Daniel Tashian Remembers Burt Bacharach: “He Was Governed by His Heart”

Sometimes it’s worth meeting your heroes.

Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves) teamed with the late composer Burt Bacharach in 2020 for the Grammy-nominated EP Blue Umbrella. The five-year partnership turned into a fruitful friendship and storied collaboration between the pair.

American Songwriter spoke with Tashian in the days following Bacharach’s death to learn the impact the famed pop composer had on the songwriter as well as the music the two planned to release later this year.

Tashian says it’s been an “emotional roller coaster” since Bacharach died on February 8. He’s been revisiting their Grammy-nominated Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Blue Umbrella in the wake of the news.

“I’m just honored and thrilled that I got to be friends with him and to make some songs with him,” Tashian tells American Songwriter. “I’ll be unpacking those lessons for the rest of my life.”

Bacharach’s music has been the soundtrack of Tashian’s life. He fondly recalls first hearing B.J. Thomas’ rendition of Bacharach’s “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” from the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid around age four.

“The song is so impactful,” he says. “It meant a lot to me. It sounded like someone was talking to me. That’s where it all began for me, with that song.”

[RELATED: Dionne Warwick on Burt Bacharach’s Passing: “I, Too, Will Miss Him”]

Tashian says he convinced Bacharach to come to Nashville to work on what would become their seven-track EP Blue Umbrella. Instead of giving his production ideas, Tashian looked to Bacharach “because, it’s Burt,” he says.

“I’m listening to those decisions now,” he reflects. “We did a couple of versions of ‘Bells of St. Augustine’ where the drums crescendo into the chorus. He said, ‘It sounds like everybody’s going to the chorus.’ He just wanted these transitions to be smoother, not telegraphing as much. I think about that a lot. Announcing sections in a song is something that’s very common in pop music, and he just thought, ‘Let’s go another way, let’s not do that.’”

Tashian admires Bacharach’s process and says there was “a craftsmanship” in the way he took his time writing. The pair would work from the middle out when they wrote songs. They typically came up with a verse and chorus structure and then worked outwards to the intro and outro, Tashian recalls.

“A lot of this old-world craftsmanship type of doing things is a little bit harder to come by in the modern world,” Tashian notes, “so I’m trying to figure out how to integrate some of that into my life.

“I think he was governed by his heart in the sense of that’s how he made decisions,” he continues. “What was thrilling, what was interesting, what was compelling, that’s what drew him in. It wasn’t, ‘Well, this sounds like it could be a hit’ or ‘I think we need some kind of tempo.’ But he was still commercial. He was sophisticated, emotional, and commercial, which is hard to get all three.”

[RELATED: Top 5 Burt Bacharach Songs]

Tashian has fond memories of his hero’s humor as well as being seated beside Bacharach at the piano while he watched him stroke each key. His last text exchange with Bacharach was a couple of weeks ago, where the legend gave him a key suggestion for the new music they were working on together.

Two of those songs include “You’re in My Heart Now” and “Starlight Motel,” both to be released later this year. The latter title came to Tashian while on vacation with his family as he looked out the window at the stars.

“I wrote this little thing and texted it to him and he said, ‘I think this is one of our best,’” Tashian recalls. “It’s going to be something really special.”

Tashian still marvels Bacharach’s work ethic well into his 90s. Following their Grammy-nomination for Blue Umbrella, Tashian remembers saying the recognition allowed them to put their feet up and relax a little. Bacharach’s response? “Nope. Back to work!”

“He had so, so much success for so many decades,” Tashian says. “I think the fun part of it for him wasn’t collecting awards … I think the fun part was the work. He was the same person when we worked together that he was in the ‘60s in a lot of ways. He was striving for more simplicity.

“I think he felt quite proud that he was able to sound like himself with less, and I think that was a journey for him. That’s at least what my observation was. I don’t know exactly what was going on in his mind, but he said simplicity was one of his North stars. I took that to heart. I think about that all the time.”

(Photo Credit: Eric Ray Davidson / Courtesy Shore Fire Media)