BACHARACH & BLACK VOICES

The late composer wrote sophisticated pop perfect for African-American elegance

Burt Bacharach, the purveyor of the most graceful pop songs of the ‘60s and ‘70s, has passed away at 94 in Los Angeles, leaving a legacy of memorable chords and tricky melodies that I, and everyone my age, grew up singing along to. Though he wrote for white singers, movies, and Broadway, there was a special connection between his writing and black singers who favored precise delivery, controlled passion, and grandiose arrangements. Dionne Warwick was obviously his true muse. The string of hits they collaborated on (along with lyricist Hal David) is one of the great singer and songwriter connections in American musical history. “Walk On By,” from 1964, is a masterpiece of melancholy.

Most of the Warwick performances are in the two to three minute style of the 45 single of their era. But Isaac Hayes and Luther Vandross — African-American male vocalists with incredibly different voices, but who shared a taste for long, lingering, occassionally melodramatic arrangements — created epic performances of this material, building larger worlds on the sturdy structures of Bacharach’s tunes. Vandross covered a number of the Warwick/Barcharach songs, all of them impeccable. Hear him take on “Anyone Who Had a Heart” in 1986.

But year before the smooth voiced Vandross took on Bacharach, the deep baritone of “Black Moses” aka Isaac Hayes had turned “Walk On By” into a ominous twelve minute journey through love, loss, and despair. This performance from 1969’s ‘Hot Buttered Soul’ album is dark and dramatic. Check out the film Dead Presidents for a poignant use of Hayes’ arrangement.

The lost masterpiece in the catalog of soulful interpretations of Bacharach is ‘Here I AM,’ a 2003 collab between the composer and the R&B legend. Backed by a full orchestra, the duo did a show in Los Angeles and New York (which i attended), that was one of the mosy sublime nights of music I’ve ever experienced. The album went unheard at the time of its release, though happily PBS taped one of the performances. Isley’s buttery tenor and gentle falsetto were perfect for these songs. It’s a gem that will allow you to hear many of these classic songs anew.

#ripburtbacharach but the music lives on.