Getting back on topic, seeing the news of his passing was hard for me, personally. His contributions loom large in my mind because of their ear-twisting qualities, and I've struggled with the kind of melody-less music I've worked on in the last few years. The first time I heard "What The World Needs Now" got lost on my childish ears, but I heard "They Long To Be Close To You" years later and the sense memory was so strong that I immediately had to ask my mother who sang the song. Of course, I felt like I had missed something when she told me that the singers were unrelated, but the introduction of the internet in our house brought about a revelation when I could find out who wrote those two melodies. Fast forward, and I was seeking out anything he wrote.
While it may seem—and it certainly does when I drive my wife's car and forget to switch off the radio—that melody is gone from popular music, I choose to believe that those younger than me will hear his songs and have their ears twisted in the same way. Burt had a gift and he shared it with us—and I'm thankful for that.
