Earlier this week, Burt Bacharach died on the age of 94. Bacharach was one of many giants of pop songwriting within the ’60s, however his profession remained related a long time later. Bacharach continued to write down big hits effectively into the ’80s. In the ’90s, Bacharach shaped a working partnership with Elvis Costello. Last night time, Costello paid tribute to his previous good friend.
Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach first labored collectively in 1996, once they collaborated on the track “God Gave Me Strength” for the Grace Of My Heart soundtrack. Two years later, they launched the much-acclaimed album Painted From Memory. Costello and Bacharach saved working collectively through the years, and there’s a field set of all of the songs that they wrote collectively popping out subsequent month.
Last yr, Elvis Costello announced an bold, concept-heavy residency at New York’s Gramercy Theatre. By the time it’s over, Costello could have performed 10 reveals, 20 songs every night time, and he gained’t have repeated any songs. He even revealed incomplete setlists for each present. The first of these reveals was final night time, and life intervened. As Rolling Stone factors out, Costello deliberate to dedicate final night time to songs that he’d written in 1977 and earlier, and he did play all of the songs that he deliberate to play. But Costello additionally took time to sing a few Burt Bacharach classics.
Costello instructed the group, “It’s been a tough day, I can’t deny. A really great man left us yesterday. And when somebody reached a great age, people say, ‘Well, it was a good ending.’ Yeah, it’s never time to say goodbye to somebody if you love them. I’m not ashamed to say I did love this man for everything he gave, Mr. Burt Bacharach.” Costello additionally took problem with the concept Bacharach was an apolitical songwriter earlier than masking “Baby It’s You,” a pop normal that Bacharach co-wrote with Luther Dixon and Mack David for the Shirelles in 1961. Here’s a fan-made video:
Later within the set, Costello additionally sang “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” which Bacharach and Hal David wrote for Dionne Warwick in 1963:
Costello instructed final night time’s crowd that the residency will proceed to salute Burt Bacharach, particularly when his pianist Steve Nieve joins him: “We will, of course, be delving into the songbook that Burt and I assembled over 30 years.”