Review: Harvey Granat (with Will Friedwald and David Lahm) Covers the Life and Career of Burt Bacharach In SONGS AND STORIES Season Ender

Raconteur/vocalist/historian/producer Harvey Granat's entertaining series SONGS AND STORIES at 92Y ended for the season Thursday with ON Burt Bacharach (with Special Guest, author/columnist/producer Will Friedwald and pianist David Lahm).

American composer/songwriter/pianist/singer Burt Bacharach was weaned on classical piano, but so enamored of jazz, he forged ID to get into clubs. While working for a publisher in the Brill Building, Bacharach met Vic Damone who took him on the road as his accompanist. The pianist was ostensibly fired because girls gave him more attention than his employer. Sammy Cahn famously said, "All of us songwriters are meeskites except Burt." (The Yiddish slang word means ugly woman.) Shortly thereafter, Bacharach met longtime collaborator, Hal David.

Bacharach, best known for iconic pop hits written from the 1950s through the 1980s, won six Grammys and three Academy Awards, many with David. Vocalist Dionne Warwick recorded 38 of these over 20 years. Currently married to his fourth wife, the composer has the reputation of being a ladies' man, yet married to his work. Granat, whose cousin Carole Bayer Sager was Bacharach's third spouse, remembers being at a dinner party where the composer suddenly got up and disappeared into his music room. Bayer Sager said she was accustomed to it.

Friedwald opens today's presentation with historical perspective. Before the 1960s he tells us, songwriters, with the possible exception of Rogers and Hammerstein, were anonymous. Bacharach, Henry Mancini and Michel Legrand, all of whom worked for film, television, and recordings, bridged this period before the prevalence of singer/songwriters.

Granat then performs "Magic Moments," popularized by Perry Como--- not, he comments, because he particularly likes it but because the song creates context. "To Como, then recording novelty songs, that was practically grand opera," Friedwald quips. Next comes a rendition of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," which, unlike its familiar pop version, emerges a sympathetic ballad in the capable hands of Granat and Lahm.

"Wives and Lovers" is an exploitation song--- written in conjunction with a film but not used in it. "What Bacharach did rhythmically was unique," Friedwald observes. "He was the first to capitalize on the 3/4 time jazz waltz, which up 'til then was confined to country/western material and Patti Page." We're treated to a video clip of Ella Fitzgerald bouncing through a performance (from Friedwald's enormous collection.) "The funny thing about it," he continues, "is that we always have to have a disclaimer now because it's so sexist." There are two more videos during the program which, though entertaining, could have been successfully excerpted.

Lovely lyric ballads are given their vocal due by Granat to whom they're mother's milk. "A House is Not a Home" is sweetly sad with phrasing as natural as breath, "The April Fools" is sensitive, regretful, "Alfie" (the composer's favorite song), shrugs and shakes its head wondering. This latter was a major hit in the UK for Celia Black who insisted Bacharach arrange, conduct, and play piano for the recording. The rest is history.

In 1968, Herb Alpert was developing a television special. Told he couldn't merely play the horn, he asked Bacharach whether the there might be something in his trunk. "This Guy's in Love with You" was disinterred. Granat feeds us the lyrics. All his programs offer the chance to sing along. We do so again with "Raindrops Are Falling on My Head" from BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. Remember the scene where Paul Newman jauntily rides Katherine Ross on his bike handlebars? "Didn't you feel happy singing that?" Granat rhetorically asks.

After an incredible number of profitable collaborations, Bacharach and David split up over percentage points for the musical film LOST HORIZON, which ironically turned out to be neither a critical nor commercial success. Dionne Warwick was so upset she took them to court for lack of services (nothing came of the case).

We close with a clip of "That's What Friends Are For" featuring a very young Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight. One hundred percent of royalties from that song went to AMFAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research).

Tuesday, January 24 at noon, Will Friedwald begins CLIP JOINT: SCENES FROM THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK, a new Y series of curated video clips, rare footage and stories. The series starts with Harold Arlen: HAROLD (AND OTHERS) SING ARLEN.

Harvey Granat's wonderful series resumes March 16, 2017 with ON Jimmy Van Heusen. And watch for the start of his new, evening series THE VISIBLE THEATER, a behind-the-scenes journey to uncover what it really takes to get a show ready for the stage with notables from every facet of production (April 19).

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