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Hal David

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Hal David was an American lyricist, born on 25 May 1921 in New York and died on 1 September 2012. His parents were Austrian-Jewish immigrants who ran a delicatessen, and his older brother Mack David was also a lyricist. He studied journalism. In the 1940s he wrote lyrics for bandleaders such as Sammy Kaye and Guy Lombardo. In 1956 he began working at the Brill Building in New York with the composer Burt Bacharach, for the publishing company Famous Music.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1960s and the early 1970s the duo wrote a series of songs that have endured, many of them for Dionne Warwick, but also for Dusty Springfield, Carpenters, B.J. Thomas, Gene Pitney and Tom Jones. Their hits include Alfie, Walk On By, I Say a Little Prayer, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, This Guy's in Love with You and What the World Needs Now Is Love. For Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid they received an Oscar. They also made the musical Promises, Promises (1968). Their collaboration ended after the disappointing film Lost Horizon (1973).

Influence

David also wrote with other composers, such as To All the Girls I've Loved Before with Albert Hammond and We Have All the Time in the World with John Barry, which Louis Armstrong sang for a James Bond film. His lyrics are simple, direct and full of feeling, and have been decisive for the sound of 1960s pop music.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Walk On By by Dionne Warwick and notice how the lyrics describe a painful moment in ordinary words. Hear how Bacharach's music gives each line a colour of its own.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists