Lyricist Hal David Dead At 91 2012-09-02 by JohnXDoesn't | 25 Comments | Who the hell is Hal David? Larry David's half wit brother, maybe? I never heard of the guy. But that is because he was way before my time. And yours, most likely. But turns out he was a pretty cool dude. sputnikmusic.com should recognize cool dudes in music. At least when they die. This guy lived to be 91, was jewish, and lived and died in Los Angeles. And he was rich and honored by President Hope 'n Change. If I were him I'd have made it to 100 or more.
Hal David was born in 1921 and always wanted to be a songwriter but did not find real success until his late 30's when in 1958 after some years as a hack he penned the lyrics for the Perry Como hit Magic Moments. Singer and songwriter Burt Bacharach penned the musical side of things for that hit, and a 15 year songwriting relationship was born. Writing songs for artists the likes of Dionee Warwick, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfeild, and The Carpenters, the team of David and Bacharach were not interested in commenting on the politics or social changes of the 1960's, instead focusing on what they had always focused on. Which was the art of the song and the love, losses, and yearnings life brings along the way. For those not interested in Woodstock, Beatles, Stones, "free love" or Vietnam, or at least needing an escape from it all, Bacharach's music and David's lyrics harkened back to the not so distant past when life for many was simpler, and all that was desired was a good drink and a good time with someone you loved, or at least wanted to lay.
Penning songs for film, television, and stage, Bacharach and David managed to turn out timeless classics such as Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, Close To You, Do You Know The Way To Dan Jose, What's New Pussycat, and Magic Moments for a diverse group of artists. But it was the songwriting duo's work with and for singer Dionne Warwick which brought them the most recognition and praise during their time working together. Penning what seemed an endless stream of top 40 hits for the singer between 1963 and 1971 the songwriting team used that success to make further inroads to stage and screen work while garnering Oscar, Tomy, and Grammy awards along the way. And Hal David persisted in his work and continued success long after the partnership with Bacharach and Warwick ended, continuing to write songs and garner hits right up to the mid 80's when he scored one of his biggest hits as cowriter of the Willie Nelson / Julio Iglesis hit "To All The Girls I've Loved Before."
Hal David was born in 1921 in NYC to immigrant parents. His older brother Mack being 9 years his senior was the first songwriter in the family, and a successful one. Mack penned a few top ten hits for a several pop stars of the day, and little brother Hal was soon interested in the craft himself. However his older brother discouraged him from the work, and Hal spent his first years working as a copy writer before joining the Army, where in his spare time he wrote skits, music, and entire plays for Army based productions. Feeling emboldened by this experience Hal took his writing skills to civilian life upon release from the military and wrote throwback material for minor league big band players and pop crooners throughout the 50's. With the dawn of rock 'n roll upon the nation and cultural shifts in the wind, David held fast to his pop leanings, and his perseverance paid off toward decades end when he wrote a series of popular songs for various artists including the top ten hit Broken Hearted Melody, recorded by Sarah Vaughen. Not long after he teamed up with the better known Bacharach and pop crooner Warwick, and the rest is songwriting history.
David spent much of his later years as a kind of songwriting eminence and became involved in charitable and foundation work. He presided over the Ascap, the songwriters and publishers’ organization, from 1980 to 1986 and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. Dionne Warwick’s recordings of “Don’t Make Me Over” and “Walk On By” and the Carpenters’ recording of “Close to You” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. And earlier this year, Mr. David and Mr. Bacharach received the fourth Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress. Quite a long and succesful run.
Hal David is survived by sons Jim and Craig, second wife Eunice, and three grandchildren. His first wife, Anne, died in 1987. His songs however, will live on forever.
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someone you loved, or at least wanted to lay.
lol
Sounded like a busy guy
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tl;dr
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RIP
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Your articles are too damm long!
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*Jewish
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What is it with these massive news articles lately?
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"Your articles are too damm long!"
The rent is too damn high! Seriously, though, learn to read. Just don't read this, it was shit.
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Uhhh
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Dude, John Cruz, your articles fucking suck. You're trying to be insanely tongue-in-cheek and funny / sarcastic but it just comes off obnoxious and like you're trying too hard. Sorry man.
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Not funny, extremely disrespectful.
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For a newspost, this is too long to devote time to read.
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Not seeing why everyone thinks this is so disrespectful.
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Most obituaries don't start out mocking the lack of celebrity the person had.
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rip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I hope no one says that, because this one wasn't good at all.
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That was way too long for an article that says somebody died
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This article is the best by far, I think. It's informative, readable and lacks the sneering tone of the other ones.
Good job John.
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thats quite a testament you made there
anyway, RIP
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yea news being presented like a cocky quick witted dick is getting old and is making sputnik lose its credibility as a news resource recently... what is happening to the integrity of this site?
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Remove all of the paragraphs. This shit fucking sucks.
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reads more like a biography than a news article
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This guy needs to leave the site. Fucking annoying
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I like this guy
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"Lyricist Hal David Dead At 91"
THAT'S ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW, JOHN CRUZ. THANK YOU.
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Jesus, this was a long article. All you had to do was explain his death, how old he was when he died, and write a short paragraph about what he did and his impact. We don't need his life story.
I don't hate this guy, but he really needs to give it a rest.
Anyway, RIP
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