48 | MARCH 2 • 2023
“What is the key to making
music?”
He said, “Respond to the
world around you. Be like
a sponge. Fortunately, I can
then express those feelings in
my music.”
The feelings he expressed
have raised important
awareness. His song “That’s
What Friends Are For,”
written with Oscar-winning
lyricist Carole Bayer Sager (to
whom he was once married),
was recorded for American
Foundation for AIDS
Research (amFAR ) and raised
more than $3 million.
Burt expressed his heartfelt
response to school shootings
in America in his song “Live
To See Another Day.” He
wrote this anthem in 2018,
and it is dedicated to the
victims, survivors and families
affected by school violence.
Burt donated his proceeds to
Sandy Hook Promise.
I have introduced Burt to
my family and my closest
pals. We have shared fun
dinners after his concerts. He
made everyone feel special
by asking questions about us,
even though we wanted to
talk only about him. He loved
talking about his children. He
often punctuated his sentences
with laughter and, most
importantly, he was so very
kind.
When I asked him in 2019
to write the foreword to my
book on Aretha he said, “Yes.”
When he called to tell me
what he thought of my book,
I missed his phone call. I was
disappointed not to talk to
him, but now I am grateful
he left a voicemail and I can
listen to his voice and hear his
feelings whenever I want. This
is a treasure of mine along
with the vintage program
book he signed to a speechless
teenager decades ago.
I always hoped to see
him in concert one more
time. In 2020 and in 2021,
his scheduled concerts
were canceled all over the
world because of COVID
restrictions. This is regrettable
for many reasons. He couldn’t
do what he loved, and his fans
were stopped from seeing
him.
Burt did spend the last
four years writing new
music with Grammy award-
winning artist, songwriter
and producer Daniel Tashian.
They were nominated for a
Grammy in 2020 for their EP
“Blue Umbrella.” They have
new music coming out later
in 2023. He also continued to
work with Elvis Costello.
Burt and Elvis have
collaborated for over 25 years
and, on March 3, their box set,
“The Songs of Bacharach and
Costello” will be launched.
Burt often said “Alfie” is his
favorite of the songs he has
written. “One of the best lyrics
Hal David, or anyone else, has
written.”
During his Meadow Brook
concert when he sang this
lyric from “Alfie:” “When you
walk let your heart lead the
way,” I could hear a tear in
his voice. I have heard him
sing “Alfie” so many times but
never quite like this. After the
concert I told him. He was
standing next to one of his
musicians and said, “Linda
would know … She knows my
music.”
The lyrics in Alfie describe
the meaning of life “as sure
as I believe there’s a heaven
above.”
Now with the beautiful
sound of a piano played
with gentle hands by a
man wearing sneakers.
Burt Bacharach’s music will
“forever and ever” bring
happiness here and above.
When I listen to “Alfie,” I
will always have a tear and
remember the meaning of the
lyric, “When you walk let your
heart lead the way.”
I have and a dream came
true.
Linda Solomon is an award-winning
photojournalist and author and a mem-
ber of the Michigan Journalism Hall of
Fame. Her most recent book is The
Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An
Intimate Portrait. Burt Bacharach wrote
the foreword. Linda is the founder of
Pictures of Hope, a nonprofit organi-
zation devoted to changing lives of
children experiencing homelessness.
She will “forever and ever” be Burt
Bacharach’s No. 1 fan.
ARTS&LIFE
REMEMBRANCE
Linda’s first Pine
Knob photo of
Burt before going
backstage.
Burt Bacharach
and Elvis Costello
in 2013
continued from page 47