Burt Bacharach feud: Dionne Warwick ‘never forgave’ Cilla Black for ‘stealing’ her song | music | entertainment

Burt Bacharach died of natural causes on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. The Academy Award winner has racked up eight Grammy Awards as well as three Academy Awards for a glittering career that has included such acclaimed tracks as Do You Know The Way To San Jose, Alfie, and I Say A Little Prayer. The greatest names in the music industry have recorded his music but a battle broke out across the Atlantic when superstars from the US and UK clashed over one of Bacharach’s greatest hits. Scroll down to hear both versions

American legend Dionne Warwick has been widely recognized as Bacharach’s muse, but she always felt her British rival had ruined her chances of success in the UK by jumping in and recording and releasing some of the composer’s biggest hits here first.

“You stole my music,” the soul singer bluntly told reporters in 2016.

Things escalated on Black’s version of Anyone Who Had A Heart, which hit No. 1 in the UK in 1963 and completely lost out to Warwick’s original.

The song launched Cilla’s career, selling over a million copies and establishing her as a star for five decades.

Warwick said, “Since 1962, when I first met that woman, there was a confrontation. She stole my songs and I wasn’t too happy about it.”

Then again in Lorraine in 2019, Warwick had another go at it: “I wasn’t happy, of course, that she covered my recording for Anyone With Heart. Before at least giving me time and exposure.”

Unusually, there was a movie about almost the entire saga, starring another huge star.

In 2016, Warwick appeared in Cannes in front of a poster announcing a biography of her life with a focus on the 1960s, with Lady Gaga set to play Cilla.

At the time, Warwick told reporters that she considered the British star her “enemy.” Cilla Black’s estate released a statement about the casting, saying, “We think Lady Gaga is fantastic. She is an amazing actress and we really look forward to seeing her portrayal.”

What’s more, Lady Gaga’s representatives then denied ever participating in the project.



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