Library of Congress Acquires Papers of Composer Burt Bacharach
It’s the Library’s first collection from a Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoree.
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The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of the late composer Burt Bacharach. This is the first collection acquired from a recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Bacharach and his longtime lyricist Hal David received the Gershwin Prize in 2012.
Bacharach won six Grammys, three Oscars and a Primetime Emmy in a career that spanned six decades and produced countless hit songs. He and David were voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and received that organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Prize, in 1996. They also received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 1997, while Bacharach separately received a lifetime achievement award from the academy in 2008. Bacharach died in 2023 at age 94.
The Burt Bacharach Papers came to the Library as a gift from his wife, Jane Bacharach. The collection includes thousands of musical scores and parts, such as Bacharach’s arrangement for “The Look of Love,” and dozens of musical sketches, including for “Alfie” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” The collection also includes 180 photographs, letters and telegrams, passports and more. It will be available for researchers beginning in early summer 2025.
“Burt Bacharach’s timeless songs are legendary and are championed by artists across genres and generations,” Librarian of Congress’ Carla Hayden said in a statement. “The Library is proud to be entrusted with ensuring Bacharach’s music and legacy will remain accessible for future generations, in hopes of inspiring them with his creativity and distinctly American musical genius.”
“On behalf of the Bacharach family, we are grateful that Burt’s collection of music has a home in the Library of Congress,” said Jane Bacharach. “Out of all of his awards and accolades, Burt was most proud of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which was presented to him by President Obama. In this regard, it seems even more appropriate that his archive belongs here. Burt poured his heart and soul into his music, and we are so proud that the Library will give others the opportunity to visit and enjoy his legacy.”
In Burt Bacharach’s 2013 memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life in Music, he wrote about receiving the Gershwin Prize from the Library and how meaningful it was to him. “This award was for all my work, and so for me it was the best of all awards possible, and I meant that with all my heart,” Bacharach wrote.
Bacharach collaborated with many lyricists over the years including not only David but also Carole Bayer Sager and Elvis Costello. His songs are most associated with Dionne Warwick, who was able to effortlessly navigate Bacharach’s most difficult and demanding compositions, like, say “Promises, Promises” from the 1968 Broadway musical of the same name.
The Burt Bacharach Papers join dozens of other songwriter collections in the Library’s Music Division. These collections include the manuscripts and papers of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Billy Strayhorn, Leonard Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Leslie Bricusse, Harry Chapin and Judy Collins.
