 2023, the legend’s songs will continue to be a part of contemporary media for years to come.