Burt Bacharach, who was 94 years old and wrote countless chart-topping and classic songs for a variety of major artists,

has passed away. Bacharach was widely recognized as one of the most famous and acclaimed pop music composers of the 20th century.

The news was confirmed to the Associated Press by publicist Tina Brausam, who stated that the composer had passed away due to natural causes.

One of the most significant composers of 20th-century popular music is Burt Bacharach, whose hundreds of songs

from the 1950s through the 1980s include many of the biggest artists’ distinctive successes and enduring movie soundtrack songs.

He worked most frequently with lyricist Hal David, and many of their songs were written expressly for Dionne Warwick, who popularized several of them.

Some examples of this are the well-known songs ‘Walk On By,’ ‘Alfie,’ ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ ’I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,’ and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?’

However, they also produced successes for other musicians, many of which reached the top of the Billboard 100 chart.

These songs include ‘This Guy’s in Love with You”’ by Herb Alpert, ’(They Long to Be) Close to You’ by the Carpenters,

and ‘That’s What Friends Are For,’ an all-star charity single for AIDS research that also became a hit.

Bacharach also made enduring musical contributions to theatrical and movie productions.

He composed the music for the Broadway production Promises, Promises as well as the soundtracks for the movies Arthur and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

In addition, those movies contained two iconic theme songs by Bacharach & David that went on to win two Academy Awards:

’Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)’ and ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ from Butch Cassidy. Bacharach received a second Oscar for the soundtrack to Butch Cassidy.

Bacharach was raised in Kew Gardens, New York, despite being born in Kansas City, Missouri. From a young age, he was drawn to music, especially jazz. He spent two years in the US Army.

Bacharach’s music was frequently referred to as ‘easy listening,’ and his songs were incompatible with the rising rock period due to his old-fashioned style and influences.

The 1960s will always be linked with Bacharach’s upbeat pop songs and smooth, jazzy instrumentals, though; his music in and of itself defined the time. Both Austin Powers and Mad Men feature his songs.

Additionally, Bacharach was highly regarded by musicians for his prodigious songwriting abilities, and performers from different genres have covered many of his compositions.

The Associated Press quoted Bacharach’s rock collaborator Elvis Costello as saying, ‘The shorthand version of him is that he’s something to do with easy listening.’

These tunes may be enjoyable to listen to, but they are everything but simple. Try giving them a go. Consider singing them.

Three Academy Awards, six Grammy Awards, and the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song were among the honors bestowed to Bacharach and Hal David.

On their list of the greatest songwriters of all time, Rolling Stone ranked the duo as number 32.