Information AboutRandy Newman |
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Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28 , 1943 ) is an American Songwriter , Arranger , Singer and Pianist who is notable for his mordant, immaculately written Pop Song s and for his many Film Scores . He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. Newman is noted as a Lyricist of considerable sophistication. He often writes songs from unusual perspectives, often utilizing an Unreliable Narrator . For example, " Sail Away " is a slave trader's come-on, "Birmingham" is written from the perspective of a man—"a roller in a steel mill"—who loves his ordinary life in Birmingham, Alabama , while "Political Science" complains of worldwide hatred of America and proposes a final solution in a brutally ironic way. His many place-name songs, which are often archetypal examples of ambivalent Americana, include "I Love L.A.", "Baltimore", " Louisiana 1927 ", and "Dayton, Ohio – 1903". His first major hit was the song entitled, " Short People ", wherein he was thought to haved complained about " Midgets ", but is actually complaining metaphorically about Racists and Bigots . Newman is also a consummate musician whose deceptively simple songs mask complex craftsmanship, and he is a skilled arranger. As a singer, Newman's drawl is reminiscent of that of blues artists like Sonny Boy Williamson and of New Orleans rock-and-roll singers like Chris Kenner . His Film Score s include '' Ragtime '' and '' The Natural '', and he scored the first four Disney - Pixar films, including '' Toy Story '', '' A Bug's Life '', and '' Monsters, Inc. '' He also scored the 1996 film '' James And The Giant Peach ''. LIFE Newman was born in Los Angeles, California , but moved with his Jewish-American family as a newborn to New Orleans, Louisiana , where his mother's family lived. He lived in New Orleans as a small child and spent summers there until he was eleven years old. The paternal side of the family includes uncles Alfred Newman , Lionel Newman and Emil Newman who were noted Hollywood film-score writers, as are his cousins Thomas and David . Newman became a professional songwriter by the time he was seventeen, and landed a contract as a singer with Reprise Records . He was briefly a member of the band The Tikis, who would later on become Harpers Bizarre , best known for their 1967 hit version of the song "Feelin' Groovy". Newman would keep a close musical relationship with Harpers Bizarre, offering them some of his own compositions, including "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" (later performed by Scooter and Fozzie The Bear on the very first episode of The Muppet Show ) and "Happyland". His 1968 debut album, '' Randy Newman '', never dented the '' Billboard '' Top 200. However, many artists, including Alan Price , Judy Collins , The Everly Brothers , Dusty Springfield , Pat Boone and Peggy Lee , Covered his songs. In 1970 , Harry Nilsson recorded an album of Newman compositions called '' Nilsson Sings Newman ''. That album was a success, and it paved the way for Newman's 1970 release, '' 12 Songs '', which abandoned the elaborate arrangements of his first album for a more stripped-down sound that showcased Newman's piano. ''12 Songs'' was critically acclaimed, but Newman's take on Racism , Sexism , violence and other human follies was not commercially successful in the era of James Taylor and Three Dog Night (who made a huge hit of his " Mama Told Me Not To Come "). The following year, '' Randy Newman Live '' cemented his cult following and became his first appearance in the ''Billboard'' charts at #191. However, probably because it features no unique songs of note, it has never received the critical acclaim of his studio albums. 1972's 's "You Light Up My Life", it would have gone all the way to the number 1 position. Nina Simone did a version of "Baltimore" on her 1978 album of that name. At the end of the 1970s, ''Born Again'' was a prescient commentary on the money-worship of the era of Reaganomics , and featured a witty song about the Electric Light Orchestra entitled "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band". Newman's work as a film composer began in 1971 , with his work on the Norman Lear satire '' Cold Turkey ''. He returned to film work with 1981 's '' Ragtime '', for which he was nominated for two Academy Awards . His 1983 album '' Trouble In Paradise '' received greater critical acclaim than some of his previous work, and included the hit single "I Love L.A.". This song is a good example of Newman's ambivalence toward what might be termed the American Dream , and demonstrates why those who dub him an ironist often miss the genuine affection Newman seems to have for his subjects. As he explained in a 2001 interview, "There's some kind of ignorance L.A. has that I'm ''proud'' of. The open car and the redhead, the Beach Boys... that sounds ''really'' good to me." 1988's '' Land Of Dreams '', largely an evocation of his youth in New Orleans , was also well received by critics. In the 1990s , Newman adapted Goethe's '' Faust '' into a concept album and musical, '' Randy Newman's Faust ''. The original 1995 stage version at La Jolla Playhouse was unsuccessful so he retained David Mamet to help rework the book before its relaunch on the Chicago Goodman Theatre Mainstage in 1996 . He was again nominated for an Academy Award for his work on "You've Got a Friend in Me" for '' Toy Story '' (1995). Also, his 1972 tune "Political Science", became part of the soundtrack of the 1999 romantic comedy '' Blast From The Past '', starring Brendan Fraser , Alicia Silverstone , Christopher Walken , and Sissy Spacek . Newman had the dubious distinction of receiving the most Oscar Nomination s without a single win (15). His streak was broken when he received the Best Song Oscar for the 2002 '' Monsters Inc. '' song "If I Didn't Have You", beating the likes of Enya and Paul McCartney . He began his acceptance speech with, simply: "I don't need your pity!" '']] Randy Newman was parodied in the television show '''' for a fake advertisement for a Disney movie singing about a bear and a bunny traveling through the forest "or something like that." SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
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REFERENCES # 'Randy Newman', ''Internet Movie Database'' . Retrieved July 2 2005 . # RandyNewman.com #''Randy Newman: American Dreams'', Kevin Courrier (2005) ISBN 1550226908 EXTERNAL LINKS |
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