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Jimmy Webb (born August 15 1946 in Elk City, Oklahoma ) is an Idiosyncratic American Popular Music Composer , singer and pianist. While his approach to composing is traditional and orchestral, he wrote for the rock/pop age. His influences were Burt Bacharach , among other great song writers of the early 20th century. EARLY LIFE Webb's father was a Baptist minister and a former Marine . His mother died when he was a teenager. COMPOSITIONS Webb's most popular songs were all composed when he was between 19 and 21 years of age. Webb is responsible for writing numerous popular and Top 10 hits sung by a disparate group of artists, including Glen Campbell (" By The Time I Get To Phoenix ", " Wichita Lineman ", "Galveston"); Art Garfunkel ("All I Know"); Richard Harris and Donna Summer (" MacArthur Park "); The Fifth Dimension (" Up, Up And Away "); Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge (" Worst That Could Happen "); and The Highwaymen (" Highwayman "), The Three Degrees ("Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon" in the motion picture ''The French Connection''). Like Laura Nyro , he was a gifted musician/singer/songerwriter whose songs were recorded by top artists. Webb recorded several albums containing renditions of his own songs, although his solo output has never matched the commercial success of recordings of his work by other performers. As one of the few "classic" songwriter specialists of the rock age, he has been compared to the great composers/songwriters/arrangers of the past, including George Gershwin , Cole Porter and Burt Bacharach . Webb's "The Girls' Song," according to the liner notes for the CD re-release of The Fifth Dimension album The Magic Garden , was explicitly intended as a homage to Bacharach (who Webb has acknowledged as his main musical influence). Although he resided in chic Laurel Canyon throughout the early 70s, smoked Marijuana , and fraternized with contemporaries like Joni Mitchell , the association of his music with perceived middle-of-the-road acts (most notably his longstanding collaboration with Campbell) hindered his attempts to achieve success as a performing artist in his own right. Post 1970s He is noted for having written songs that were hits in the ''. He has written for television as well, including music for the show ER . In '', which was well received by songwriters and performers. He still continues to do live performances. He was elected to the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1986; in 1990 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame . Webb currently lives in Bayville, New York . SOLO ALBUMS
TRIVIA Jimmy Webb was the original owner of a Shelby 427 Cobra equipped with twin Paxton superchargers, of which only 2 were ever built. This car sold at the 2007 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction for a record $5.5 million. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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