Burt Bacharach was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist, who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in New York, Burt Bacharach would sneak into jazz clubs underage to hear performers such as Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, while immersing himself in the work of composers such as Stravinsky and Ravel.

He was classically trained at schools in Montreal, New York, and California, and, following a spell in the US army, he became a piano accompanist to musicians, including Vic Damone and the Ames Brothers. He also worked as an arranger and conductor for Marlene Dietrich when she toured Europe in the late 50s and early 60s.

In all, he scored 73 Top 40 hits in the US and 52 in the UK.

Hal David provided whimsical, wounded, and earnestly romantic lyrics, and Burt Bacharach created expert arrangements featuring close vocal harmonizing, string sections, jazz piano, and distinctive details, such as twinkling percussion and whistled melodies.

Together, he and Hal David created a string of all-time classics: “I Say a Little Prayer”, sung by Aretha Franklin, “What’s New Pussycat?” by Tom Jones, “The Look of Love” by Dusty Springfield, “Make It Easy on Yourself” by the Walker Brothers, and many others.

“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”, performed by BJ Thomas and featured in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, won a Grammy and an Oscar in 1969, while Burt Bacharach’s music for the film won the Oscar for best original score.

Burt Bacharach turned easy listening into high art and created music that was unique to his style — the “Bacharach Sound.”

He once wrote in one of his most famous songs, “The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me” - and it was a mantra that the famed composer and crooner embodied throughout his life.

Burt Bacharach is now at peace, at the age of 94, and he will always be “In Heaven with the Stars.”