Songwriting legend and Burt Bacharch collaborator Hal David left the rights to his catalogue to his songs when he passed away in 2012 . Those rights have now been acquired by BMG for an undisclosed fee.
The catalogue features all of David’s publishing interests in iconic songs such as ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,’ ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,’ ‘Walk On By,’ ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love,’ and ‘I Say A Little Prayer’.
David’s catalogue includes the Grammy-winning songs ‘Don’t Make Me Over,’ ‘Close to You’ and the No.1 hit ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head,’ which was featured in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and garnered an Oscar for Best Original Song. In addition, ‘What’s New Pussycat’ and ‘The Look of Love’ all received Oscar nominations.
The Grammy and Academy Award-winning lyricist is best known for his work with Bacharach and his collaboration with performer Dionne Warwick.
Dionne Warwick sung David’s songs including ‘Don’t Make Me Over,’ ‘Walk On By,’ ‘I Say A Little Prayer,’ ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose?’ and ‘I’ll Never Fall in Love Again’ written for the Broadway play Promises, Promises.
Other artists to record David’s songs include The Carpenters’ ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You,’ Herb Alperts’ ‘This Guy’s in Love With You’ and the 5th Dimension’s ‘One Less Bell to Answer.
“The music of Hal David is sewn into the fabric of American culture,” said Laurent Hubert, President of Creative & Marketing at BMG Chrysalis North America. “His timeless songs have the ability to immediately evoke emotion from music fans and will be appreciated for decades to come.
“David’s work has left a lasting impact and will continue to be sampled and covered throughout time. We are honored to be entrusted with his catalog and support his legacy going forward.”
“I am confident BMG is the right home for Hal David’s beloved body of work. It is clear the team will work passionately to promote and protect his music while bringing his songs to future generations of new fans,” said Jim David, son of Hal.Music Business Worldwide
