This memoir by one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time offers a frank and riveting account of his unparalleled life, from his tumultuous marriages and the tragic suicide of his daughter to the stories behind his many hits.

Over the past six decades, Burt Bacharach's legendary songwriting has touched millions of devoted listeners all over the world. In Anyone Who Had a Heart, Bacharach steps out from behind the music to give an honest, engaging look at his life--from his childhood in Forest Hills, New York, during the 1930s and 1940s to his rise as one of the most accomplished composers in modern popular music, working with Hal David, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, and many others.

While he soared professionally, Bacharach's private life was dominated by the never-ending search for love--and the heartbreak that comes when it is lost. His first three marriages ended in divorce. His long-running partnership with the late Hal David suffered a bitter split that lasted seventeen years. Throughout the highs and lows, Bacharach pursued his muse. Powerful and honest, Anyone Who Had a Heart illuminates the sensitivity and intelligence of a musical legend and offers a unique backstage look at the world of show business.

Burt Bacharach is one of the most celebrated and legendary song-writers of the twentieth century. Throughout his sixty year career he has worked with artists from Dionne Warwick to Dr Dre, Marlene Dietrich to Elvis Costello. In Anyone Who Had a Heart, Bacharach steps out from behind the music to take an honest, engaging look at his life. It traces the life and times of the man who created the music that has become the sound track for the lives of his millions of devoted fans all over the world. Bacharach's songs include: 'Magic Moments' - Perry Como, ' Baby It's You' - The Shirelles / The Beatles, 'Please Stay' - The Drifters / Marc Almond, 'Wishin' and Hopin'' - Dionne Warwick / Dusty Springfield / Ani DiFranco, 'Walk On By' - Dionne Warwick / The Stranglers, 'I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself' - Dusty Springfield / The White Stripes, '(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me' - Sandie Shaw, 'A Message to Martha' - Adam Faith, 'What's New Pussycat?' - Tom Jones, 'Trains and Boats and Planes' - Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, 'Alfie' - Cilla Black / Cher / Rumer, 'I Say a Little Prayer' - Dionne Warwick / Aretha Franklin, 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose?' - Dionne Warwick, 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' - B.J. Thomas / Sacha Distel / Johnny Mathis, 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again' - Bobby Gentry, 'Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)' - Burt Bacharach / Barry Manilow / Shirley Bassey.

Over the past six decades, Burt Bacharach's legendary songwriting has touched millions of devoted listeners all over the world. In Anyone Who Had a Heart, Bacharach steps out from behind the music to give an honest, engaging look at his life--from his work with Hal David, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, and many others to his tumultuous marriages and the devastating fate of his beloved daughter.

Anyone Who Had a Heart is the story of a man who has always expressed his deepest feelings through his music. Filled with the emotional power that defines Burt Bacharach's most unforgettable songs, his memoir offers a candid backstage look at show business as well as the personal struggles of an artist whose incredible body of work has earned him a unique position in the American cultural landscape.

Aretha was private. I respected this and she trusted me. Linda Solomon met Aretha Franklin in 1983 when she was just beginning her career as a photo journalist and newspaper columnist. Franklin's brother and business manager arranged for Solomon to capture the singer's major career events-just as she was coming back home to Detroit from California-while Franklin requested that Solomon document everything else. Everything. And she did just that. What developed over these years of photographing birthday and Christmas parties in her home, annual celebrity galas, private backstage moments during national awards ceremonies, photo shoots with the iconic pink Cadillac, and more was a friendship between two women who grew to enjoy and respect one another. The Queen Next Door is a book full of firsts as Solomon was invited not only to capture historical events in Aretha'smusic career showcasing Detroit, but to join in with the Franklin family's most intimate and cherished moments in her beloved hometown. From performance rehearsals with James Brown to off-camera shenanigans while filming a music video with the Rolling Stones, from her first television special to her first time performing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, to her last performance with her sisters at her father's church and her son's college graduation celebration. In the book's afterword, Sabrina Garrett Owens, Franklin's niece, honors her aunt, a woman who wasan over whelming supporter of civil rights, women's rights, and fundraising campaigns that helped to benefit her hometown. There was a time in her career-when Franklin was more in demand than ever before-when she insisted that if someone wanted her to perform, they had to come to Detroit. During this time all of her majorconcerts, national television specials, music videos, and commercials would happen in Detroit. Aretha Franklin showed her respect for the people in the city who championed her from the very beginning when she started singing as a young girl in the church choir. Franklin used to say, ""I am the lady next door when I am not on stage."" The Queen Next Door offers fans a personaland unseen look at an extraordinary woman in her most natural moments-both regal and intimate-and highlightsher devotion to her family and her hometown Detroit-""forever and ever.