Burt Bacharach: Parting Post

My final post on Burt Bacharach will look at one of the lowest points in his life that resulted in a song, a theme for ABC's Movie of the Week and a tragic end. We tend to think of Burt as a guy who had it all—he was a brilliant composer, a stunning arranger and a solid pianist; he was athletic, ruggedly handsome and a soft-spoken, charming man who was as comfortable in his living room as he was on stage in front of television cameras.

But Burt had his blues. Nikki, the daughter he had with his wife, Angie Dickinson (married in 1965, divorced in 1981), suffered from Asperger’s Disorder. The form of autism wasn't well-known in the years immediately after her premature birth in 1966. Unable to figure out the cause of Nikki's emotional issues or how to care for her, Burt and Dickinson sent her away to a special school. Nikki blamed Burt for keeping her away from her mother.

In 2007, Nikki took her own life at age 40. When her body was discovered, she had left a note for Burt. As Burt told the Associated Press in 2013: “'I know exactly what's in the note. I never read the note. I never will,' Bacharach said as his voice cracked. 'There is no need to read it. I already know what she said.'"

When Nikki was born in 1966, Burt wrote, arranged and conducted Nikki, a tender, child-like song dedicated to her and one of his finest instrumentals. Go here...



In 1969, Nikki was chosen for ABC's Movie of the Week by British-American broadcast designer Harry Marks and arranged by Harry Betts, a jazz trombonist and TV and movie composer and arranger. Here's the title sequence designed by Marks and animated by Douglas Trumbull using the same slit-scan process he created for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Go here...



And lastly, here are another bunch of fabulous videos of Burt and his songs:

Here's Burt leading a TV special in 1972 with Anthony Newley, Sammy Davis Jr., Vikki Carr and others...



Here's Dionne Warwick on a rooftop in Paris in 1964 singing Walk On By...



Here's Burt introducing Dusty Springfield in 1965, who sings I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself...



Here's Dionne Warwick singing her Burt Bacharach hits in an intimate club setting in Belgium in 1965...



Here's Dionne Warwick in 1966 singing (You'll Never Get to Heaven) If You Break My Heart...



Here's Jackie DeShannon singing What the World Needs Now Is Love...



Here's the official video for Dionne Warwick and Jeffrey Osbourne's Love Power (1987), with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and music by Burt Bacharach... .



And here's the official video in 1982 for That's What Friends Are For, with words by Carole and music by Burt...