RIP Great Composer Burt Bacharach
- Thread starter Twister
- Start date
Wasn't Diana Krall married to Burt Bachrach?
Burt and Dionne had some magic together. Man that music was soothing to listen to.
He used to be married to Angie Dickinson.....Can't get better than that in those days.
Rest easy Burt....
He used to be married to Angie Dickinson.....Can't get better than that in those days.
Rest easy Burt....
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Burt Bacharach wrote so many monster hits!
IMHO Dionne covered this Bacharach hit better than anyone else.
IMHO Dionne covered this Bacharach hit better than anyone else.
A young Dionne in1964 before hitting it big.
Isaac Hayes covered it well also.
Isaac Hayes covered it well also.
One of my favourite movies.
One of my favourite singers.
One of my favourite songs.
But I never knew it was written by Burt B.
My dad loved Burt Bacharach, James Last and Herb Alpert. And so do i! But this song is so very special for reasons I want to share. When I went to listen to it on YouTube, a comment reminded me of something my mom told me the week before she died.
We were in the hospital one night. As visiting hours ended and my mom was all comfortable and happy with our visit, I was getting ready to leave. A line of thunderstorms was approaching across the clear summer night. We could only see the distant flashes, no thunder, I saw it as a negative as I would have to drive home in it. Mom gazed out the window and mused aloud "Isn't this world we live in so beautiful"
Mom then asked me if I could find this song on my phone. I did and started to play it. She then asked if I would dance with her to it. I put the phone in a hospital bedpan to enhance the sound, then held out my hand in the classic invitation to dance. Her face lit up and her beautiful smile slowly, like a sunrise, began to shine the warmth of her love into my eyes like I had never seen before, As I took her hand in mine and put my other around her waist, as we began to sway to the gentle rhythm of the piano and trumpet, mom leaned her head against my chest, near my shoulder and began to hum the tune in a dreamy bliss. She had a beautiful voice as she was a professional singer. "Thank you [son] for dancing with me. I know you are not much for dancing but you should learn and practice . Your father was a fantastic dancer and you have the same natural rhythm. You are definitely your father's son..You have the same tall grace and presence, the same broad shoulders and chest , strong but gentle hands and I feel like I am dancing with him right now." (For some reason I was dancing so naturally well at that moment that it was almost an out of body experience.!)
I had no words and was trying to hold in tears of joy and sorrow. Joy that I brought my mom by this dance and bringing back her beautiful memories of my long passed father, joy that I was feeling for being loved and loving so purely and absolutely. Sorrow that my mom lost her husband in the prime of their lives and I was soon going to lose my beautiful mother too. So I began to hum along with her in perfect harmony, and then the lyrics came to me, word for word. I began to quietly sing the words, singing them to my mother. Mom rested her head on my shoulder and quietly said to me, "any time we hosted or went to a party your dad used to make sure that song got played, and he'd quietly sing that song into my ear, word for word, every time we danced to it. "
And the serendipity is that the YouTube comment was: "My dad used to sing this to my mum while dancing her around the lounge Miss them so much "
As the song ended, I hugged her, held her close and confessed that I didn't know the words to the song yet they came to me. Perfectly. As if I had rehearsed them. NO song lyrics ever come out perfectly when I sing! And I never felt I danced so naturally, without inhibition. (I guess I danced like nobody was looking!) Then, again, without knowing where the words came from, I said "Maybe dad's spirit came out, or through me to dance with you, to sing this song to you to remind us we are loved and our spirits live on after we die?"
I left my mom that night with such a beautiful full heart full of the love my parents gave me in life and in death. And knowing that this love grew and I had so much to give back to them, and others.
Mom passed, mercifully without pain or suffering, a little over a week later. When my sister was going through all her papers and notebooks, there was a small slip of paper with her handwriting that fell out that I picked up. "The thunder and lightning was such a beautiful background to the gentle dance and music I shared with [named her husband and me] tonight. I think it was The Lord blessing our family with a beautiful life and calling me to Heaven. I think my time has come and I say goodbye to my beautiful family here and join the rest of my family in Heaven. Enjoy your blessings."
Needless to say, this slip of paper is one of, if not, my most cherished physical possessions.
Apologies for the thread creep and sappy recollection but I couldn't resist writing and sharing it once the beautiful music of the late Burt Bacharach made me feel that love once again.
This song also made me realize that I would, some day, have a woman Ioved so much that I would want to sing this song to!
Thanks Mr.Bacharach, your timeless music will always be part of the soundtrack of our lives that will live on forever.
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In later years he did some collaborations with Elvis Costello. Here's one of my favourites from their excellent "Painted From Memory" album (worth listening to until the end):
