When paired with great lyricists — especially Hal David and, later, Carole Bayer Sager and Elvis Costello — Bacharach created timeless works strong enough to sustain multiple “definitive” versions. His body of work could be considered the Great American Songbook, and those tunes were sung by some of the best: Dionne Warwick, Jackie DeShannon, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and Aretha Franklin. Bacharach never lost his formidable touch – check out Blue Umbrella, his 2020 EP with Nashville songwriter-producer Daniel Tashian, to show how vital he remained. He passed this week, but his legacy will live on through the pop music genre he arguably created. RIP. Via multiple outlets