LOS ANGELES — Hal David, 91, the stylish, heartfelt lyricist who teamed with Burt Bacharach on dozens of timeless songs for movies, television and a variety of recording artists in the 1960s and beyond, has died.
David died of complications from a stroke Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his wife Eunice David. He had suffered a major stroke in March and was stricken again Tuesday, she said.
“Even at the end, Hal always had a song in his head,” she said. “He was always writing notes, or asking me to take a note down, so he wouldn’t forget a lyric.”
Bacharach and David were among the most successful teams in modern history. Although most associated with Dionne Warwick, their music was recorded by many of the top acts of their time, from the Beatles and Barbra Streisand to Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin.
They won an Oscar for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (from the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”), Grammys and Tonys for the songs from the hit Broadway musical “Promises, Promises.”
David joined the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1974 and served as president from 1980 to 1986. He was head of the Songwriters Hall of Fame from 2001 to 2011, and was chairman emeritus at his death.
“As a lyric writer, Hal was simple, concise and poetic,” said ASCAP’s current president, songwriter Paul Williams. “It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs … the backdrop of our lives.”
In May, Bacharach and David received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during a White House tribute concert attended by President Barack Obama.
David and Bacharach met when both worked in the Brill Building, New York’s legendary Tin Pan Alley song factory where writers cranked out songs and attempted to sell them to music publishers. They scored their first big hit with “Magic Moments,” a million-se
He married Anne Rauchman in 1947. They had two sons.
Notable songs
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”
“Wishin’ and Hopin’ “
“That’s What Friends Are For”
“I Say a Little Prayer”
“Do You Know the Way to San Jose”
“Always Something There to Remind Me”
