R.I.P.: Joe South and Hal David

We lost two of our greatest song writer this week. Joe South wrote some of the most memorable songs of the 1960's and early 1970s including Down in the Boondocks by Billy Joe Royal, Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson, Hush by Deep Purple, and Walk a Mile in My Shoes, a song in which a son of the South called out hypocrisy and intolerance, later covered by Elvis. He had hits of his own including the 1969 smash Games People Play, an era defining song. He was a very soulful singer as you will hear in his hit from 1969 Don't it Make You Want to Go Home. I Knew You When was Royal's excellent follow-up to Down in the Boondocks. Hal David was one half of one of the greatest songwriting partnerships of all time, supplying the words to Burt Bacharach's beautifully inventive melodies. This was the man who asked Do You Know the Way to San Jose? and What's it all About Alfie? he also told us that "What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love." Moreover, he once rhymed "pneumonia" with "phone ya"! That was in "I'll Never Fall in Love Again." Putting powerful sentiments in terms that the average listener can relate to is a great, and often under-appreciated talent, and David excelled at it. Here's an appreciation by Bacharach: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-hal-david-burt-bacharach-appreciation-20120904,0,2503388.story Trying to select the best Bacharach/David songs would be a fool's errand, but here are some favorites: