What The World Needs Now Is Love

A Reason to Smile

There’s a reason the music business is inundated with one-hit wonders. Capturing magic more than once is difficult in a world where inspiration is ephemeral and what’s popular can change in an instant.

That makes the remarkable staying power of the beloved musician Burt Bacharach, who passed away this past week, all the more remarkable. His compositions, even those from a distant era, are entrenched in the canon of pop music. 

In the wake of Bacharach’s death, we have been treated to eloquent testimonials of what his music meant to the eras in which it was composed, and since. 

The New York Times, in its obituary, described his impact as thus:

“A die-hard romantic, Mr. Bacharach fused the chromatic harmonies and long, angular melodies of late-19th-century symphonic music with modern pop orchestration and embellished the mixture with a staccato rhythmic drive. His effervescent compositions epitomized sophisticated hedonism to a generation of young adults only a few years older than the Beatles.

Because of the high gloss and apolitical stance of the songs Mr. Bacharach wrote with his most frequent collaborator, the lyricist Hal David, during an era of confrontation and social upheaval, they were often dismissed as little more than background music by listeners who preferred the hard edge of rock or the intimacy of the singer-songwriter genre. But in hindsight, the Bacharach-David team ranks high in the pantheon of pop songwriting.”

Bacharach wrote the music he wanted to write, staying true to his artistic vision and sensibilities. That that work is cherished and honored now is a testimony to the staying power of art. 

It wasn’t difficult, listening to his songs, to find one for our “A Reason to Smile”; the challenge was picking which to feature. We decided on “What The World Needs Now Is Love,” because the lush melody evokes a sense of timelessness and David’s lyrics speak to a simple truth that is as urgent and relevant today as the day it was written:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of

The song has been performed by multiple artists, but we decided to share a version by the incomparable Dionne Warwick, who was a longtime collaborator and muse for Bacharach. 

We’re smiling, and we hope you will be, too. Thank you, maestro, for making this world a little brighter. May you rest in peace.

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