Burt Bacharach's famed perfectionist streak was not always appreciated by his collaborators. "Maybe when you're making love to a woman," he once explained, "you shouldn't get out of bed and write down whatever's going through your head... 'That G flat should have been a sharp... Just a second honey, I'll be right there!'"

[Bacharach began his career as an accompanist for singer Vic Damone -- and was promptly fired.]