Legendary lyricist Hal David has sadly passed away at the age of 91.

His staggeringly successful songwriting partnership with Burt Bacharach produced some of the best-loved songs of the twentieth century,  including ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head’, ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ ‘Walk On By’, ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’, ‘(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me’, ‘(They Long To Be) Close To You’ and 'Do You Know The Way To San Jose?’

David and Bacharach worked closely with Dionne Warwick who sung many of their classics, and who has paid tribute to David, saying she would, "always have him with me, each time I sing the lyrics”. However the duo also wrote hits for many other artists, including Gene Pitney (‘24 Hours From Tulsa’), Dusty Springfield (‘Wishin' And Hopin' ), The Walker Brothers (‘Make It Easy On Yourself’), Herb Alpert (‘This Guy’s In Love With You’), Perry Como (‘Magic Moments’) and many more.

They went on to win an Oscar for ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head’ – featured in the 1969 film ‘Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid’ – as well as numerous Grammy and Tony awards for songs from the hit Broadway musical ‘Promises, Promises’. In 2011 they were the first songwriters to be awarded the Gershwin Prize for popular song by the US Library of Congress. David also became the first non-British person to be honoured with a prestigious Ivor Novello award.

Paul Williams, president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers said in a statement, "As a lyric writer, Hal was simple, concise and poetic - conveying volumes of meaning in fewest possible words and always in service to the music. It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs [form] the backdrop of our lives."