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Jimmy Webb

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Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb, 2011
Jimmy Webb, 2011
Background information
Born (1946-08-15) August 15, 1946 (age 78)
Elk City, Oklahoma, US
GenresPopular, country, rock
Occupation(s)Songwriter, composer, singer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano
Years active1966–present
LabelsEpic, Reprise, Asylum, Atlantic, Columbia, Elektra
SpouseLaura Savini (m.2004-present)
Websitewww.jimmywebb.com

Jimmy Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum-selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park".[1] His songs have been performed by many popular contemporary singers, including Glen Campbell, The 5th Dimension, Thelma Houston, The Supremes, Richard Harris, Johnny Maestro, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Art Garfunkel, Amy Grant, America, Linda Ronstadt, R.E.M., Michael Feinstein, Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, and Carly Simon. According to BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song in the fifty years between 1940 and 1990.[2] Webb is the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration.[3][4]

Early life

Jimmy Layne Webb was born August 15, 1946 in Elk City, Oklahoma. His father, Robert Lee Webb, was a Baptist minister and former member of the United States Marine Corps who presided over rural churches in southwestern Oklahoma and West Texas. With his mother's encouragement, Webb learned piano and organ, and by the age of 12 was playing in the choir of his father's churches, accompanied by his father on guitar and his mother on accordion. Webb grew up in a conservative religious home where his father restricted radio listening to country music and white gospel music.

During the late 1950s, Webb started writing songs, influenced by the church music he played and also by some of the new music he heard, including Elvis Presley. In 1961, at the age of 14, he bought his first record, "Turn Around, Look at Me" by Glen Campbell. Webb was drawn to the singer's distinctive voice.[5]

In 1964, Webb and his family moved to Southern California, where he attended San Bernardino Valley College studying music. Following the death of his mother in 1965, his father made plans to return to Oklahoma. Webb decided to stay in California to continue his music studies and to pursue a career as a songwriter in Los Angeles. Webb would later recall his father warning him about his musical aspirations, saying, "This songwriting thing is going to break your heart." Seeing that his son was determined, however, he gave him $40, saying, "It's not much, but it's all I have."[5]

Early songwriting success

After transcribing other people's music for a small music publisher, Webb was signed to a songwriting contract with Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Motown Records. The first commercial recording of a Jimmy Webb song was "My Christmas Tree" by The Supremes, which appeared on their 1965 Merry Christmas album. The following year, Webb met singer and producer Johnny Rivers, who signed him to a publishing deal and recorded his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" on his 1966 album Changes.[6]

In 1967, Rivers turned to Webb for songs for a new group Rivers was producing called The 5th Dimension. Webb contributed five songs to their début album Up, Up and Away. The song "Up, Up and Away" was released as a single in May 1967 and reached the Top Ten. The group's follow-up album, The Magic Garden, was also released in 1967 and featured eleven Jimmy Webb songs, including "The Worst That Could Happen".[6] In November 1967, Glen Campbell released his version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", which reached number 26 and became an instant pop standard.[7] At the 1967 Grammy Awards, "Up, Up and Away" was named Record of the Year and Song of the Year. "Up, Up and Away" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" received eight Grammy Awards between them. Webb's success as a new songwriter underscored what became the central dilemma in his career. While his sophisticated melodies and orchestrations were embraced by mainstream audiences, his peers were embracing counter-culture sounds. Webb was quickly becoming out of sync with his times.[7]

In 1968, Time acknowledged Webb's range, proficiency, and "gift for strong, varied rhythms, inventive structures, and rich, sometimes surprising harmonies."[4] That year, the string of successful Jimmy Webb songs continued with The 5th Dimension's "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man" reaching the Top 40, Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" selling over a million copies, and Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge scoring a gold record with "The Worst That Could Happen", a song originally recorded by The 5th Dimension.[7] Webb formed his own production and publishing company that year, Canopy, and scored a hit with its first project, an unlikely album with Irish actor Richard Harris singing an album of all Jimmy Webb songs. One of the songs, "MacArthur Park", was a long, complex piece with multiple movements that was originally rejected by the group The Association. Despite the song's seven minute, twenty-one second length, Webb released "MacArthur Park" as a single, and it quickly reached Number 2 on the singles chart. The Richard Harris album A Tramp Shining stayed on the charts for almost a year. Webb and Harris produced a followup album, The Yard Went On Forever, which was also successful. At the 1968 Grammy Awards, Webb accepted awards for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "MacArthur Park".[7]

In 1969, Glen Campbell continued the streak of Jimmy Webb hits with the gold record "Galveston" and "Where's the Playground Susie". Webb and Campbell had first met during the production of a General Motors commercial. Webb arrived at the recording session with his Beatle-length hair and approached the conservative singer, who looked up from his guitar and said, "Get a haircut."[5] That same year, two Jimmy Webb songs became hits for the second time with Isaac Hayes' soulful version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and Waylon Jennings' Grammy-winning country version of "MacArthur Park". Webb finished up the year by writing, arranging, and producing Thelma Houston's first album, Sunshower.[6] As the decade came to a close, so too did Webb's string of hit singles. He began to withdraw from the formulaic process in which he worked and began to experiment with his music. He started work on a semi-autobiographical Broadway musical called His Own Dark City, which reflected the emotional displacement he felt at the time. He also wrote music for the films How Sweet It Is! and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here.[7]

Singer-songwriter years

Webb's solo career got off to a rough start with the 1968 "counterfeit" solo album Jimmy Webb sings Jimmy Webb (Epic), which was produced, according to Webb, "by a bunch of ruffians from some old demos of mine and tarted up to sound like 'MacArthur Park'. It was quite a piece of crap and was received with great anticipation and crushing disappointment at the radio level."[8]

Beginning in 1970, Webb recorded six original albums of his own songs: Words and Music (1970), And So: On (1971), Letters (1972), Land's End (1974), El Mirage (1977), and Angel Heart (1982). Despite the critical reception that followed each of these projects, Webb has never been as successful as a performer as he has been a songwriter and arranger. Each album was noted for its inventive music and memorable lyrics.[5]

Webb's debut album as a performer, Words and Music, was released in late 1970 to critical acclaim. Rolling Stone writer Jon Landau called one of the album's cuts, "P.F. Sloan," a "masterpiece [that] could not be improved upon." The tune and the lyrics may have been allusions to the singer-songwriter P. F. Sloan, who had helped Webb early in Webb's career; a dispute between the two later led Webb to insist that he made up the title, implying that the title and the name of his former friend were mere coincidences.[citation needed] Webb's 1971 follow up album, And So: On, proved equally appealing to critics. Rolling Stone declared the album "another impressive step in the conspiracy to recover his identity from the housewives of America and rightfully install him at the forefront of contemporary composers/performers." His 1972 album Letters met with similar praise. Peter Reilly of Stereo Review wrote, "Jimmy Webb is the most important pop music figure to emerge since Bob Dylan."[5]

Throughout the 1970s, Webb lived in Encino, Los Angeles, California, fraternizing with Joni Mitchell and Harry Nilsson. He also struck up a lifelong friendship with actor Michael Douglas. Webb's song "Campo de Encino" chronicled his adventures and misadventures in his park-like hacienda. In 1974, Webb married Patsy Sullivan, a model-cover girl and youngest child of screen actor Barry Sullivan. The couple met posing for the cover of Teen when she was twelve years old. Sullivan is featured with Webb on the cover of Webb's 1982 solo album Angel Heart. They have five sons and a daughter together. Two of their sons later formed a rock band, "The Webb Brothers" which later included the couple's third son, James. The Webb Brothers achieved much critical success and had a substantial following in Europe and continue to work in the music industry. Sullivan and Webb separated after 22 years of marriage and later divorced.

Serious composer

Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Webb's songs continued to be recorded by some of the industry's most successful artists. In 1977, the initial release of Art Garfunkel's Watermark album consisted exclusively of Jimmy Webb songs. In 1978, Donna Summer's disco version of "MacArthur Park" became a multi-million selling vinyl single that was number one on the American pop music charts for three weeks. In 1980, Thelma Houston recorded "Before There Could Be Me", "Breakwater Cat", "Gone", "Long Lasting Love", and "What Was that Song" on her album Breakwater Cat. Leah Kunkel recorded "Never Gonna Lose My Dream of Love Again" and "Let's Begin" for her album I Run with Trouble. The latter was performed live in 1980 by the born-again Bob Dylan. Tanya Tucker recorded "Tennessee Woman" on her album Dreamlovers.

In 1981, Art Garfunkel recorded "Scissors Cut", "In Cars", and "That's All I've Got to Say" for his album Scissors Cut, and Arlo Guthrie recorded "Oklahoma Nights" on his album Power of Love. In 1982, Linda Ronstadt recorded "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" and "Easy for You to Say" on her album Get Closer. That same year, Joe Cocker recorded "Just Like Always" on his album Sheffield Steel, and The Everly Brothers recorded "She Never Smiles Anymore" on their album Living Legends.

From 1982 to 1992, Webb turned his focus from solo performing to larger-scale projects, such as film scores, Broadway musicals, and classical music. In 1982, he produced the soundtrack for the film The Last Unicorn, an animated children's tale, with the musical group America performing the songs. That same year, he composed the soundtrack to all episodes of the TV series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

In 1985, Glen Campbell recorded Webb's "Cowboy Hall of Fame" and "Shattered" for the album It's Just a Matter of Time. And heavyweights Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson recorded "Highwayman" on the album Highwayman. In 1988, Toto recorded "Home of the Brave" on the album The Seventh One. Kenny Rankin recorded "She Moves, Eyes Follow" for the album Hiding in Myself. And in 1989, Linda Ronstadt recorded the album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, which featured four Jimmy Webb songs: "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" (with Webb playing piano), "Adios" (with orchestral arrangement by Webb), "I Keep It Hid" (with Webb playing piano), and "Shattered". In 1990, John Denver recorded "Postcard from Paris" on the album The Flower That Shattered the Stone. In 1991, Kenny Rogers recorded "They Just Don't Make Em Like You Anymore" on the album Back Home Again.

In 1986, Webb produced the cantata The Animals' Christmas, with Art Garfunkel, Amy Grant, and the London Symphony Orchestra, which tells the Christmas story from the perspective of animals.

In 1987, Webb produced the soundtrack for the film The Hanoi Hilton. That same year, he reunited with Campbell for the album Still Within the Sound of My Voice, for which he wrote the title song. They followed this up in 1988 with an album composed almost entirely of Jimmy Webb songs, Light Years. The album included the title song, as well as "Lightning in a Bottle", "If These Walls Could Speak" (which was recorded by Amy Grant that year) and "Our Movie". Two songs from 1982's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers also appear on the album. The record also included the songs "Other People's Lives", "Wasn't There A Moment", "I Don't Know How To Love You Anymore", and "Is There Love After You". Several of these songs later ended up on Webb solo albums.

In 1992, Webb completed a musical called Instant Intimacy, which he developed with the Tennessee Repertory Theatre. The musical contained new songs that he and others would later record, including "What Does a Woman See in a Man", "I Don't Know How to Love You Anymore", and "Is There Love After You". That same year, Webb performed live at the club Cinegrill, performing "What Does a Woman See in a Man" and introducing several additional new songs, including "Sandy Cove" and an old folk hymn, "I Will Arise".

In 1994, Webb teamed up with Nanci Griffith to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Solo artist

File:Tunesmith.jpg
Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting

Since 1993, Jimmy Webb produced four critically acclaimed solo albums: Suspending Disbelief (1993), Ten Easy Pieces (1996), Twilight of the Renegades (2005), and Just Across the River (2010). He has continued to expand his creative landscape to include musicals, commercial jingles, and film scores. More recently, he has written music for television, including the show E/R.

In 1998, Webb completed his first book, Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting, which was published by Hyperion Books. It was well received by songwriters and performers and became a best-seller.[9] One book reviewer described it as "a companion every serious songwriter should read, and read again, and keep handy for referral."[10]

In the 2000s, Webb has talked more openly about his return to the Christian faith of his upbringing and the role it has played in his music. In addition to his cantata, The Animals' Christmas, he has always included religious songs in his albums—"Psalm One-Five-O", "Jerusalem", and "I Will Arise" are a few examples—and his lyrics have included biblical verses and allusions. In an October 2007 interview with Nigel Bovey, editor of The Salvation Army newspaper The War Cry, Webb was quite explicit about his renewed faith.

I couldn't write a song without God. Sure, I could hack out hackneyed phrases and clichés, but to write anything meaningful I have to be in tune with God. He is the great source, my inspiration, the current that I have to connect to. Sadly I've not always used the gift He's given me—the answered prayer—as best as I could or should have. I've made mistakes. I've done things I wish I hadn't done.[11]

Webb has stated, "I am a strong believer in God... God is important to me. God is bigger than any one particular denomination. I don't like it when people try to confine Him. I don't put any limits on God." Webb reads the King James Version of the Bible.[11]

In 2004, Webb married Laura Savini, who appears nationally on PBS in pledge-drive programs. From 1996–2011, Savini was Vice President of Marketing and Communications at WLIW, a PBS station in New York City.[12] The couple first met backstage on New Year's Eve 1999 at Billy Joel's 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert at Madison Square Garden. They met again when Savini interviewed Webb for her local television show and the two soon started dating. They settled on the North Shore of Long Island.

In 2007, he released a live album of his show, Live and at Large (2007), which was recorded in the United Kingdom. The album included personal stories and anecdotes about Richard Harris, Waylon Jennings, Harry Nilsson, Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, and Rosemary Clooney.

In June 2010, Webb released Just Across the River, an album of newly-arranged Webb song that featured guest appearances by Vince Gill, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, Glenn Campbell, Michael McDonald, Mark Knopfler, J. D. Souther, and Linda Ronstadt.

In 2011, Webb was unanimously elected Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, replacing Hal David who retired after ten years in that position.[13]

In May 2012, Webb travelled to London to receive the prestigious Ivor Novello Special International Award, which recognizes non-British writers and composers who have made an extraordinary contribution to the global musical landscape.[14] In September 2012, Fantasy Records released Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb In Session, a collaborative album by Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb. The album and its accompanying DVD were filmed, taped, and recorded in December 1988 in the Hamilton, Ontario studios of CHCH-TV as part of the Canadian concert series In Session.[15]

Webb continues to perform throughout the United States and abroad.[16]

Honors and awards

Jimmy Webb performing live, 2005

Discography

Main article: Jimmy Webb discography

Original albums

Collaborative albums

Compilation albums

  • Tribute to Burt Bacharach and Jim Webb (1972)
  • Archive (1994)
  • And Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain... (1998)
  • Reunited with Jimmy Webb 1974–1988 (1999)
  • Tunesmith: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (2003)
  • The Moon's a Harsh Mistress: Jimmy Webb in the Seventies (2004) (limited edition box set, including Live at the Royal Albert Hall from 1972)
  • Archive & Live (2005) (including Live at the Royal Albert Hall from 1972)

References

  1. ^ Eder, Bruce. Allmusic "Jimmy Webb". Retrieved October 11, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ^ KBápps.com "BMI Top 50 Songs". Retrieved October 12, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ The Songwriters Hall of Fame "Jimmy Webb". Retrieved October 12, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. ^ a b Jimmy Webb Official Website "About Jimmy". Retrieved October 12, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e Shane, Ken. "Words and Music: Jimmy Webb". Thrive. No. 12. Community Media. Retrieved May 18, 2012. {{cite news}}: Text "Date April 2006" ignored (help) Cite error: The named reference "Shane" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c An Unofficial Jimmy Webb Homepage "Jimmy Webb Discography". Retrieved October 12, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e "Jimmy Webb Biography". musiciansguide.com. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  8. ^ Torn, Luke (2004). Uncut "Interview: Jimmy Webb". Uncut. Retrieved November 22, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. ^ Webb, Jimmy. Google Books Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting. Retrieved October 29, 2011. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  10. ^ Carlton, Jace. The Songwriter's Connection, July 2000 "Book Review". Retrieved October 29, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  11. ^ a b Bovey, Nigel (October 7, 2007). "I'm a bit like the Prodigal Son" (PDF). The War Cry. The Salvation Army. p. 5. Retrieved May 18, 20067. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ Barmash, Jerry. Media Bistro "Longtime WLIW/Channel VP Laura Savini Stepping Down to Create Own Company". Retrieved October 29, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  13. ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame "Chairman's Letter". Retrieved October 29, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  14. ^ a b "Winners of the 57th Ivor Novello Awards". IVORS. Retrieved October 28, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Leggett, Steve. "In Session". Allmusic. Retrieved October 29, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Jimmy Webb Performances". The Jimmy Webb Music Company. Retrieved October 29, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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