Burt Bacharach Archive Acquired by Library of Congress
Music sketch of Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of songwriter and composer Burt Bacharach whose songs are best known for influencing popular music starting in the late 1950s.
Bacharach provided songwriting scores for various films and popular artists such as Arthur's Theme, Close To You, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, I Say a Little Prayer, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, and What the World Needs Now is Love. His work is recognized with three Academy Awards and eight Grammy Awards, including the 2008 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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 Falling on My Head. The collection also includes 180 photographs, letters and telegrams, passports and more.
"Burt Bacharach’s timeless songs are legendary and are championed by artists across genres and generations,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “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.”
The collection will be available for researchers beginning in early summer 2025.
“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 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. He compared it to the thrill of winning an Oscar.
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.
