Opinion by Carole King: If we hadn’t been in the left lane between exits, “Don’t Make Me Over” playing on the radio would have been a pull-over-to-the-side-of-the-road moment. That was my introduction to Burt, the brilliant pop composer who died Wednesday.
By “that” I meant the time signature changes, the instrumentation, and the unpredictable chords that allowed the melody to flow over them and carry the power of Warwick’s performance downstream.
Gerry turned off the radio. I knew that he was already thinking about lyrics for a song in which we would aspire to rise to the standard of what we later learned was the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.. Over the years I’d sometimes see Burt at an event or party, but our paths didn’t cross long enough for me to really get to know him. And though in 1999 I wrote a song with Hal, his most frequent collaborator, I never got the chance to write with Burt.
I also wrote an album with Carole Bayer Sager, whose musical legacy as a co-writer with Burt includes “That’s What Friends Are For.” In 1985, that song would become a hit for the all-star ensemble of Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. During one of our writing sessions, Carole shared an anecdote that illustrates just how clear Burt was about his creative vision. The first time he played the “Friends” melody for her, he sang it with an eighth-note pickup before the first note of the first measure, like this: “la-LA.”And that’s why the first two words of that song are “And I.”
You can hear the strength and clarity of Burt’s musical ideas and arrangements throughout his career. When he began performing his own songs in concert, his was the authentic voice of a songwriter conveying what he heard in his head directly from the muse. And his collaboration in songwriting and in concert with Elvis Costello was brilliant..
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