As a teenager, Bacharach fell in love with jazz and sometimes used a fake ID to sneak into 52nd Street nightclubs to see bebop legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Bebop’s unconventional harmonies and melodies became a major influence on the young composer.

Vincent Terrace (June 19, 2013). "On the Flip Side". Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d Ed. McFarland & Company. p.286. ISBN 9780786474448. a b Browne, David (September 30, 1998). "Painted from Memory". EW.com . Retrieved February 14, 2023. Bacharach studied music (Associate of Music, 1948) [21] at McGill University in Montreal, under Helmut Blume, at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, and at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California. During this period he studied a range of music, including jazz, whose sophisticated harmony is a distinctive feature of many of his compositions. His composition teachers included Darius Milhaud, [18] Henry Cowell, [22] and Bohuslav Martinů. Bacharach cited Milhaud, under whose guidance he wrote a "Sonatina for Violin, Oboe and Piano", [20] as his greatest influence. [18] [20] Career [ edit ] 1950s [ edit ] In 1971, Barbra Streisand appeared on the special Singer Presents Burt Bacharach, where they discussed their careers and favorite songs and performed songs together. [60] [61] The other guests on the television special were dancers Rudolph Nureyev and Bettie de Jong, and singer Tom Jones. [62] [63]While serving as a dance-band arranger with the Army in Germany, Bacharach met vocalistVic Damone. After their discharge, at the age of 24, Bacharachbecame Damone’s piano accompanist. He also worked nightclubs and restaurants and accompanied performers including the Ames Brothers, Imogene Coca, Polly Bergen, Joel Grey, Georgia Gibbs, Steve Lawrence and a young singer named Paula Stewart. Bacharach and Stewart were married in 1953 (they divorced in 1958). Clevenger, Andrew (Spring 2003). "Director Scott Ellis and Look of Love collaborator, David Thompson, discuss the intricacies of creating a musical from Burt Bacharach and Hal David's greatest hits". Roundabout Theatre Company. Archived from the original on August 15, 2003.

The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection-Liner Notes (Audio CD), Rhino/WEA, November 3, 1998 It was all my fault, and I can’t imagine how many great songs I could have written with Hal in the years we were apart. So I now know that on every level, it was a very bad mistake." [64]The year 1969 marked, perhaps, the most successful Bacharach-David collaboration, the Oscar-winning " Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", written for and prominently featured in the acclaimed film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The two were also awarded a Grammy for Best Cast album of the year for Promises, Promises; the score was nominated for a Tony Award, as well. [54] [55]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Onofrio, Jan (January 1999). Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary. Somerset Publishers. ISBN 9780403099504 . Retrieved February 20, 2013– via Google Books. Bacharach also suggested in interviews he gave to promote his autobiography that he and David were out of inspiration by the time they stopped working together. Discussing the breakup of their artistic partnership in a 2013 interview with author Mitch Albom, Bacharach said:In 2002, Bacharach appeared for the third time in an Austin Powers movie, turning up as the credits rolled on “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (which also included a rendition of “Alfie”–recast as “Austin”–sung by Susanna Hoffs). Burt also reportedly began a collaboration with rapper Dr. Dre, composing melodies over drum loops supplied to him by Dre. Marius, Marley (February 10, 2023). "The Gratifying Genius of Burt Bacharach, in 7 Unforgettable Performances". Vogue . Retrieved February 14, 2023. a b c "Elvis Costello Reunites With The Imposters & Burt Bacharach On New Album Look Now: Hear Two Songs". Stereogum. July 27, 2018 . Retrieved April 5, 2019. Bacharach was drafted into the United States Army in the late 1940s and served for two years. [23] [24] He was stationed in Germany and played piano in officers' clubs there, and at Fort Dix, and Governors Island. [23] [25] [26] During this time, he arranged and played music for dance bands. [27] [28] Gallo, Phil (April 14, 1998). "Bacharach: One Amazing Night". Variety . Retrieved February 17, 2023.