The Music Division has been busy this week. The Performing Arts Encyclopedia has just presented online collections both new (Franz Liszt, in honor of his bicentennial) and updated (fifteen composers and their works have been added to the American Choral Music presentation). But today we have a special announcement to make. The recipient of the 2012 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is the legendary songwriting duo of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
The pop icons began their run in 1956 with “Peggy’s in the Pantry,” the first song Bacharach and David’s publishers submitted to the Copyright Office, here at the Library of Congress. The hits kept on coming, for the likes of Dionne Warwick (“Walk On By”), Dusty Springfield (“Wishin’ and Hopin'”) and The Carpenters (“Close to You,” a song first recorded by actor Richard Chamberlain) . Hal David has been a welcome presence on the Coolidge Auditorium stage in our series of all-star ASCAP programs, and we are looking forward to welcoming him with his long-time partner. Read the official press release here and watch this space for more news.