ABC Television · Public domain

Burt Bacharach, working chiefly with lyricist Hal David, wrote hundreds of songs built on chord progressions and rhythms borrowed from jazz that had no business working as pop hits and became hits anyway. Most of the pair's songs from 1961 to 1972 were written for Dionne Warwick; Bacharach later took direct control of his own recordings, producing hits for Gene Pitney, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones. He scored Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, and after his partnership with David ended, returned to prominence collaborating with Elvis Costello. Over a thousand musicians have recorded his songs.