text:
Talk:Burt Bacharach

Bacharach's Stylistic Characteristics
Re: "Bacharach's music is characterized by the frequent use of innovative chord changes, striking rhythmic patterns, frequent modulation (that is, key changes), and odd time signatures (for example, 5/4 or 3/2), going from one time signature to another in the same song, often successively.":

I don't think you can reasonably maintain there is anything odd about 3/2. It means precisely the same thing as 3/4 and 3/8 simply using a different note value as point of reference. I also don't think it's the business of this article to define modulation. (Furnish a link to a separate modulation article if you're adamant.) "Innovative" strikes me as awkward and point-of-view; unusual would be better. Changing meter would be less verbose and rambling than "going from one time signature to another in the same song, often successively". TheScotch 18:37, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Tribute albums
To Hal And Bacharach - wonder if this deserves a mention? It's a tribute album with recordings by Australian musicians. I have a copy and I have to say, it's brill! pfctdayelise 13:21, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Partial records list
I wonder if it is useful to have the "known records" section. It is hardly a representative selection, and it seems less than practical to list them all. For a more comprehensive list, see http://www.bacharachonline.com/bacharach_discog2.html Perhaps it would be best to eliminate the section and just rely on the hits section?

Srcastic 04:42, Mar 9, 2005 (UTC)

This appears to have been copied from

http://www.bacharachonline.com/bacharach_bio.html

24.54.238.244 did you write this biography? If not we will need to replace it due to copyright problems.

 * The replacement is even better than the "original copy". -- de:Mecki fingerchen 08:35, 28. Okt 2004 (CEST)

We replace with the following:

Burt Bacharach (born May 12, 1928 or 1929) is an American composer of popular music. He teamed with lyricist Hal David and others to write many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s, including "I Say a Little Prayer For You", "The Look of Love", "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", "Alfie" and "What the World Needs Now Is Love".

Bacharach's music has been sung by a number of popular singers including Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Carpenters and Dusty Springfield. The music has been praised for the distinctive melodies, sophisticated style and at times a light classical feel. He wrote a total of 52 Top 40 hits in his songwriting career.

He has been married four times, to Paula Stewart, actress Angie Dickinson, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager with whom he collaborated on a number of pieces, and currently (2003) Jane Hanson.

Bacharach has had cameo roles in a number of Hollywood movies including all three Austin Powers movies.

Re: "Bacharach's music has been sung by a number of popular singers...":

It would be better to say either "Bacharach's songs have been sung by a number of popular singers..." or "Bacharach's music has been performed by a number of popular singers...." TheScotch 18:41, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Re: "He has been married four times, to Paula Stewart, actress Angie Dickinson, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager with whom he collaborated on a number of pieces, and currently (2003) Jane Hanson.":

"Currently (2003) Jane Hanson" makes it sound as if the two were married in 2003. It would be better to say "and since 1990 to Jane Hanson"--substituting for "1990" the year they actually were married, whatever that is. TheScotch 18:46, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Youth
We say he was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and I don't doubt that, but I'm pretty sure he's a graduate of Forest Hills High School in Queens (NYC). Anyone know when his family moved east? -- Jmabel | Talk 05:39, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Little Red Book
Love certainly recorded "My Little Red Book" (and nicely, at that) I believe that the claim that it was written for them is wrong. Any citation on that? As far as I know, it was written for the film What's New, Pussycat, in which it is performed by Manfred Mann. - Jmabel | Talk 23:29, 29 January 2006 (UTC)
 * I've allowed several days, no one has answered, and I'm pretty sure I have this right, so I'm editing. - Jmabel | Talk 06:06, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, you're right. Not only did Bacharach not write the song for Love, he strongly disapproved of Love's rendition--according to the extensive liner notes of the Rhino box-set release The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection. TheScotch 18:50, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Liberty Valance
The song "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is listed in the article as being "from the movie of the same name." The song was written after the fact to cash in on the movie's popularity, and appears nowhere in the movie itself. The same would be true of "Wives and Lovers." I'm removing the film reference from the article listing. Rich 03:15, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

We need to be careful, as sometimes the wording will be "after the movie of the same name" in which it is correct if quoted exactly. Sometimes songs are written for the movie and rejected for inclusion, so research and double checking are essential with these.--Tednor 09:05, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Burt's Blog
I don't know if this is Burt's only blog, official blog, or if he keeps up with it much, but should it be linked to?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/burt-bacharach/

Jake b 22:10, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Doesn't seem worth linking until there is some substance to it. - Jmabel | Talk 01:05, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Well, it is his blog, and this is his bio, so I'm going to put it in. It has about as much substance as the rest of this bio... Jake b 22:31, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Pronunciation
How is is name pronounced? 67.188.172.165 19:33, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

You don't mention your own language, so I don't have a point of comparison to give you, but the IPA would be approximately /ˈbɜːt ˈbækəræk/. I'll add that to the article. - Jmabel | Talk 04:13, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

I'd imagine English, but IPA is useful. Gingermint (talk) 23:08, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

More Details
I would like to see this beefed up. It should be mentioned that his father was a well-known newspaper columnist in Kansas City. And there's an ongoig unconfirmed legend that Bacharach was kicked out of McGill for playing classical music boss-nova style, many have tried to establish whether this was true but nobody has as of yet. I'd love to know. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Megaforcemedia (talk • contribs) 25 September 2006.
 * The guy's alive and well. Has anyone tried asking him straight out? - Jmabel | Talk 04:45, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Bossa Nova wasn't born until after the beginning of Burt's career, so if McGill is a college he went to... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tednor (talk • contribs). Also: Bacharach graduated from McGill. TheScotch 18:54, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Hits should be just that
I humbly suggest that we avoid giving the readers a headache and/or false impressions under the "hits" category. These records should be limited to top 40 hit singles, and only the versions that attained such successs. For example: "i just don't know what to do with myself" was recorded in a version prior to dusty's as well as many after, including Nicky Holland's version for The Best Man and the White Stripes version, neither of which were singles and neither of which charted. I love Dusty more than any singer and would love to see her name many times in this list, which could easily happen if i started putting all the times she sang a Bacharach song in. However, I feel it is most important that she get credit for having the sole "hit" version of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" and not have that fact muddied by the names of other artists. Do others get what I am saying and agree? Also, please note chart info in brief behind the artist thanks!

One more thing, is there a way to split off the songs into their own subpages (and separate from above, as the focus of such will be different), so that all artists who recorded the songs can be mentioned? With a catalog such as Bacharach's this will eventually prove both necessary and invaluable. Those editing could place the Record Company and year of Recording behind the artists names and the whole list could be alphabetized to avoid double-entry. Bacharach is one of those artists whose researchers NEED a comprehensive Wikipedia page for! --Tednor 08:48, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
 * You can turn the song name into a link and write an article there. Please, though, do this only if you have something to say, we have way too many song stubs. - Jmabel | Talk 03:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

That is exactly why I'm wondering about creating an "appended page" for this use. I know little of the technical aspects of Wiki and try to focus on bulking up content instead of the technical aspects. Is there such a thing as an appended page in Wiki?? Also I see White Stripes back with no chart placement, begging the question again: WAS THIS A HIT SINGLE OR NOT?? thanks--Tednor 15:53, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

 * I have no clear idea what you mean by an "appended page". You can add a page at any time. If you are asking about a subpage of a particular page, the answer is that they go against guidelines and we almost never do them in article space, except for things like a temporary page used for a translation in progress. - Jmabel | Talk 06:49, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Staccato elements in compositional technique
I am not a musician, nor a composer, but I notice as a listener that Bacharach places many staccato lines in his bridges, and especially horn parts (i can't think a single Bacharach trumpet part which is not delivered staccato!). As I'm out of my depth here, can somebody make note of this using its proper terminology (or tell me I'm off base on this page if necessary :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tednor (talk • contribs) 16:00, 8 December 2006 (UTC).
 * I think that you are responding more to his use of syncopation, and other unexpected rhythmic patterns. Bacharach doesn't really use staccato to any especial degree. The trumpet obbligati to which you refer are not really staccato. 66.108.105.21 18:58, 8 January 2007 (UTC) Allen Roth

Whether or not Bacharach uses "staccato to any especial degree", he does tend to use trumpet or fluegelhorn staccato conspicuously, distinctively, and memorably, which has nothing whatsoever to do with his use of syncopation. "Walk On By" is a case in point. Re: "The trumpet obbligati to which you refer are not really staccato": They're short notes. What would you call short notes other than staccato? TheScotch 18:59, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Daughter's Death
Perhaps Nikki's death should be at the bottom of the 'Bio' section, as in chronological order? It is a bit confusing where you see she died in January 2007 and the next section is 1998. Blackserenity 16:08, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
 * The family information in a biography usually is not put in the middle of the chronology section, so if you have a better idea on where to move it, please do. -- Jreferee 16:16, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Its acceptable to discuss in this article the life and death of Nikki as it relates to Burt. There can be a verifiable entry on the impact of Nikki's life and death on Burt. For example, there probably should be more verifiable information on the song Nikki in the article, including why Burt wrote it and what messages it sends. However, since Nikki herself is not notable, it is not appropriate to include facts about her (birth date, death date, etc.) that are not directly related to Burt. This is especially true at this moment in time since she just died and given the way she died. -- Jreferee 21:43, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Proposed merger

 * The consensus is merge and a selective paste merger was performed. -- Jreferee 21:21, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Nikki's page is very short and it is unlikely to be expanded terribly much. It makes sense to merge the Nikki Bacharach page into this page since Burt Bacharach is a broader topic. Also, Wikipedia is not the place to honor departed friends and relatives. Subjects of encyclopedia articles must be notable besides being fondly remembered. See WP:NOT item #3, Memorials. -- Jreferee 16:16, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed. It should either be merged into this article or deleted altogether. Jvhertum 16:38, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Merge, her own article really doesn't have enough content to warrant it being separate--Tabun1015 17:13, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed - not information on her page to warrant a separate entry. HornetMike 19:00, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Merge per nomination - Jreferee 21:20, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

While Asperger's Syndrome is lifelong, it was not officially recognized in this country until the 90s. AS doesn't cause depression, but many Aspies have depression and are slightly more likely to kill themselves than neurotypical people. Being unable to practice her special interest of geology would have been extremely depressing to an Aspie. Since this is in her obit, I have included it, also taken out the reference to struggling with AS to show a NPOV.Berkeleysappho 12:30, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Huh? I happen to have the Asperger Syndrome and have never felt even close to depressed my entire life. I mean I would be disappointed if I couldn't do anything having to do with science, but never suicide! I am determined it wasn't AS that lead to Nikki's death. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.202.220.53 (talk) 01:43, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Dates and apostrophes
The proper typographic and grammatical use of the plural in dates and abbreviations is without an apostrophe. According to http://www.write101.com/W.Tips176.htm "You don't use apostrophes with dates, so it's the 1960s that we all look back on with such fond memories; neither do you need an apostrophe when you make an acronym plural...". According to The Keables Guide to Writing http://www.iolani.honolulu.hi.us/Keables/KeablesGuide/PartFour/Apostrophes.htm: "Use apostrophes for plurals of words and letters, but not for plurals of numbers, abbreviations or dates." According to the Carnegie Mellon styleguide http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/dates_numbers.html: "Use an "s" without an apostrophe after the year to indicate spans of decades or centuries, a plural."

Google "apostrophes + dates" and you'll find dozens of sources for this. Please check the sarcasm at the door, it's not useful or in the spirit of wikipedia. Thank you. Freshacconci 11:58, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

And finally, according to wikipedia itself:

Incorrect date formats:

 * Do not use an apostrophe to indicate a decade:
 * Incorrect: 1970's
 * Correct: 1970s

Freshacconci 14:33, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

You appear to confusing style (in my opinion, bad style) with grammar. Save your religious fervor for the Revivalist meeting. Here are some more representative and more authoritative sources:

John Hodes and Mary Whiteman: Harbrace College Handbook, 136: "Either the  '  or s may be used to form such plurals as the following:.... the 1970's or the 1970s".

Margaret Shertzer: The Elements of Grammar, 99: "The  's may be added to figures, signs, symbols, and letters of the alphabet to form the plural. ...In the 1900s (or 1900's) technology spread through every aspect of human life, from transportation and cooking to in vitro fertilization."

A reasonable compromise if you simply cannot tolerate the apostrophe, it seems to me, would be simply to spell out the word seventies (or eighties and so on).

TheScotch 08:03, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

 * I'm simply pointing out Wikipedia's style guide backed up with a number of sources. Hardly "religious fervor." The apostrophe in dates and numbers makes no grammatical sense. And I was especially responding to the troll and grammar-police wanna-be and his nasty message: "Anyone unfamiliar with this punctuation is unfamiliar with very BASIC rudiments of the English language and show thus not undertake to edit English prose" which I find persnickety and more than a little humourless. Whoever that person is, I'm sure he's loads of fun at a party. It's all too finger-wagging schoolmarm for me. (Especially since he's wrong--the final irony). That's all I have to say on the matter. I believe that Wikipedia standards and style guides should be maintained, even for just the sake of consistency. (And don't you think it a bit odd that the article this person chose to "correct", of all the entries in Wikipedia, is Burt Bacharach? I find it a bit peculiar. Probably just me). Freshacconci 15:56, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

It is just you, and it isn't true that "it makes no...sense" or that "he's wrong". Furthermore, you have no business calling the editor in question "a troll" or "nasty" or speculating here about whether he'd be "fun at a party" or calling him any of the other names you call him in the above paragraph.

As for "grammatical sense": This is of course a matter of punctuation, not grammar. The most obvious consideration is that since numerals and dates aren't words there is no reason to pluralize them in the same manner as words. The next most obvious consideration is that adding the apostrophe makes pluralized numerals and dates easier to read. Perhaps the most important consideration is that the apostrophe for pluralized numerals and dates makes them consistent with how "letters of the alphabet" have to be pluralized to be readable at all, especially if these letters are in lowercase and form an abbreviation. In this case it would be impossible otherwise to tell if the s is intended to be part of the abbreviation.

Re: "(And don't you think it a bit odd that the article this person chose to "correct", of all the entries in Wikipedia, is Burt Bacharach?":

Why should it be? Is Bacharach notorious for his atrocious punctuation? I never heard this.

In any case, the editor in question is quite right that a literate person should be familiar with this punctuation. The removal of the apostrophe is a recent perverse trend that should be resisted. TheScotch (talk) 10:02, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Cut from article
I have cut the following from the article. It was way too much about one song that, as is acknowledged, "never even dented the 'bubbling under' singles charts". Also, some of the tone is fannish and unencyclopedic.

"In April 1960 a very strange Bacharach composed (also arranged & conducted) song appeared by the late-fifties rockabilly artist and soon to be actor - Paul Hampton. The song was titled: 'Two Hour Honeymoon' and appeared on Dot Records (#16084). This is a bizarre novelty song with haunting music by Bacharach about a couple who have just been married and are driving in their car on the way to their honeymoon, when they have a bad accident and the wife is killed and the husband (narrator) is lying there dying, talking to his dead wife and saying that they only had a 'Two Hour' Honeymoon. This is one of THE strangest records ever issued and never even dented the 'bubbling under' singles charts!" "Fifties rockabilly artist Paul Hampton issued the bizarre song ('Two Hour Honeymoon') in April 1960 on Dot Records. This was co-written with Bacharach and featured his arrangement & conducting of the haunting backround music in a song about a newlywed couple involved in a fatal auto accident right after their wedding."

Paul Hampton (who, I gather, wrote the lyrics, Bacharach just wrote a melody) doesn't even have an article. I'd suggest writing that article — with appropriate citations, in an appropriate style — discussing the song there, and giving it a one-line mention (at most) here. - Jmabel | Talk 17:38, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Opening Paragraph
Re: "He is best known for his many pop hits from 1962-70, with lyrics written by Hal David, many of which were performed by their premier interpreter, Dionne Warwick."

Someone has just changed sung by to performed by their premier interpreter, and I like to know why he thinks his four-word, decasyllabic phrase is superior to the simple verb (and preposition). I concede that premier adds information--if only vaguely--, but, on the other hand, performer subracts (so to speak) information, and, as a whole, the phrase strikes me as inflated and verbose. TheScotch 06:12, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

It's not only verbose but POV. "Most popular interpreter," maybe, if that's backed by citations. "Most famous interpreter," possibly. But "premier" suggests a value judgment and that doesn't belong. Clampton 17:21, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

Year of birth?
The article says he was born in 1928; the infobox says 1927. Which is it? 76.21.0.82 (talk) 10:43, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Club on Long Island?
I recall that during the early 1980s Bacharach had a night club on Long Island, I believe in Oyster Bay. Anyone have a citation with the details of that club? Do people here think it's worth including? Lafong (talk) 04:17, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

Pervasive Failure to Use Logical Punctuation
When reading the article, I was appalled at the number of times in the section "1.2 Early songwriting work" that the editor chose to ignore WP's manual of style and had commas inside of the quotation marks in lists of song titles. It was so bad that there were at least two instances of commas flanking an end quote.

As far as I can tell, I've fully repaired that section but I just had surgery and have only been home from the hospital for a day and a half so I may well have missed some. Further, I simply haven't the strength to fix the rest of the article right now and even if I actually remember to come back and fix it later, it won't be for at least a couple of months so it would be great if someone more able could fix it sooner. Thanks. --Kitsunegami (talk) 08:29, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Discography
Bacharach is an unusually prolific composer, arranger, etc. I believe he merits a separate discography page, as so many other session musicians, composers, and the like have. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 23:44, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

 * I completely agree!
 * albabe -  The Writer /Artist Formally Known as  Al Gordon 21:49, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Chord Types and Voicings
I was thinking about adding to "Style: Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions..." and chord voicings (Diminished Chords, Augmented Chords and Major 7 and 8 chords are a rarity in Pop music of the 60s and 70s). What do you folks think?

albabe -  The Writer /Artist Formally Known as  Al Gordon 21:48, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

 * Dear friend,

1) "diminished", "augmented" etc. are not "voicing". You can call them "types" or even nothing: "augmented chord" is enough. "Voicing" means something different: it means, today (which is not precise), the way a musician (pianists, guitarists...) uses to put the notes of a chord in a certain order instead of another (ex.: CMaj7 theorically is C,E,G,B but you can use several positions on the piano to play it: E,G,B,C and so on, and these are called inversions; others, adding an A, a D etc., spreading them on the keyboard or putting the notes one close to the others, in an infinte number or possibilities, and all this stuff somedoby calls it "voicing"). 2) Diminished and Major Seventh chords are common in pop music of the 60s and 70s, from the Beatles to the italian and french songwriters, and VERY common in other styles such as soul and so on. Also augmented are not so rare. I would add nothing. 3) What is a 8 chord?!? 4) A chord "progression", speaking precisely, is not a simple number of chords one following the other: these terms should be used to describe a number of chords you can build on a number of degrees of a scale one following the other, no gap. Example: CMaj7 / Dmin7 / Em7 / Fmaj7 is a chord progression; G7/CMaj7 is not. CMaj7 / Bm7b5 / Am7 / G7 is a progression. Ciao! --Simoneschiaffino (talk) 13:31, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Why isn't there a Wiki section on the team of Bacharach and David ?
This seems like a major oversight to me. There are separate sections on Burt Bacharach and Hal David, but surely the duo deserves an entry, the same as Lennon and McCartney , Rogers and Hart etc, — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.37.18.239 (talk) 00:41, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

First sentence
"Burt Freeman Bacharach (/ˈbækəræk/ BAK-ə-rak; born May 12, 1928) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, record producer and pianist."

Edited this to the following:

"Burt Freeman Bacharach (/ˈbækəræk/ BAK-ə-rak; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer, pianist, and singer."

He did sing on some of his records, but that's not why he's renowned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.69.222.24 (talk) 09:18, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 10:33, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Books
Here are some books that can be worked in

--Ilovetopaint (talk) 02:59, 12 April 2017 (UTC)

Lead accolades
MOS:LEAD (emphasis added):
 * The lead section should briefly summarize the most important points covered in an article in such a way that it can stand on its own as a concise version of the article. The reason for a topic's noteworthiness should be established, or at least introduced, in the lead (but not by using subjective "peacock terms" such as "acclaimed" or "award-winning" or "hit"). It is even more important here than in the rest of the article that the text be accessible. Editors should avoid lengthy paragraphs and over-specific descriptions – greater detail is saved for the body of the article. Consideration should be given to creating interest in the article.

Now, given all that, here are the statements of questionable notability Why is any of this important enough to be in the lead? Why not detail any of the other biographies, tribute concerts, or award ceremonies held for Bacharach?--Ilovetopaint (talk) 04:33, 3 May 2017 (UTC)
 * In 1997 he was the subject of a PBS "Great Performances" biography.
 * a 2009 concert by Dutch singer Trijntje Oosterhuis.
 * The ceremony was hosted by President Obama, and included a concert performed with various stars.

 * Unfortunately, you could make the same complaints about any of the other details in the lead. Why is person X named and not person Y? Why is this song listed but not that one? It's logical and common to include a few important honors and/or awards for celebrities. Oscars, Gold Globes, even nominations. As for the PBS show and Gershwin Prize, those are a few major ones chosen from the list in the article. But what peacock terms are you referring to? I only see a few "hits" stated, but those are facts, not peacock terms. Saying a song was a "hit" is a common description and is synonymous with "successful." Like a "best-seller" book.

 * For some strange reason you also keep tagging sourced details saying they were not in the cite. But it's obvious you never looked at the cite. So why do you keep tagging the sourced commentary? --Light show (talk) 07:08, 3 May 2017 (UTC)
 * You didn't answer my question. It's certainly appropriate to note that Bacharach has received numerous Grammy and Academy Awards, but there is nothing extraordinary about him being the subject of a TV biography 20 years ago, or that a Dutch singer (who 99% of readers won't even know collabed with him unless they visit her page) performed at one of his tribute concerts. This is an encyclopedia, not a press kit.

 * Check out the articles for the other recipients of the Gershwin Prize. Isn't it curious how Paul McCartney, Carole King, and Bill Joel have had tribute concerts, TV biographies, and the honor of being hosted by a head of state, yet that info is absent from their leads? It's almost like nobody bothered to add it because it's trivial fluff.--Ilovetopaint (talk) 08:55, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

 * I just noticed you again tagged that material. You also added a section tag which is totally out of place for a section with dozens of cites. Either prove that the material is not stated in the source or I will consider your repeated tagging and other strange comments as the only edits that are in fact "disruptive." --Light show (talk) 07:21, 3 May 2017 (UTC)
 * I did check the cite, otherwise I would not have even bothered to tag it. I don't remember which specific details did not match up, but it was probably the mention of flugelhorns and other instruments (IIRC). I can check again, but then I may as well just fix the section myself while I'm at it.--Ilovetopaint (talk) 08:55, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

 * Yeah, why don't you go back and check again. And feel free to then apologize for erroneously tagging facts due to what you didn't remember. In the meantime the tags don't belong there. I'm looking at the cite right now and the details are there as stated. --Light show (talk) 15:25, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

 * You know, the reason why I merely tagged it instead of removing the info was to give you a chance to find proper sources. You really should consult the books I linked above instead of relying on YouTube videos.--Ilovetopaint (talk) 21:46, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

To respond to another point raised ("Why is this song listed but not that one?"), per WP:LISTCRITERIA, there actually is logic applied to the lead's selection of songs: "Songs that he co-wrote which have topped the Billboard Top 100". We aren't playing favorites. --Ilovetopaint (talk) 23:36, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

Disruptive blitz-tagging
It's totally clear that the recent spate of dozens of tags for minor and insignificant details serves no purpose except to disrupt the readability of the article. See also commentary about non-constructive drive-by tagging.

There are nonsense tags for lists of linked titles which cover the sources; there are tags for video footage of an event noted claiming a better source is needed; there are tags referring to a sourced magazine article cover story showing the actual cover, claiming it as a primary source so another source is required referring to the magazine. After the previous discussion above it's evident that AGF is proving difficult.

Blitz-tagging without any discussion and for such nonsense is considered disruptive to the article. The tagging editor should discuss issue first. In an earlier discussion, also full of nonsense rationales, the editor had repeatedly tagged the same commentary falsely claiming the source was wrong. Only when I stated I had the source, did they finally stop. --Light show (talk) 23:52, 4 May 2017 (UTC)

 * The use of inline tags was per your suggestion: "inline tags more useful for a large section with over 50 sources".
 * WP:BURDEN: All content must be verifiable. The burden of demonstrating verifiability lies with the editor who adds or restores material, and is satisfied by providing a citation to a reliable source that directly supports the contribution.
 * WP:WNTRMT: You should not remove maintenance templates if ... The issue has not yet been resolved
 * --Ilovetopaint (talk) 09:30, 3 June 2017 (UTC)

Dionne Warwick
Burt and Hal signed Dionne to their production company in early 1960. Dionne was under contract to produce some more records when Burt and Hal stopped working together in 1970s. That's why she had to sue them for songs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.234.135.204 (talk) 21:11, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

schooling
reasonably wants to add "McGill University, B.Mus., 1948" (with reference) to the infobox; but the template used here has no field for that, so he put it in the birth field, an inelegant solution. Can someone convert to a more accommodating template? —Tamfang (talk) 19:18, 29 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I don't know. I asked at Template talk:Infobox musical artist. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:32, 29 April 2018 (UTC)

Minor edit needed
In the Beginning Work... section Marlene Dietrich is described as "the German..." but she not only was a U.S. (naturalized ca. 1937) but is/was well known for her pride in being an American. Describing her as German is misleading. How about changing it to "...German-born American actress and singer..." ? (not that I'd say she had a good, probably not even average, voice, but it's not what you have, it's what you do with what you have, and she was Great at using her talents - and Bacharach deserves MUCH more credit that this article gives him for her singing success, but I digress.)40.142.185.108 (talk) 22:15, 2 August 2019 (UTC)
 * ✅ No perceived need to mention any nationality in this context. StonyBrook (talk) 11:15, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

Korean War service
Bacharach served in the Army during period of the Korean War. It is unclear if he was involved with the war as the more comprehensive refs such as biographies say he was stationed in Germany, and preformed at places such as Fort Dix and Governors Island. One ref seems to indicate he was not in Korea at all. Accordingly, "Category:United States army personnel of the Korean War" was removed until a defining role is established for inclusion of this category. Semper Fi! FieldMarine (talk) 01:47, 12 August 2022 (UTC)

Burt Bacharach's Death, 8 February 2023.
There will be no mystery surrounding Bacharach's death. He died from "Longevity" at 94. It was a "Natural Death" caused from "Natural Causes". No other reason to be given or discovered...thereafter. He died, at 94, because he lived a long-life. Spenser - The Unknown (talk) 21:06, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
 * That is not how wikipedia, or any reliable encyclopedia, operates. Information is gathered, then presented, based on the providing sources. Often this information changes, either from initial inaccuracy or further discovery. Bacharach died from the the reasons obtained from reliable sources, not just because he was long–aged.-- ☾Loriendrew☽  ☏(ring-ring)  22:55, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Discography
@Tone Hello! Now I get what you said here: the "Discography" section is in a mess right now...

I think I'll be able to fix it myself, but considering the amount of works the late Bacharach was able to boast, wouldn't it be better to organize that section in a similar way as Beyoncé and other good articles (that is, for instance, creating a separate page for his discography)?

Solo albums, collaborative albums and theatrical works might stay there if hyperlinked, but the "Other recordings" paragraph probably has to go (there should be a dedicated list already), whereas I'm not sure about "Tribute albums"...

What do you think about it?

Oltrepier (talk) 09:20, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Also, I see that many album pages still have to be created, so this is definitely not made to be a one-man job, but hey, I'll see what I can do... : D Oltrepier (talk) 09:23, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, you see the problem, the list is massive. Perhaps a (sourced) selection of most notable works could be left in the main article and the rest in a dedicated separate one. I'd be happy with this approach though some people may still want to have everything sourced. Tone 09:30, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * @Tone Right. Are sources like AllMusic useful enough, or should I turn to other portals? Oltrepier (talk) 11:01, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't have enough experiences with sourcing musical topics, so maybe some other editor would be more helpful. In any case, the sources have to be reliable and not from aggregators. Tone 11:08, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * @Tone Alright, I've tried my best to retrieve good sources and re-organize the section properly, although it's undoubtedly a difficult job. Also, I've included two red-links for both the solo discography and the production discography, where we should eventually transfer part of that huge list. Hopefully someone else will join in, as well... : D
 * By the way, could this site be considered as a reliable source, or should we avoid using it? Oltrepier (talk) 11:16, 17 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Hm, I checked how long ago he died, it was 10 days ago. I am afraid this is too late for RD :/ But you certainly improved the article, which is a good thing. As for the link you mention, it seems like a blog which is not the best type of source. Tone 08:05, 18 February 2023 (UTC)

@Tone That's fine, thank you for your feedback and help. Unfortunately, most of the artist's solo discography (together with other works he was involved in) looks to be poorly sourced, which is really annoying and disappointing, given his caliber. But anyway, if I can get someone to help me fill those two pages I created about Bacharach's discography, we should be able to tidy up that section permanently, and then focus on the overall quality of the article. There's still hope for a GA or FA nomination, in my opinion... : D Oltrepier (talk) 18:15, 18 February 2023 (UTC)

Timeline of partnership with Hal David
The article is unclear about when Bacharach and Hal David began writing together. One paragraph begins "Bacharach and David formed a writing partnership in 1963." A little farther down, a paragraph mention's Dionne Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over", written by Bacharach and Hal David and released in 1962.

Was the "partnership" referenced in the sentence above a contractual partnership that followed some one-off collaborations by Bacharach and Hal David? 135.180.126.4 (talk) 15:48, 20 June 2023 (UTC)

 * This is pretty unclear. I've removed the earlier "partnership" language -- Bacharach was still writing songs with other lyricists at the Brill Building for several years before he starting working exclusively with David. However, I don't see (quickly) when the formal relationship began. And Dionne Warwick needs to be in this formulation too. --jpgordon𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇 16:07, 20 June 2023 (UTC)
 * What Bacharach and David formed in 1962 or 1963 was a production company, and that company signed Dionne Warwick, so all three of them were contractually obligated to each other. This is the reason that ten or so years later, when Burt decided to stop working with Hal, Dionne filed a lawsuit against Burt and Hal. They formed an ad hoc, non-exclusive songwriting partnership as early as 1956 (their song "I Cry More" featured in the 1956 film "Don't Knock the Rock", and Alan Dale's recording of that song was released as Coral 9-61699 that same year). But it became a formal and exclusive partnership in 1963. Burt mentions this in his autobiography in chapter 7, "Make It Easy on Yourself." Burt does not provide a year, but discusses the company forming right around the time Dionne cut her first demos and saw Jerry Butler record one of the songs, "Make It Easy on Yourself", that she considered "hers" before she was given a chance to record it. 135.180.126.4 (talk) 06:15, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Burt Bacharach


text:
Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former football running back who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushing touchdowns once, establishing himself as one of the most elusive runners in the history of the NFL with his quickness and agility, despite being only 5 ft 8 in tall and weighing 203 lbs. Sanders played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. As a junior in 1988, he compiled what is widely considered the greatest individual season by a running back in college football history, rushing for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in 11 games. He won the Heisman Trophy and was unanimously recognized as an All-American.

Sanders was selected by the Lions in the 1989 NFL draft, and had an immediate impact in his rookie season, winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. In 1991, Sanders helped lead the Lions to their first postseason win since 1958. In 1994, Sanders was awarded the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award (OPOY). In 1997, he rushed for 2,053 yards in the regular season and was co-awarded the NFL Most Valuable Player Award (shared with Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre), alongside his second NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. While still performing at a high level, Sanders unexpectedly retired from professional football in 1999, at the age of 31, and 1,457 yards short of breaking the NFL's then all-time rushing record held by Walter Payton. Sanders cited the Lions' front office and declining team production as reasons for his retirement. He finished his career with 15,269 rushing yards (fourth all-time), and 99 rushing touchdowns (tenth all-time); in each of his ten seasons he was selected to a Pro Bowl and All-Pro team. The Lions retired Sanders' No. 20 jersey on November 25, 2004, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame three months prior. A year later, Sanders was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame with former college teammate Thurman Thomas.

In 2007, he was ranked by NFL Networks' NFL Top 10 series as the most elusive runner in NFL history, and was placed No. 1 on the list of the greatest players never to play in a Super Bowl. He is considered by many as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. Bleacher Report ranked Sanders No. 1 on their list of greatest running backs in NFL history. He averaged 1,527 rushing yards per season and just under 100 rushing yards per game (99.8). Sanders was first inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and in that same year inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. In 2000, Sanders was included in the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, and in 2019, Sanders was named to the National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Early life
Sanders was born on July 16, 1968, in Wichita, Kansas, the seventh of eleven children to William and Shirley Sanders. His father worked as a roofer and carpenter, while his mother worked as a homemaker for the Sanders family. Sanders and two of his brothers worked as roofer's assistants to his father. As a child, Sanders was known for having an appetite, being able to eat an entire loaf of bread in one sitting. He would often listen to regional college sports games that his father would play on TV. Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press wrote: "All day they would labor, with the hammers, with the tar, sweating in the hot summer sun. You did not complain in the Sanders family. Not unless you wanted a good whupping."

Sanders played football at Wichita North High School. Before this, he enjoyed playing youth football and basketball. Sanders started at tailback in his sophomore year in high school, but his brother Byron started before him in that position during Barry's following junior year. When Byron graduated and left for Northwestern University on a football scholarship, Sanders was expected to start at tailback in his senior year—but instead was started at wingback—a variant of the wide receiver position. His head coach at the time perceived that his small stature would be a liability and that he "lacked contact courage." Besides taking part in football, he played basketball as a guard. Table-tennis and baseball were also sports that Sanders took part in. During this period—according to writer Samuel Crompton—the Sanders family had to "scrimp and save to get by".

Sanders did not become the starting running back until the fourth game of his senior year, when the original player was suspended for disciplinary reasons; he rushed for 274 yards and four touchdowns in that game. He rushed for 1,417 yards on 139 rushing attempts, averaging 10.2 yards per rushing attempt, and scored 17 touchdowns through his seven-game senior season. In the last game of the season, Wichita North's head coach, Dale Burkholder, offered Sanders more playing time in order to gain enough rushing yards to reach the state rushing title, but Sanders declined, saying it was "not important." For his season, Sanders earned all-state honors, and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. Although he was viewed as a stellar athlete, because of his short stature Sanders received scholarship offers from only Wichita State University, Iowa State University, University of Tulsa, and Oklahoma State University–Stillwater; he accepted the offer from Oklahoma State.

Sanders later said that his choice to play at Oklahoma State caused a conflict between him and his father. When Oklahoma State's coach came to his father's house with a letter of intent the day Sanders signed with the team, his father was frustrated, saying as the coach walked out the door that Sanders was "making a big mistake" when signing with the team. His father was similarly frustrated because Oklahoma State played in the same conference as the Oklahoma Sooners, whom William was a fan of. A friend of Sanders told him that William said Sanders had chosen to play at Oklahoma State "in order to hide"; Sanders would be playing behind Heisman candidate Thurman Thomas, as opposed to playing at a school where he would be the starting running back. Eventually, his father supported Sanders at Oklahoma State, and attended all of his games when he played.

College career
Sanders enrolled at Oklahoma State University, where he played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1986 to 1988 and wore the No. 21 jersey. During his first two years, he backed up Thomas at running back. In 1986, Sanders played in eight games and rushed for 325 rushing yards on 74 rushing attempts, with two rushing touchdowns. In 1987, he led the nation in yards per kickoff return (31.6), while rushing for 603 yards and scoring nine rushing touchdowns, catching four passes for 58 receiving yards and a touchdown, and scoring two touchdowns from 29 total special teams returns. He was named a second-team College Football All-American as a return specialist. While still a backup to Thomas, he received notable attention from his opponents. Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer in particular told his players not to injure Thomas, in fear of Sanders starting in his place, telling them: "You won't touch this kid". Sanders was not fond of this as he believed Thomas to be a good teammate. Thomas moved on to the NFL in 1988, which allowed Sanders to become the starter for his junior year in college.

In 1988, in what is considered one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history, Sanders became the first player to open two consecutive seasons with a 100-yard kickoff return. He led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per attempt and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. Despite his massive workload of 344 attempts, Sanders was still used as the team's punt and kickoff returner, adding another 516 yards on special teams. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,248 total all-purpose yards, broken by Christian McCaffrey in 2015, 234 points, broken by Montee Ball in 2011, 37 rushing touchdowns, and 39 total touchdowns, (37 rushing, one kick return, one punt return, tied with Ball).

Sanders had five consecutive 200-yard games, scored at least two touchdowns in all eleven games, and eight times he scored at least three touchdowns. Sanders ran for 222 yards and scored five touchdowns in just three quarters of action in the 1988 Holiday Bowl, a game that is not included in the official NCAA season statistics. When added to his original rushing total, Sanders recorded 2,850 rushing yards from a workload of 373 attempts, 42 rushing touchdowns, and 44 total touchdowns. Sanders learned of his Heisman Trophy win while he was with the team in Tokyo, Japan preparing to face Texas Tech in the Coca-Cola Classic, accepting the award via satellite; he garnered 559 first-place votes for 1,878 points, becoming the eighth non-college senior to attain the trophy, and was selected as a unanimous All-American. Nevertheless, he believed Rodney Peete should have won the award. Along with his Heisman Trophy, Sanders was awarded the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, and named the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year. Sanders initially announced that he was not going to enter the NFL draft, but after receiving pressure from his father, he announced his entrance into the draft.

NCAA FBS records
Sanders set 34 NCAA Division I FBS records in his college career, and still holds the following records:
 * Most rushing yards in a season: 2,628
 * Most rushing yards gained in a three, four, and five game span: 937; 1,152; 1,472
 * Most rushing touchdowns in a season: 37
 * Most 2+ rushing touchdown games in a season: 11
 * Most 3+ rushing touchdown games in a season: 8
 * Most consecutive games scoring two or more touchdowns: 13 (from November 14, 1987, through 1988)
 * Most scrimmage touchdowns in a season: 39 (tied with Ball)
 * Most games rushing for 300+ yards in a season and career: 4
 * Most all-purpose yards per game in a season: 295.5
 * Most rushing yards per game in a season: 238.9

Detroit Lions (1989–1998)
Sanders, a college junior, was originally ineligible for the NFL Draft. However, Oklahoma State had been under investigation by the NCAA for going against recruiting rules, and later were given significant penalties for their violations. If Sanders had stayed for his senior season, his games would not have been televised, and the Cowboys would be ineligible for college bowl games. Due to these circumstances, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle allowed Sanders to enter the draft. One year after he was selected, the NFL allowed all juniors to participate in the draft. During pre-draft measurements, Sanders was measured at 5 ft 8 in tall, and weighed at 203 lbs.

The Detroit Lions drafted Sanders third overall in the 1989 NFL draft, after Troy Aikman and Tony Mandarich, thanks to the endorsement of head coach Wayne Fontes. The Lions competed in the Central Division of the National Football Conference (NFC). Since the completion of the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Lions had made the postseason only twice, and had not had a season at or above .500 since their most recent playoff season in 1983. Fontes, who took over the coaching position midway through the previous season, was impressed with Sanders' athletic ability after he lifted 225 lbs (102 kg) for 21 reps. Lions' management considered drafting another "Sanders", cornerback Deion Sanders, but Fontes convinced them to draft Barry instead. Fontes offered Sanders jersey No. 20, which had been worn by former Lions running back Billy Sims; Sims was one of the league's premier running backs in the early 1980s, and Fontes requested he wear the number in tribute to Sims. Sanders had doubts about what his career would have been like if another team selected him, such as the Green Bay Packers, who selected Mandarich at No. 2, later saying: "I don't know what I would've done if I was drafted by Green Bay, I don't know if I would've wanted to play in Green Bay, I don't think I could've handled this weather every day."

Sanders did not participate in the training camp of his rookie season due to a contract dispute. He eventually came to monetary terms with the Lions, signing a deal for five years, $9.5 million, including a $2.1 million signing bonus—ten percent of which ($210,000), he donated to his local church: Paradise Baptist Church. In his first Lions press conference, Sanders prefaced that he wanted to assist in restoring the franchise's reputation in the NFL landscape, stating that he wanted to help "restore the roar in the dome."

Early years and postseason win (1989–1991)
As a rookie in 1989, Sanders started 13 out of a possible 16 games for the Lions. In his first career professional game against the Phoenix Cardinals on September 10, Sanders ran for 71 yards on nine attempts and scored a rushing touchdown in the 16–13 loss. Against the Chicago Bears, Sanders compiled 126 yards on 18 attempts and a touchdown in the 47–27 loss, but became injured with bruised ribs and a hip pointer that plagued him through the rest of the season. On October 1, Sanders only had one yard on five attempts against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 23–3 loss. Against the Minnesota Vikings, Sanders had 23 attempts for 99 yards in the 24–17 loss. After the game, Vikings head coach Jerry Burns asked game officials to check if Sanders had applied silicone to himself; Burns believed this was why his players had difficulty tackling him. No illegal substance was ever found. On December 24, the final game of the season, he had 158 yards on 20 attempts to go along with three touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons. During the game, the Lions installed a special phone line in one of the press boxes to monitor Christian Okoye, a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs who, at the time, was tied with Sanders for the league rushing title. When Okoye's game ended, Sanders trailed Okoye by only ten yards. Fontes offered Sanders the chance to return to the Lions' game to gain enough yards to pass Okoye, after Sanders was pulled from the game when the score was in the Lions' favor. Yet Sanders declined to return to the game, letting Okoye keep the rushing title. Sanders finished the season totaling 1,470 rushing yards off of 280 attempts and 14 touchdowns. His rushing total was both a rookie franchise record, and a franchise record for any running back in Lions history (both records held previously by Billy Sims). Sanders was awarded the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, and named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl and was named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP). The Lions struggled that season, posting a 7–9 record and failing to make the postseason, despite winning five straight games to end the year.

On September 9, 1990, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sanders had 79 yards from 14 rushing attempts and a goal-line touchdown in the 38–21 loss in the Lions' regular season opener. Against the Green Bay Packers on September 30, Sanders had 20 attempts for 94 yards in the 24–21 loss in Week 4. Sanders had 16 attempts for 90 yards and a touchdown, coupled with five receptions for 135 yards receiving and a 47-yard receiving touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 43–24 loss in Week 6. On November 4, playing against the Washington Redskins, Sanders had 11 rushes for 104 yards and a touchdown, in a game where the Lions surrendered a 21-point lead to lose 38–41. On December 10 against the Los Angeles Raiders, Sanders was credited with a season-high 176 yards from 25 attempts and two touchdowns in the 38–31 loss. He earned his first NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor for his game against the Raiders. On December 22 against the Packers, Sanders had 19 attempts for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 24–17 victory. Sanders had a productive year, finishing the year first in the NFL in rushing yards, with 1,304, becoming the first Lions running back to lead the league in rushing yards since Byron White in 1940. He ranked third in rushing touchdowns (13), and sixth in both attempts (255), and yards per attempt (5.1). As a result, Sanders was selected to his second Pro Bowl and was again named an AP first-team All-Pro. The Lions finished the year with a 6–10 record and missed the postseason for the seventh consecutive season.

On September 1, 1991, Sanders was inactive for the Lions' 45–0 shutout loss against the Washington Redskins, due to having sore ribs before the opening kickoff. The loss was the franchise's worst in over 20 years. On November 24, 1991, against the Minnesota Vikings, Sanders dominated, with 220 rushing yards on 23 attempts and four touchdowns, a game the Lions won 34–14. Sanders dedicated the win to teammate Mike Utley, who suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury the previous game. In the final game of the regular season against the Buffalo Bills, Sanders had 26 attempts for 108 yards and a touchdown, but fumbled in Lions territory, allowing the Bills to tie the game; the Lions would still be victorious, ending 17–14 in overtime. Sanders finished the regular season with 1,548 rushing yards from a workload of 342 attempts. He led the league in rushing touchdowns, with a career-high 16. Subsequently, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and AP first-team All-Pro team and awarded the Bert Bell Award. The 1991 season was the most successful season in terms of wins with Sanders starting at running back. With a 12–4 record, the Lions clinched the NFC Central and made the postseason for the first time since 1983, with Fontes being awarded that year's National Football League Coach of the Year Award. Those 12 wins are the most in a season by the Lions franchise in its history. Having the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the Lions skipped the Wild Card Round and advanced to the Divisional Round, where they faced the Dallas Cowboys. Sanders helped lead the Lions to their first postseason victory since the team won the 1957 NFL Championship Game. In the game, Sanders was held to only 22 yards rushing before he broke away for a 47-yard touchdown run, in which he broke several tackles to close out the 38–6 victory. In the NFC Championship Game, Sanders was held to eleven attempts for 44 yards in the Lions' blowout 41–10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Redskins. Sanders finished the postseason with 23 attempts for 113 yards and a touchdown. He would never win another playoff game in his career after that season.

Mid-career (1992–1994)
On September 13, 1992, Sanders had 26 attempts for 66 yards against the Minnesota Vikings. Against the Washington Redskins the following week, Sanders recorded 14 attempts for only 34 yards in the 13–10 loss. On November 22, Sanders compiled 29 attempts for 151 yards and a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. His rushing total against the Bengals brought his career total to 5,202 rushing yards, passing Sims for a new franchise record. Sanders finished his final regular season game with 19 attempts for 104 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. Overall, Sanders was credited with 1,352 rushing yards from a workload of 312 attempts and nine touchdowns; his rushing yards total ranked fourth in the league, and his attempts ranked third. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and named an AP second-team All-Pro for the first time. The Lions regressed from their previous season, posting a 5–11 record for the year, and missed the playoffs after making the conference championship the prior year.

During the 1993 season, Sanders appeared to be well on his way to that year's NFL rushing title; however, on November 25, 1993, against the Chicago Bears, after rushing for 63 yards on 16 attempts, Sanders was forced to leave the game with an injury. The Lions revealed after the game that Sanders had suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL), and would miss three to five weeks. It was subsequently revealed by a physician that Sanders had also torn his posterior cruciate ligament. As a result, Sanders was inactive for the last five games of the regular season. In his final contract year, Sanders and the Lions agreed to a four-year, $17.2-million contract, making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL, and the third-highest-paid player overall, behind John Elway and Steve Young. Starting in only 11 games due to the injury, he finished in the top ten in multiple rushing categories. Sanders was fifth in the league in rushing yards (1,115 rushing yards), ninth in attempts (243), and second in rushing yards per game (101.4 rushing yards per game); with a career-low three rushing touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl and an AP second-team All-Pro. The Lions finished the regular season with a 10–6 record, clinching the NFC Central and a postseason berth. The Lions faced their division rival Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round. Sanders, after being cleared for the game, recorded 27 attempts for 169 yards, the best statistical postseason game of his career; but the Lions lost 28–24.

On September 11, 1994, Sanders struggled, as he had 12 attempts for only 16 yards in a 10–3 loss against the Minnesota Vikings. Against the Dallas Cowboys the following week, Sanders improved with a career-high 40 attempts for 194 yards. For his performance, he was named the NFC Offensive Player of The Week. On September 25, 1994, against the New England Patriots, Sanders recorded 18 attempts for 131 yards and two touchdowns. During the game, Sanders had one of the most memorable runs of his career. While rushing 39 yards for a touchdown, Sanders juked and spun his way to the end zone, causing Patriots safety Harlon Barnett to spin around trying to tackle Sanders. Barnett later spoke of the moment: "I'm not embarrassed about what happened. I thought I did pretty good. I got in front of him twice", Barnett then added, "I just didn't stay there." Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in a 14–9 win, Sanders had arguably the best statistical game of his career, compiling a career-high 237 rushing yards (franchise record), off of 26 attempts; setting the record for most rushing yards in a single game without scoring a touchdown. Sanders entered the final game of the season within striking distance of 2,000 yards rushing, but finished the loss to the Miami Dolphins with only 12 carries for 52 yards. Nonetheless, Sanders finished first in the league in rushing yards, recording 331 attempts for 1,883 yards rushing and scoring seven touchdowns. His single-season rushing total was fourth in NFL history up to that point. He totaled 2,166 yards from scrimmage, which, at the time, was the seventh-most ever in a season. As a result of his season, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and named an AP first-team All-Pro after the regular season. Sanders was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year (OPOTY) for the 1994 season and finished second in NFL Most Valuable Player voting behind Steve Young. The Lions finished the year with a 9–7 record and made the postseason with a wild card spot. The Lions faced the Green Bay Packers again in the Wild Card Round, after being defeated by them the previous season. On December 31, Sanders struggled against the Packers and recorded what is viewed as the worst game of his career, having 13 attempts for -1 rushing yards. Six of his 13 attempts went for negative yardage, and the Lions as a team were held to only -4 rushing yards in the game, losing 16–12.

Playoff disappointments and MVP season (1995–1998)
The 1995 season began against the Pittsburgh Steelers; Sanders recorded 21 rushing attempts for 108 yards. On September 25 against the San Francisco 49ers, Sanders had a down game, recording 17 attempts for only 24 yards. Against the Cleveland Browns, Sanders improved with 157 yards from 18 attempts and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown run, in a 38–20 victory. Sanders finished with 314 attempts for 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns. For his season, Sanders was selected to the Pro Bowl and named an AP first-team All-Pro. The Lions posted a 10–6 record and made the postseason with a wild card spot, where they faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round. Sanders had ten attempts for 40 yards as the Lions' rushing game was stuffed by the Eagles' defense. The Lions were likewise overwhelmed by the Eagles' offense and faced a 44-point deficit in the third quarter 51–7, eventually losing the game 58–37; despite teammate Lomas Brown stating before the game that a Lions victory was "guaranteed". At the time, this was the highest-scoring postseason game in NFL history, with 95 points scored. This record was bested by one point in a 51–45 victory by the Arizona Cardinals over the Green Bay Packers in 2009.

In 1996, during the first game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings, Sanders recorded 24 rushing attempts for 163 rushing yards. Against the Oakland Raiders, Sanders had nine attempts for only 36 yards. On November 3 against the Green Bay Packers, Sanders had 20 attempts for 152 yards and a touchdown. Against the Seattle Seahawks on November 17, Sanders had 16 attempts for 134 yards and a touchdown. Against the Chicago Bears the following week, Sanders had 21 attempts for 107 yards and a touchdown. Sanders had 20 attempts for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings, but a missed two-point conversion attempt after his touchdown resulted in the Lions losing 22–24. In the final game of the season, he recorded 28 attempts for 175 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. Overall, Sanders finished the regular season first in the league in rushing yards with 1,553 rushing yards from 307 attempts. He scored 11 rushing touchdowns, and had 97.1 rushing yards per game, which was first in the league. At this point in his career, Sanders had 11,725 career rushing yards, seventh all-time, and ranked eighth all-time in career rushing touchdowns, with 84. The Lions regressed, posting a 5–11 record, and failed to make the postseason after three straight playoff seasons from 1993 to 1995; though Sanders still made the Pro Bowl and was named an AP second-team All-Pro.

Before the start of the 1997 season, Fontes was fired after nine seasons coaching the Lions, and replaced by Bobby Ross; Sanders was saddened by Fontes' firing, believing he deserved another chance at coaching the team. On September 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sanders struggled on the ground, having 10 attempts for only 20 yards, but recorded 102 receiving yards and a touchdown. On October 12, Sanders dominated with 215 yards from 24 attempts and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers, passing Jim Brown to be the fourth-ranked career rushing leader in NFL history, with 12,513 career rushing yards; he also caught a seven-yard touchdown pass. Against the Indianapolis Colts, Sanders had another stellar performance, compiling 24 attempts for 216 yards and two touchdowns (including one of 80 yards). With the win, Sanders became the first running back with ten consecutive games with 100 yards rushing in a season, and became the first running back to have three touchdowns of 80+ yards in a season. Against the Chicago Bears, Sanders had 19 attempts for 167 yards and three touchdowns, passing Eric Dickerson to become the second-ranked rusher for career yards behind Walter Payton On December 21, 1997, Sanders entered the season finale against the New York Jets needing at least 131 rushing yards to reach 2,000 for the season; both teams needed a win to clinch a playoff berth. Sanders reached the 2,000 mark on a two-yard run; finishing the game with 23 attempts for 184 yards and a touchdown; helping the Lions edge the Jets 13–10. Sanders had a season that is considered among the greatest ever by a running back. He recorded 2,053 rushing yards, which was first in the league that season, from 335 attempts and 11 touchdowns, becoming just the third running back in history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season. For his accomplishments, he credited his offensive linemen, stating: "Without them, I wouldn't have run far at all." Sanders rushed for 100+ yards in the season's final 14 games, an NFL record. With 2,358 total scrimmage yards, he broke the single-season record for scrimmage yards that was held by Marcus Allen; the record was broken two seasons later by Marshall Faulk, and again by Chris Johnson in 2009. Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl and AP first-team All-Pro, and awarded the Bert Bell Award. Sanders was also awarded his second NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award, and the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) (co-won with Brett Favre). The Lions posted a 9–7 record and clinched a wild card spot as the No. 5 seed in the NFC. Sanders and the Lions faced the Buccaneers, who were playing their first home postseason game since 1979. Sanders had 18 attempts for 65 yards as the Lions lost 10–20 in the Wild Card Round, after quarterback Scott Mitchell left the game with an injury in the third quarter.

On September 13, 1998, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sanders recorded 185 rushing yards from 26 rushing attempts with three touchdowns in the 34–28 loss in Week 2. Sanders had 22 attempts for 69 yards in a 6–29 loss against the Minnesota Vikings. On November 26, 1998, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sanders had a down game, with 20 attempts for only 33 rushing yards; the Lions were still victorious 19–16 in overtime. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sanders had 18 attempts for 102 yards. In Sanders' final game of his career, on December 27, 1998, he had 19 attempts for 41 yards in a 10–19 loss against the Baltimore Ravens. Sanders capped off his final season with 1,491 rushing yards (fourth in the league), from a career-high 343 attempts (fifth in the league), and four touchdowns. He was nine yards short of completing five straight seasons with at least 1,500 rushing yards. He was selected to his tenth Pro Bowl, and named an AP second-team All-Pro. The Lions struggled despite Sanders' performances, going 5–11, and failing to make the playoffs.

Retirement
On July 27, 1999, Sanders announced his retirement from pro football, the day before Lions training camp was set to start. His retirement was made public by faxing a letter to The Wichita Eagle, his hometown newspaper. In the letter, Sanders wrote: "'Shortly after the end of last season, I felt that I probably would not return for the 1999–2000 season. I also felt that I should take as much time as possible to sort through my feelings and make sure that my feelings were back with conviction. Today, I officially declare my departure from the NFL.'"He left football healthy, having gained 15,269 rushing yards (the most ever by any NFL player in a 10-year span). He retired within 1,457 rushing yards of Walter Payton's career rushing mark of 16,726 yards. It has been speculated that Sanders would have surpassed the record if he had not retired early, a view held by Emmitt Smith, the eventual holder of the record. His father praised him for his decision, saying that it "took guts." Sanders took time in his decision, waiting "till the last minute." His retirement voided $20.9 million in collective salary and bonuses, along with millions of dollars in endorsements.

Sanders' retirement came somewhat unexpectedly and was a matter of controversy. Two years earlier, Sanders had renewed his contract with the Lions for $34.56 million over six years with an $11 million signing bonus. The Lions demanded that he return $7.37 million of the bonus. Sanders' agents refused, and the Lions filed a grievance with the NFL. On February 15, 2000, an arbitrator ruled that Sanders had to immediately repay $1,833,000 (a sixth of the bonus), with the remaining bonus to be repaid over each of the three years Sanders had left on the contract provided he stayed retired. Before the ruling, Sanders offered to pay back the entire bonus in return for him being traded to another team or his release.

It was thought by some that Lions head coach Bobby Ross himself may have actually been the reason for Sanders' early retirement, but in his autobiography Barry Sanders: Now You See Him, Sanders praised Ross as a head coach who had nothing directly to do with his retirement. It was more his frustration with the management and direction of the Lions and the resulting lack of success that contributed to his retirement, as Sanders revealed in his autobiography: "My retirement letter didn't even hint at my frustration, because I didn't want to take shots at people as I left ... Management had let quality players slip away. We'd been losing for years. Now we were right back where we were when I arrived." He wrote: "A goal that I still hadn't realized was playing in the Super Bowl, and all of the statistical achievements didn't put the team any closer to playing in the big game." Sanders has since patched things up with the Lions, rejoining the organization in a paid role as a team ambassador in 2017, and they dedicated a bronze statue to him outside Ford Field in September 2023.

On November 21, 2023, Bye Bye Barry, a documentary film about his decision to retire while approaching the all time rushing record was released on Amazon Prime.

NFL records

 * Seasons with 1,500 or more yards rushing (5)
 * Consecutive games with 100 or more yards rushing (14)
 * Games with 100 or more yards rushing in a season (14)
 * 150+ yard rushing games (25)
 * 150+ scrimmage yard games (46)
 * First running back to have two 80+ yard touchdown runs in a game

NFL

 * NFL Most Valuable Player Award (1997)
 * 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award (1994, 1997)
 * 4× NFL rushing champion (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997)
 * NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1991)
 * 10× Pro Bowl (1989–1998)
 * 6× First-team All-Pro (1989–1991, 1994, 1995, 1997)
 * 4× Second-team All-Pro (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998)
 * PFWA All-Rookie Team (1989)
 * Bert Bell Award (1991, 1997)
 * NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
 * NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
 * No. 20 retired by the Detroit Lions
 * Pride of the Lions

College

 * Heisman Trophy (1988)
 * Maxwell Award (1988)
 * Walter Camp Award (1988)
 * Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year (1988)
 * Unanimous All-American (1988)
 * Second-team All-American (1987)
 * First-team All-Big Eight (1988)
 * Oklahoma State Cowboys No. 21 retired
 * Oklahoma State Cowboys Ring of Honor

Legacy
Sanders is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in the history of the NFL, being ranked No. 1 by Bleacher Report and in the top ten by other media outlets. When he retired, Sanders was ranked second all-time in career rushing yards with 15,269 rushing yards, sixth all-time in career rushing touchdowns with 99 rushing touchdowns, and second all-time in career rushing attempts with 3,062 attempts. As of 2022, Sanders is still ranked in the top ten in all three statistics. Over his entire career, Sanders averaged 1,527 rushing yards per season, and 99.8 rushing yards per game, the latter stat second to Jim Brown. He never went below 1,000 yards in any of his ten seasons and has the second-most career 1,000-yard rushing seasons, with ten. Sanders was a notable bright spot on a Lions franchise that had endured years of unsuccessful play, helping to lead the team to their first playoff victory in decades. At the same time, Sanders only won one playoff game throughout his ten-year career, with NFL Network's Derrin Horton stating: "Not even Barry Sanders... could pull Detroit out of the playoff snakebit," in reference to the team's postseason failures. The Lions' overall unsuccessful play was noted for possibly being a reason for Sanders' early retirement. His number 20 was retired by the Lions on November 25, 2004, along with Sims and Lem Barney (who wore the same number). Sanders was also honored by the Lions when they inducted him into the Pride of the Lions, the franchise's ring of honor. In 2023, the Lions also immortalized Sanders with an 8-foot bronze statue located outside of Ford Field.

Throughout his career, he achieved Pro Bowl and All-Pro status in all ten of his NFL seasons. Sanders was named first-team All-Pro six times; and named second-team All-Pro four times. Sanders was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1994 and 1997, awarded two Bert Bell Awards, and was named to the 1990s NFL All-Decade team. Both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame enshrined him on August 8, 2004, and August 21, 2005, respectively. At the age of 36, Sanders became the second-youngest player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2019, Sanders was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 2007, he was ranked by NFL Network's NFL Top 10 series as the most elusive runner in NFL history, and in 2012 was placed No. 1 on their list of the greatest players to never play in a Super Bowl.

Sanders led the NFL in rushing yards four times (second to Brown), and in rushing touchdowns once in 1994. He co-won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1997 (with Brett Favre) after rushing for 2,053 yards in 16 games, becoming the third running back to surpass 2,000 yards. In the same season, Sanders totaled a record 2,358 yards from scrimmage, later surpassed by both Marshall Faulk and Chris Johnson. By the end of his career, Sanders was known as "one of the game's most electrifying runners", as described by the Pro Football Hall of Fame; this was a view shared by Sports Illustrated, who described him as "running circles around NFL defenses with an electrifying style unlike anything the league has seen." His 1989 season is regarded as one of the best all-time by a rookie running back, ranked No. 3 by NFL analyst Elliot Harrison, and No 4. by ESPN analyst Jeff Merron. In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes, and other sports figures ranked Sanders as the 76th greatest North American athlete of the 20th-century.

Although he sat behind fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas on the depth chart for his first two collegiate seasons, Sanders is considered one of the greatest college football players of all time. His Heisman trophy-winning season in 1988, in which he set single-season college football records for most rushing yards gained, touchdowns scored, and total scrimmage yards (among other records), is often considered the greatest individual college football season ever, ranked No. 1 by ESPN and Sporting News. In commemoration of the 150th year of college football, Sanders was honored during halftime at the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 13, 2020, as the No. 9 player of all time.

In contrast to many of the star players of his era, Sanders was noted for his on-field humility. Despite his flashy playing style, Sanders was rarely seen celebrating after the whistle was blown; instead, he handed the ball to a referee, and was never tempted into celebrating any further. He was recognized for putting his team's success over his stats, as shown when he denied a request from head coach Wayne Fontes to return to play in a game so that he could gain enough rushing yards to become the rushing leader for that season. He disliked speaking to the press, and rarely spoke about his accomplishments publicly. When reflecting on his career, ESPN described Sanders as a "humble superstar."

Personal life
Sanders is a Christian. He and his wife, Lauren Campbell Sanders, a former news anchor for WDIV in Detroit, filed for divorce in February 2012 after 12 years of marriage. Sanders' brother, Byron, was the starting running back at Northwestern University, and would be selected by the Chicago Bears in the 9th round of the 1989 NFL draft. Byron was cut by the Bears two months after joining the franchise.

Sanders has four sons: Barry J. Sanders, Nick, Nigel, and Noah; the youngest three are from his marriage to Campbell. When the couple divorced, Sanders requested joint custody of them, while Campbell kept their medical coverage. Sanders' oldest son, Barry J. Sanders, played running back at Stanford University from 2012 to 2015, and Oklahoma State University in 2016. In 2022-2023, his son Nick played basketball at Michigan State University. In 2003, Sanders co-wrote his autobiography, Barry Sanders: Now You See Him: His Story In His Own Words, with Mark McCormick. He has reportedly donated to several charities, under the condition that they do not disclose his participation in any of them.

Sanders introduced ESPN's Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Lions on October 10, 2011. In April 2013, Sanders made it to the finals of the vote to be on the cover of EA Sports Madden NFL 25, which celebrated the game's 25th anniversary, by beating head coach Ron Rivera in Round One, running back Marcus Allen in Round Two, linebacker Ray Lewis in Round Three, quarterback Joe Montana in the quarter-finals, and wide receiver Jerry Rice in the semi-finals. In the final round, he defeated running back Adrian Peterson to become the next cover athlete, the first player to appear on the cover of Madden NFL Football more than once (he appeared in the background of the Madden NFL 2000 cover).

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title: Barry Sanders