Burt Bacharach, one of the greatest American songwriters passed away at the age of 94 February 8th, 2023. Along with lyricist Hal David (D. 2012), the two created a number of iconic song, many of which have been covered by over 1000 artists. Bacharach’s final song was recorded with Elvis Costello in 2021. Bacharach had still been performing up until a year before he passed. In honor of Bacharach and the incredible catalog of songs he composed, the What the World Needs Now tour began at the Majestic Ventura Theater in Ventura, CA March 22nd and stopped at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, CA the following night. Bacharach’s arranger/musical director Rob Shirakbari and music legend Todd Rundgren have assembled a very special tour including special guests in certain cities. The show was broken into two sets featuring a different vocalist for each song.
The show kicked off with an instrumental of the intro to “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” The singers on tour are Rundgren, The Voice’s Wendy Moten, and Tori Holub, with the band consisting of Shirakbari on piano, guitarist/trumpeter Probyn Gregory (Brian Wilson), saxophonist Woody Manowski (Musicians Institute), keyboardist Kenny Dickenson (Dave Stewart), bassist Kasim Sulton (Utopia), and celebrity drummer Elise Trouw. In total, 38 songs were performed. The special guest vocalists included Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Cecilia Noel, Chris Pierce, and Lady Blackbird. Of the 38 songs, one was composed with Elvis Costello—“God Give Me Strength”—and one had been written by Pino Donaggio in Italian—“You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me"—which Dusty Springfield had recorded an English version for in 1966.
The setlist included the theme to Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid with the finale being the film's final song, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.” The set also featured several iconic songs, including "What’s New Pussycat?" famously performed by Tom Jones, "Always Something There to Remind Me," originally a demo by Dionne Warwick, later charted by Lou Johnson, and became a hit again in the '80s with Naked Eyes. Other highlights included "Promises, Promises" from the musical of the same name, the theme from the James Bond film Casino Royale, "On My Own," recorded by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, and "Arthur’s Theme," co-written with Christopher Cross. A few songs recorded by Dionne Warwick were also performed—“I Say A Little Prayer,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” and “Alfie.”
Photos by Alex Kluft
