newsmakers

newsmakers

Legendary songwriter Hal David dies at 91

LOS ANGELES

Hal David, the stylish, heartfelt lyricist who teamed with Burt Bacharach on dozens of timeless songs for movies, television and a variety of recording artists in the 1960s and beyond, has died. He was 91.

David died of complications from a stroke Saturday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to his wife, Eunice David.

He had suffered a major stroke in March and was stricken again Tuesday, she said.

“Even at the end, Hal always had a song in his head,” Eunice David said. “He was always writing notes, or asking me to take a note down, so he wouldn’t forget a lyric.”

Bacharach and David were among the most successful teams in modern history, with top-40 hits including “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “Close to You” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Although most associated with Dionne Warwick, their music was recorded by many of the top acts of their time, from the Beatles and Barbra Streisand to Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin. They won an Oscar for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (from the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”), Grammys and Tonys for the songs from the hit Broadway musical “Promises, Promises.”

Jay-Z’s music festival kicks off in Philly

PHILADELPHIA

The music festival that Jay-Z helped put together began Saturday in Philadelphia, and the rapper is among more than two dozen acts expected to perform across three stages, including Pearl Jam, Run DMC, Odd Future, and Dirty Projectors.

The ticketed event runs through tonight, rain or shine, on the city’s Benjamin Franklin parkway, long the site of free concerts on the Fourth of July that attract hundreds of thousands of people. Up to 50,000 were expected each day for the festival.

Organized by promoter Live Nation, the Budweiser Made in America show will benefit United Way organizations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York City.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter acknowledged that the city has faced some criticism over costs associated with the event but said the city also will benefit from the attention on a holiday weekend.

Author Richard Bach injured in plane crash

SEATTLE

Richard Bach, the author of the 1970s best-selling novella “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” among other spiritually oriented books rooted in themes of flight and self-discovery, was in serious condition Saturday after his small plane crashed in Washington state.

The homebuilt SeaRay single-engine aircraft clipped power lines Friday at 4:30 p.m. about 3 miles west of Friday Harbor Airport, according to Ian Gregor, a public affairs manager for the Federal Aviation Administration. Bach’s son, James Bach, told The Associated Press that his father was on his way to visit a friend on San Juan Island when the plane went down.

James Bach said his 76-year-old father, who was flying alone, suffered a head injury and broken shoulder.

He was listed in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center.

Associated Press