One of pop music greatest composers, Burt Bacharach, has died aged 94.
He wrote enduring hits like I Say A Little Prayer, Walk On By and What The World Needs Now Is Love.
Along with lyricist Hal David, he also wrote numerous movie themes including What’s New Pussycat?, Alfie and The Look Of Love – a major hit for Dusty Springfield.
Bacharach died on Wednesday at home in Los Angeles of natural causes, his publicist Tina Brausam said.
Over his career, he scored more than 50 chart hits in the US and UK, with artists including Warwick, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin and Elvis Costello all recording his song.
Another collaborator, Dionne Warwick, said the songwriter’s death was like “losing a family member”.
In her tribute, Warwick said: “These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner.
Bacharach won three Oscars, two Golden Globes and six competitive Grammy Awards, and was hailed as music’s “greatest living composer” when he accepted the Grammy lifetime achievement honour in 2008.
The musician was married four times, to Paula Stewart in 1953, actress Angie Dickinson in 1958, his frequent musical collaborator Carole Bayer Sager in 1982, and finally Jane Hansen in 1993.
He is survived by Hansen and their children Oliver and Raleigh, as well as son Cristopher from his marriage to Bayer Sager.
