In Memory of Hal David Guest

We had the honor of having Hal David stay at the Inn at Stockbridge in  June 2010.  This is a reprint of the blog written when he stayed with us.  He passed away today at the age of 91.  We have fond memories of the wonderful man.

Great Guests at The Inn at Stockbridge

Owning and operating the Inn at Stockbridge is indeed a treat because of the wonderful guests that come through our doors.  We are indeed very fortunate to meet interesting, talented and friendly people on a daily basis.  Hal & Eunice David and Joan & Irwin Z. Robinson just left the Inn after a wonderful visit.  Joan related that she is good friends with other guest of ours Loretta & Leonard Klein.  Loretta and Joan are good friends and Loretta said they should visit us at the Inn.  Hal David is an American lyricist best know for his collaboration with Burt Bacharach. I  had the pleasure of sitting down with Hal and chatting with this mild mannered gentlemen.  I asked him when he started writing lyrics and he said in high school and he related that the songs come easy to him.  His most recent creation is two new songs for the recreation of Promises Promises.  David was born in New York City, New York, and is credited with popular music lyrics beginning in the 1940s with material written for band leader Sammy Kaye, and Guy Lombardo. In 1957 David met Burt Bacharach at Famous Music in the Brill Building in New York. The two teamed up and wrote their first hit "The Story of My Life" recorded by Marty Robbins in 1957. Later that year the duo wrote the Perry Como hit "Magic Moments". By the 1960s, '70s and '80s Bacharach and David were responsible for writing some of the most enduring songs in American popular music.

Hal David is married to Eunice David who recently published a book titled High Rise Low Down.  This is a definitive book about buildings and the people who live in them in NYC.  Eunice said she is fascinated by the buildings and the people who live in them.  She based this book on 20 A buildings in NYC.

The David's and Robinson's met when Irwin Z Robinson was publishing his music. Irwin Z. Robinson is Chairman of Paramount Allegra Music, the worldwide music publishing division of Viacom's Paramount Pictures.

 The two men became good friends and enjoy traveling together.  While in the Berkshires the David's and Robinsons enjoyed shopping, historic sites, restaurants and theatre.  They went to the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Clark Art Museum, The Mount, Shakespeare & Company and to Chesterwood.
Alice & Len Schiller, owners of the Inn at Stockbridge  are very fortunate to have owned the Inn for over 16 years and to have such a wonderful clientele that keeps on making referrals and returning to this gem in the Berkshires