Singer Dionne Warwick has paid tribute to late Oscar-winning lyricist Hal David, insisting she will remember her friend every time she performs the tracks he wrote for her.
The 91-year-old songwriter passed away at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Saturday (01Sep12) of complications from a stroke, and stars including Kristin Chenoweth, Boy George and Mick Hucknall flocked to Twitter.com to hail his talent.
Warwick, who sang David and Burt Bacharach's classics Walk On By and I Say a Little Prayer, has now released a statement to CNN sharing her grief over the death of her friend.
She states, "I feel as if I have lost another family member, but knowing I will always have him with me each time I sing the lyrics written for me by him will continue to bring me a sense of him being with me always."
In his own statement, Smokey Robinson adds, "I hope that the music world will join together in celebrating the life of one of our greatest composers ever. I will really miss my friend but I will celebrate his life and he will live on-and-on through his incredible musical contribution."
David served as president for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) organisation from 1980 until 1986, and the current chair Paul Williams has paid tribute to the legendary lyricist.
In a post on the Ascap website, he writes, "There are many, many broken hearts around the world today. The world has lost one of its sweetest souls. Happily the songs he gave us will live forever.
"Hal has been a great friend, mentor and role model for me through the years. Although he always made me feel as if I was a special friend, I know I'm one of many. Never anything less than a cheerleader for younger songwriters' success, he was a warrior defending their rights."