Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...
at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of America's most successful and honored songwriter/composers.
Webb has written numerous
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
-selling songs, including "
Up, Up and Away", "
By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "
MacArthur Park", "
Wichita Lineman", "
Worst That Could Happen", "
Galveston", and "
All I Know".
He had successful collaborations with
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
,
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music Revivalist artist, revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988, he won a Drama Desk Spec ...
,
Linda Ronstadt,
the 5th Dimension,
the Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
,
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...
,
Richard Harris, and
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
.
Webb was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990. He received the
National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award in 2003, the ASCAP "Voice of Music" Award in 2006 and the
Ivor Novello Special International Award in 2012. According to
BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song in the 50 years between 1940 and 1990.
Webb is the only artist ever to receive
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s for music, lyrics and orchestration.
Early life
Webb was born on August 15, 1946, in
Elk City, Oklahoma, and raised in
Laverne, Oklahoma. He grew up in a religiously conservative family;
His father, Robert Lee Webb, was a
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister and veteran of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
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.
His father restricted radio listening to country music and white gospel.
During the late 1950s, Webb began applying his creativity to the music he was playing at his father's church, frequently improvising and rearranging the hymns.
He began to write religious songs at this time,
but his musical direction was soon influenced by the new music being played on the radio, including the music of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. In 1961, at the age of 14, he bought his first record, "
Turn Around, Look at Me", by Glen Campbell. Webb said he was drawn to the singer's distinctive voice and they became friends a few years later.
In 1964, Webb and his family moved to Southern California, where he attended
San Bernardino Valley College, studying music. During this time, he lived in
Colton, with his family. Following the death of his mother, Sylvia, in 1964, 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. He would later recall his father warning him about his musical aspirations, saying that "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."
Career
Early success, 1965–1969
After transcribing other people's music for a small music publisher in Hollywood, 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
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
, 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''.
In 1967, Rivers released ''Rewind'', an album featuring seven Webb songs, including "
Do What You Gotta Do" and "Tunesmith", a song also recorded that year by
Vikki Carr for her album ''It Must Be Him''.
That same year, Rivers turned to Webb for material for a new group Rivers was producing called
the 5th Dimension. Webb contributed five songs to their debut album, ''
Up, Up and Away'', including the title track, which 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 additional Webb songs, including "
Worst That Could Happen".
In November 1967, Glen Campbell released his version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", which reached number 26. At the 1968
Grammy Awards, "Up, Up and Away" was named Record of the Year (1967) and Song of the Year (1967). "Up, Up and Away" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" received eight Grammy Awards between them.
In 1968, ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' acknowledged Webb's range, proficiency, and "gift for strong, varied rhythms, inventive structures, and rich, sometimes surprising harmonies".
That year, the string of successful 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 "Worst That Could Happen", a song originally recorded by the 5th Dimension.
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 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
The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...
. Despite the song's seven minutes and twenty-one seconds length, Harris's version reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 on June 22, 1968, and No. 4 on the
UK Singles Chart on July 24. The album, ''
A Tramp Shining'', stayed on the charts for almost a year. Webb and Harris produced a follow-up album, ''
The Yard Went On Forever'', which was also successful.
Further raising Webb's stature as a songwriter, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was performed by
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
on the latter's 1968 album ''
Cycles''. Sinatra would go on to praise "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" as "the greatest
torch song ever written".
At the 1969
Grammy Awards, Webb accepted awards for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "MacArthur Park". In 2019 "Wichita Lineman" was added to the
National Recording Registry.
In 1969, Glen Campbell continued the streak of 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
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
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."
That same year, two Webb songs became hits for the second time with
Isaac Hayes' soulful version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music.
Jennings started playing ...
' Grammy-winning country version of "MacArthur Park". On Frank Sinatra's 1969 album ''
My Way'', the singer dove deeper into Webb's songbook with a version of "Didn't We?", a number that was originally done by Richard Harris in 1968 and released as the B-side of "MacArthur Park". Webb finished the year by writing, arranging, and producing
Thelma Houston's first album, ''
Sunshower''.
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''.
Singer-songwriter years, 1970–1982
Webb's career as a singer-songwriter got off to a rough start with the "counterfeit" album ''
Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb'', released by Epic Records in 1968. According to Webb, the album was produced "by a bunch of ruffians from some old demos of mine and tarted up to sound like 'MacArthur Park'".
Beginning in 1970, Webb released 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 as a songwriter and arranger. Each album was noted for its inventive music and memorable lyrics.
Webb's debut album as a performer, ''
Words and Music'', was released on Reprise Records in late 1970 to critical acclaim. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' writer Jon Landau called one of the album's cuts, "
P.F. Sloan", a "masterpiece
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
could not be improved upon". The album also features the ambitious song trilogy "Music for an Unmade Movie". 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." The album features the songs "Met Her on a Plane", "All My Love's Laughter", and "Marionette".
Also in 1971,
the Three Degrees are featured in the movie ''
The French Connection'' giving a rendition of Webb's song "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon", originally recorded in 1969 by
Thelma Houston.
Webb's 1972 album ''
Letters'', which features his own rendition of "Galveston", met with similar praise. Music critic Bruce Eder called ''Letters'' the "most surprising, diverse, and possibly the most satisfying of all of Jimmy Webb's early solo LPs" and "arguably the best of Webb's solo albums".
In his review of the album, Peter Reilly of ''
Stereo Review'' wrote, "Jimmy Webb is the most important pop music figure to emerge since Bob Dylan."
The album also features the songs "Campo de Encino", an homage to his park-like residence in Encino, California, during the 1970s, "When Can Brown Begin", and "Piano".
He also produced in 1972 album, "The Supremes Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb." for
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
, featuring Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson and Linda Lawrence. The album sold poorly and did not chart successfully.
In 1974, Webb released ''
Land's End'' on Asylum Records. Unlike his previous albums, which tended to be underproduced, Webb was able to achieve a more heavily produced pop/rock sound on ''Land's End'', which was recorded in England with the help of an all-star session band that included Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, and Nigel Olsson.
The album contains "a thematic consistency in that most of its songs were tales of romantic discord".
While Webb continued to improve as a singer, he "still hadn't found an identity as a solo artist".
The album features the songs "Ocean in His Eyes", "Just This One Time", and "Crying in My Sleep".
In 1977, Webb released ''
El Mirage'' on Atlantic Records. Produced, arranged, and conducted by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' former producer,
George Martin, the album was Webb's "most polished effort yet as a performer".
William Ruhlmann observed, "These were lush tracks full of tasty playing and warm string charts on which Webb's thin tenor was buoyed by numerous background vocalists, the whole an excellent example of the style known as 'West Coast pop'."
The album contains several strong compositions, including "
The Highwayman", which would later become a number one country hit for
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music.
Jennings started playing ...
,
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
,
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
, and
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
, who named their super group
The Highwaymen after the song. Their version of "The Highwayman" won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
''El Mirage'' also features the songs "If You See Me Getting Smaller I'm Leaving", a newly arranged version of "P.F. Sloan", and "
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", which had already been recorded by
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as
"Feelin' Alright ...
,
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
, and
Judy Collins.
Despite the positive critical response to the album, ''El Mirage'' did not succeed in redefining Webb as a performer as he had hoped.
Webb's final solo album from this period, ''
Angel Heart'', was released in 1982 on Lorimar Records. Like its predecessor, the album drew upon the talents of top Los Angeles session musicians to produce a classic West Coast pop sound, enhanced by guest vocal harmonies by Gerry Beckley, Michael McDonald, Graham Nash, Kenny Loggins, Daryl Hall, and Stephen Bishop.
Unlike his previous solo albums, however, ''Angel Heart'' lacked the quality material usually associated with the composer. Apart from "Scissors Cut" and "In Cars", which were previously recorded by
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...
, the album offered few high points, despite its polished production.
A decade would pass before Webb released his next solo album.
Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Webb's songs continued to be recorded by some of the industry's most successful artists. In 1972, Jimmy Webb produced
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
' last album featuring Jean Terrell as lead singer, ''
The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb''. Webb is quoted as saying he had a crush on
Mary Wilson when he wrote and produced "I Keep It Hid" featuring her on lead vocals. In 1977, the initial release of
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...
's ''
Watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations i ...
'' album consisted exclusively of songs by Webb. 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''. And Frank Sinatra did his own cover of "MacArthur Park" on the 1980 album ''
Trilogy: Past Present Future''.
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
Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...
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
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as
"Feelin' Alright ...
recorded "Just Like Always" on his album ''
Sheffield Steel'', and
the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
recorded "She Never Smiles Anymore" on their album ''Living Legends''.
In 1981 Webb moved to New York state, and said, "One day I wondered what happened to the Seventies and all those grandiose schemes."
Large-scale projects, 1982–1992
From 1982 to 1992, Webb turned his focus from solo performing to large-scale projects, such as
film scores
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
, Broadway musicals, and
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. In 1982, he produced the soundtrack for the film ''
The Last Unicorn'', an animated children's tale, with the musical group
America performing five new Jimmy Webb songs: "The Last Unicorn", "Man's Road", "In the Sea", "Now That I'm a Woman", and "That's All I've Got to Say". The rest of the album contains instrumental music composed, arranged, and conducted by Webb. That same year, he composed the soundtrack to all episodes of the TV series ''
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''.
The theme music for the 1984-85 TV sitcom ''
E/R'' was written by Webb. Then 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
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
,
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music.
Jennings started playing ...
,
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
, and
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
recorded "
Highwayman
A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...
" 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
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
recorded "Postcard from Paris" on the album ''
The Flower That Shattered the Stone''. In 1991,
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...
recorded "They Just Don't Make Em Like You Anymore" on the album ''
Back Home Again''.
In 1986, Webb produced a
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
, ''
The Animals' Christmas
''The Animals' Christmas By Jimmy Webb'' is the sixth solo studio album and the first Christmas album by vocalist Art Garfunkel, and is a collaborative album with Amy Grant, released in October 1986 by Columbia Records. The album was written by Ji ...
'', with Art Garfunkel,
Amy Grant, and the
London Symphony Orchestra. The cantata 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 also 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".
Solo artist, 1993–present
Since 1993, Webb has produced five critically acclaimed solo albums: ''
Suspending Disbelief'' (1993), ''
Ten Easy Pieces'' (1996), ''
Twilight of the Renegades'' (2005), ''
Just Across the River'' (2010), and ''
Still Within the Sound of My Voice'' (2013). He has continued to expand his creative landscape to include
musicals,
commercial jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
s, and
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
s.
In 1994, Webb teamed with
Nanci Griffith
Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She often appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'', starting in 1985 during season 10. In 1990, Griffith appeared on th ...
to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the
AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
benefit album ''
Red Hot + Country'' produced by the
Red Hot Organization.
In 1997, Webb co-produced
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
's ''
Film Noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
'' album and contributed his vocals, orchestration, and piano skills to the project, which was filmed for an AMC documentary (which premiered in September 1997). He also co-wrote the song "Film Noir" with Simon and reprised his role as arranger and co-producer on Simon's 2008 album, ''
This Kind of Love''.
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. One book reviewer described it as "a companion every serious songwriter should read, and read again, and keep handy for referral".
In 2007, he released a live album of his show ''
Live and at Large'', which was recorded in the United Kingdom. The album included personal stories and anecdotes about
Richard Harris,
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music.
Jennings started playing ...
,
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...
,
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
,
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...
,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, and
Rosemary Clooney.
Webb appears in the 2008 documentary ''
The Wrecking Crew'' providing thoughtful and descriptive insights into the world of California session musicians in the 1960s.
In June 2010, Webb released ''
Just Across the River'', an album of newly arranged Webb songs that featured guest appearances by
Vince Gill,
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
,
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
,
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...
,
Jackson Browne,
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
,
Michael McDonald,
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...
,
JD 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 the position.
In May 2012, Webb traveled to London to receive the
Ivor Novello Special International Award, which recognizes non-British writers and composers who have made an extraordinary contribution to the global musical landscape.
In September 2012, Fantasy Records released ''
Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb: In Session'', a collaborative album by Campbell and Webb. The album and its accompanying DVD were filmed and recorded in December 1988 at the Hamilton, Ontario, studios of
CHCH-TV as part of the Canadian concert series ''In Session''.
Decades after he sold his first song, Webb's influence on his fellow musicians is ongoing. Rock singer-songwriter
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
has acknowledged that his 2019 album ''
Western Stars'' was profoundly impacted by Webb's music, and country music singer
Keith Urban cites Webb as his earliest songwriting inspiration.
Webb continues to perform throughout the United States and abroad.
In 2017 he published an autobiography, ''The Cake and the Rain: A Memoir''.
In 2024, Webb's song "
MacArthur Park" by both
Donna Summer and
Richard Harris was included in the
''Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'' soundtrack.
Emotional content of songs
While some of Webb's songs are happy, such as "Up, Up and Away", he has said that "The territory I tend to inhabit is that sort of 'crushed lonely hearts' thing. The first part of a relationship is usually that white-hot centre when all the happy songs come. When that's gone it can be devastating, and that's when the sorrowful songs come."
Personal life
In 1967 Webb wrote "MacArthur Park"; the inspiration for the song was his relationship and breakup with Susie Horton. The breakup was also the primary influence for his composition "By the Time I Get to Phoenix".
Webb married
cover girl Patricia "Patsy" Sullivan, the mother of his 17-month-old son Christiaan, in 1974. The youngest child of screen actor
Barry Sullivan and Swedish actress and model
Gita Hall, Sullivan was 12 years old and Webb was 22 when they met on a photo shoot for the cover of ''
Teen Magazine
Teen magazines are magazines aimed at teenager, teenage readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters, label, stickers, small samples of cosmetics or other products and inserts.
The teen maga ...
'' in 1968. Webb became romantically involved with Sullivan, the face of
Yardley Cosmetics, a year later. She gave birth to their son Christiaan, the first of their six children, when she was 16 years old. They married on July 13, 1974, in a wedding held at
Jim Messina's
Ojai, California
Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...
, ranch. Musicians who attended the wedding included
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as
"Feelin' Alright ...
,
Kenny Loggins,
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
,
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...
, and
Ike Turner, plus actors
Beau Bridges,
Lynda Carter,
Andrew Prine,
Jessica Walter, and
Jack Warden. They were divorced in 1996.
Two sons, Christiaan and Justin, formed a rock band,
the Webb Brothers. Their brother, James, later joined the band. Webb collaborated with his sons on the album ''
Cottonwood Farm'', which also featured his father Bob Webb.
In 2004, Webb married Laura Savini, a host and producer for the
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...
(PBS). From 1996 to 2011, Savini was vice president of marketing and communications at
WLIW, a PBS station on Long Island, New York.
The couple first met backstage on New Year's Eve 1999 at
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
's
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. Webb said, "I was drunk at the time ... I met her again a couple of years later and barely remembered meeting her the first time." Their second meeting took place when Savini interviewed Webb for her series on the arts.
Friendships
Webb had close personal relationships with
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
and actor
Richard Harris, both of whom had great success singing his songs. Hearing Campbell on the radio singing "
Turn Around, Look at Me" inspired him when he was 15 years old in 1961. A life-long friend, Webb thought of Campbell as a "big brother".
He said of Richard Harris, the Irish actor with a reputation as a serious alcoholic and substance abuser, "Richard was a major figure in my life at a time when I needed someone like him to show me how to smoke a cigarette and drink whisky. It was kind of learning how men really live, and we had the time of our lives."
Substance abuse
In his memoir and in interviews with the press, Webb has been frank about his problems with
substance abuse
Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...
, which included frequent use of
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
,
marijuana
Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
, and
alcohol
Alcohol may refer to:
Common uses
* Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds
* Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life
** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages
** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
. He stated that using cocaine was pervasive in the
music industry
The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
during the 1970s as recording sessions typically were long and cocaine provided the energy to keep on recording. "
ocainehad become legal tender. You could get studio musicians with it. You could get a date for the evening. Cocaine was in the executive suites of all the major record companies. It became cool; there was no social stigma attached to it. Au contraire: Most people didn't set off for an evening's dinner engagement and party after without your stash."
Webb suffered a near-fatal overdose of
phencyclidine in 1973 while snorting the drug with his friend, singer-songwriter
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...
. He used cocaine with Nilsson and
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
during the former Beatle's "Lost Weekend" and often supplied Lennon with drugs. He ceased his cocaine habit in the early 1990s. He gave up alcohol and marijuana and cocaine after his divorce and revived his performing career. A heavy user of both substances, Webb has been clean and sober since 2000.
Webb once owned
Carroll Shelby's 427
AC Cobra Super Snake, a twin of the Cobra that
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
talked about on his album ''
200 M.P.H.''.
Honors and awards
* 1967
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...
("
Up, Up and Away")
* 1969
Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) ("
MacArthur Park")
* 1969
Oklahoma Baptist University Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (legally Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha, PMA, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for men with a special interest ...
honorary membership, Pi Tau Chapter
* 1986
Grammy Award for Best Country Song
The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, unless the artist is also the songwriter.
There have ...
("
Highwayman
A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...
")
* 1986
National Academy of Popular Music Songwriter's Hall of Fame
* 1990
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
* 1993
National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award
* 1999
Oklahoma Hall of Fame
* 1999
ASCAP Board of Directors
* 2000
Songwriters Hall of Fame Board of Directors
* 2003 Songwriters Hall of Fame, Johnny Mercer Award
* 2006 ASCAP Voice of Music Award
* 2010 Songwriters Hall of Fame, Chairman Emeritus, 2010–2014
* 2012
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...
, Special International Award
* 2013 Great American Songbook Hall of Fame, Songbook Award
* 2013
Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
* 2019
National Recording Registry ("
Wichita Lineman")
Discography
(see also:
List of songs written by Jimmy Webb)
Original albums
* ''
Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb'' (1968)
* ''
Words and Music'' (1970)
* ''
And So: On'' (1971)
* ''
Letters'' (1972)
* ''
Land's End'' (1974)
* ''
El Mirage'' (1977)
* ''
Angel Heart'' (1982)
* ''
Suspending Disbelief'' (1993)
* ''
Ten Easy Pieces'' (1996)
* ''
Twilight of the Renegades'' (2005)
* ''
Live and at Large'' (2007)
* ''
Just Across the River'' (2010)
* ''
Still Within the Sound of My Voice'' (2013)
*''SlipCover'' (2019)
Collaborative albums
* ''
Up, Up, and Away'' (1967) by The 5th Dimension
* ''
The Magic Garden'' (1967) by The 5th Dimension
* ''
Rewind'' (1967) by Johnny Rivers
* ''
A Tramp Shining'' (1968) by Richard Harris
* ''
The Yard Went On Forever'' (1968) by Richard Harris
* ''
Sunshower'' (1969) by Thelma Houston
* ''
The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb'' (1972) by The Supremes
* ''
Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb'' (1974) by Glen Campbell
* ''
Stars
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...
'' (1975) by Cher
* ''
Earthbound
''EarthBound'', originally released in Japan as is a 1994 role-playing video game, role-playing video game developed by Ape, Inc., Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the second e ...
'' (1975) by The 5th Dimension
* ''
Live at the Royal Festival Hall'' (1977) by Glen Campbell
* ''
Watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations i ...
'' (1977) by Art Garfunkel
* ''
Breakwater Cat'' (1980) by Thelma Houston
* ''
The Last Unicorn'' (1982) by America
* ''
The Animals' Christmas
''The Animals' Christmas By Jimmy Webb'' is the sixth solo studio album and the first Christmas album by vocalist Art Garfunkel, and is a collaborative album with Amy Grant, released in October 1986 by Columbia Records. The album was written by Ji ...
'' (1986) by Art Garfunkel and Amy Grant
* ''
Light Years'' (1988) by Glen Campbell
* ''
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'' (1989) by Linda Ronstadt
* ''
Film Noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
'' (1997) by Carly Simon
* ''
Only One Life: The Songs of Jimmy Webb'' (2003) by Michael Feinstein
* ''
This Kind of Love'' (2008) by Carly Simon
* ''
Cottonwood Farm'' (2009) by Jimmy Webb and
The Webb Brothers
* ''
Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb: In Session'' (2012) by Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb
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)
* ''Archive & Live'' (2005)
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
External links
*
* in 2010
Jimmy Webb interviewin 2012
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Jimmy
1946 births
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American composers
21st-century American male musicians
American male composers
Asylum Records artists
Atlantic Records artists
Elektra Records artists
Epic Records artists
Grammy Award winners
Ivor Novello Award winners
Living people
People from Elk City, Oklahoma
Reprise Records artists
San Bernardino Valley College alumni
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma