BMG Acquires The Catalog Of Legendary Songwriter Hal David
Music rights management company BMG announced the acquisition of the publishing catalog by songwriting legend Hal David from his sons. 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,’ ‘I Say A Little Prayer,’ and ‘Alfie.’
The Grammy-winning, Academy Award-winning lyricist, who passed away in 2012, wrote a long list of timeless American standards and is known for his work with songwriting partner Burt Bacharach and his collaboration with performer Dionne Warwick.
David’s catalog includes the Grammy-winning songs ‘Don’t Make Me Over,’ ‘Close to You’ and the Number One 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,’ ‘Alfie,’ and ‘The Look of Love’ all received Oscar nominations.
Dionne Warwick rose to fame singing 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. His song ‘What The World Needs Now is Love’ was proclaimed “The Towering Song” by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. 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.’
David has received the highest recognitions bestowed by the music industry, including numerous Grammy Awards, the induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, among many others. In 2012, he and Burt Bacharach were honored with the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Songs.
“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.
Source: BMG
