Editing Burt Bacharach (section)

===1950s===
Bacharach was drafted into the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] in the late 1940s and served for two years.<ref name="avid" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Italie |first1=Hillel |title=Burt Bacharach, Veteran and Legendary Composer of Pop Songs, Dies at 94 |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/02/09/burt-bacharach-veteran-and-legendary-composer-of-pop-songs-dies-94.html |work=[[Military.com]] |agency=Associated Press |date=February 9, 2023 |quote=He was drafted into the Army in the late 1940s}}</ref> He was stationed in Germany and played piano in officers' clubs there, and at [[Fort Dix]] and [[Governors Island]].<ref name=avid>Dunbavan, Peter. ''An Avid's Guide to Sixties Songwriters'', AuthorHouse UK, Bloomington, Indiana, 2017, chapter 3. {{ISBN|978-1-5246-3347-9}}</ref><ref name=online>{{Cite web|title=A House Is Not A Homepage: Burt Bacharach Bio|url=https://bacharachonline.com/bacharach_bio.html|access-date=2024-01-13|website=bacharachonline.com}}</ref><ref>Dominic, Serene. ''Burt Bacharach Song By Song: The ultimate Burt Bacharach reference for fans, serious record collectors, and music critics'', [[Schirmer Trade Books]], 2010, section: "A Little Bacharach Background..." {{ISBN|978-0-85712-259-9}}</ref> During this time, he arranged and played music for dance bands.<ref name=musicacademy>{{Cite web|date=2024-01-09|title=Burt Bacharach •|url=https://musicacademy.org/big-profiles/burt-bacharach/|access-date=2024-01-13|website=Music Academy of the West|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=biography>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-09|title=Burt Bacharach: Biography, Musician, Songwriter|url=https://www.biography.com/musicians/burt-bacharach|access-date=2024-01-13|website=Biography|language=en-US}}</ref> 

Bacharach met the popular singer [[Vic Damone]] while they were both serving in the army in Germany.<ref name=avid/> Following his discharge, Bacharach spent the next three years as a pianist and conductor for Damone, who recalled, "Burt was clearly bound to go out on his own. He was an exceptionally talented, classically trained pianist, with very clear ideas on the musicality of songs, how they should be played, and what they should sound like. I appreciated his musical gifts."<ref>Damone, Vic. ''Singing Was the Easy Part'', Macmillan (2009) ebook.</ref> He later worked in a similar capacity for various other singers, including [[Polly Bergen]], [[Steve Lawrence]], the [[Ames Brothers]], and [[Paula Stewart]] (who became his first wife). When he was unable to find better jobs, Bacharach worked at resorts in the [[Catskill Mountains]] of New York, where he accompanied singers such as [[Joel Grey]].<ref>"Burt Bacharach: A Composer Steps Onstage with Shower of Swinging, Successful Melodies", ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', June 14, 1970.</ref>

[[File:Marlene Dietrich and Burt Bacharach visit Jerusalem during a 1960 concert tour of Israel - Photo by Fritz Shlezingel.png|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Bacharach with [[Marlene Dietrich]] in Jerusalem, 1960]]

In 1956, at the age of 28, Bacharach's productivity increased when composer [[Peter Matz]] recommended him to [[Marlene Dietrich]], who needed an arranger and conductor for her nightclub shows.<ref>"Bachrach recalls Dietrich", ''Independent Press-Telegram'' (Long Beach, CA), March 14, 1971, page 90.</ref> He then became a part-time music director for Dietrich, the actress and singer who had been an international screen star during the [[golden age of Hollywood]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mossman|first=Kate|date=2023-02-10|title=Burt Bacharach: a direct line to a lost musical world|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music/2023/02/burt-bacharach-lost-musical-world|access-date=2024-01-13|website=New Statesman|language=en-US}}</ref> They toured worldwide off and on until the early 1960s. When they were not touring, he wrote songs.<ref name=Telegraph2>{{Cite news|last=Barber|first=Richard|date=2016-06-13|title=Burt Bacharach at 88: 'Why would I ever want to stop?'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/burt-bacharach-at-88-why-would-i-ever-want-to-stop/|access-date=2024-01-13|work=The Telegraph|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> As a result of his collaboration with Dietrich, he gained his first major recognition as a conductor and arranger.<ref name=Muncie>"Press Raps With Marlene While She Raps the Press", ''The Star Press'' (Muncie, IN), January 12, 1973, page 22.</ref><ref name=PBSvideo>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/hcGDvUgewu4 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160604204029/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcGDvUgewu4 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcGDvUgewu4 |title=Burt Bacharach Documentary |last=Brill Videos |date=May 1, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2018 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In her autobiography, Dietrich wrote that Bacharach particularly loved touring in Russia and Poland, because he thought very highly of the violinists performing there, and appreciated the public's reaction.<ref name="Dietrich" /><ref name="Minelle-2023">{{Cite web |last=Minelle |first=Bethany |date=February 9, 2023 |title=Burt Bacharach obituary: Composer worked with stars including Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones during seven-decade career |url=https://news.sky.com/story/burt-bacharach-obituary-composer-worked-with-stars-including-dionne-warwick-dusty-springfield-and-tom-jones-during-seven-decade-career-12806917 |access-date=February 17, 2023 |publisher=Sky News}}</ref> According to Dietrich, he also liked [[Edinburgh]] and Paris, along with the [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian countries]], and "he also felt at home in Israel", she wrote, "where music was similarly much revered".<ref name=Dietrich>Dietrich, Marlene. ''Marlene'', Grove Press (1989).</ref> In the early 1960s, after about five years with Dietrich, their working relationship ceased, with Bacharach telling Dietrich that he wanted to devote himself full-time to songwriting. She thought of her time with him as "seventh heaven ... As a man, he embodied everything a woman could wish for ... How many such men are there? For me he was the only one."<ref name=Dietrich /><ref name="Minelle-2023" />

Also in 1956, Bacharach and lyricist [[Hal David]], who were both working in the [[Brill Building]] in New York City for [[Famous Music]], published their first songs as co-writers. The songs published in 1956 included "I Cry More" (featured in the motion picture ''[[Don't Knock the Rock]]''), "The Morning Mail", and "Peggy's In The Pantry". The two received a career breakthrough when their song "[[The Story of My Life (Burt Bacharach and Hal David song)|The Story of My Life]]" was recorded by [[Marty Robbins]], becoming a No. 1 hit on the [[Billboard Country Chart]] in 1957.<ref name="pc24" /><ref>Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research, page 293.</ref> Soon afterward, "[[Magic Moments]]" was recorded by [[Perry Como]] for [[RCA Records]], and reached No. 4 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|Most Played by Disc Jockeys]] chart. These two songs were also the first singles by a songwriting duo to ever reach back-to-back No. 1 in the UK (The British chart-topping "The Story of My Life" version was sung by [[Michael Holliday]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19580228/7501/ |title=Official Singles Chart Top 30: 28 February 1958-06 March 1958 |website=Official Charts |access-date=June 25, 2020}}</ref> Between 1956 and the dissolution of their partnership in the mid-1970s, Bacharach and David wrote over 230 songs together for the pop market, motion pictures, television, and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]].<ref name=BB>{{citation |last=Dominic |first=Serene |title=Burt Bacharach, song by song    |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cz5bAwAAQBAJ&q=wheels |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |year=2003 |page=56 |isbn=978-0825672804}}</ref>

[[File:Burt Bacharach - jam session.jpg|thumb|274x274px|Bacharach with [[Stevie Wonder]] in the 1970s]]