📣 News R.I.P. Burt Bacharach

A.P. reports that Burt Bacharach died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes - he was 94.

 

[Rudy]

I credit Burt with developing what I've come to refer to as the "Bacharach sway".

It's a relaxed triplet with the second beat in the triplet missing. Similar to the swing beat in jazz/swing bands, only Burt made the "triplet" more on-the-rhythm than the relaxed/lazy rhythm in swing. Best example I know of is this one:



The other device he used was the syncopated baion beat from Brazil, a modified version of the samba beat that he and Marlene Dietrich heard coming from the favelas outside Rio at night when they toured there.

Speed this single up, and it's the samba.



The "pure" style of samba beat, from a more modern recording:

 

[JOv2]

It's a relaxed triplet with the second beat in the triplet missing. Similar to the swing beat in jazz/swing bands, only Burt made the "triplet" more on-the-rhythm than the relaxed/lazy rhythm in swing

That's a good way to articulate it. It swings, but the shuffle feel "bounces" it has Harry says (which I equate to a "sway" given the 1-and-3 bass used on This Guy and To Wait For Love.)

 

[Harry]

Here's one I'd recorded from radio years ago. I think I have the LP around here somewhere. Dionne Warwick sings a song from the movie THE LOVE MACHINE called "Amanda" that was produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, but was written by our old friend Artie Butler in one of his good Bacharach imitations.