Jimmy Webb

Jimmy Webb (born August 5, or, according to some, August 15 1946 in Elk City, Oklahoma) is an idiosyncratic American popular music composer.

Related Topics:
August 5 - August 15 - 1946 - Elk City, Oklahoma - American - Popular music - Composer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jimmy Webb is responsible for writing numerous popular and Top 10 hits sung by a disparate group of vocalists, including Glen Campbell ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston"), Art Garfunkel ("All I Know"), Richard Harris ("MacArthur Park"), The Fifth Dimension ("Up, Up and Away") and The Highwaymen, consisting of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, ("The Highwayman"), and many others.

Related Topics:
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman - Art Garfunkel - Richard Harris - MacArthur Park - The Fifth Dimension - The Highwaymen - Waylon Jennings - Willie Nelson - Johnny Cash - Kris Kristofferson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Webb's father was a Baptist minister and an ex-Marine. His mother died when he was a teenager. His most popular songs were all composed when he was between 19 and 21 years of age.

Related Topics:
Baptist - Marine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"By The Time I Get To Phoenix" is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Webb is probably the only songwriter to have had his songs recorded by both R.E.M. and Frank Sinatra. 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.

Related Topics:
R.E.M. - Frank Sinatra

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He is noted for having written songs that were hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and is the only person to receive Grammy Awards in all three categories: music, lyrics and orchestration. Webb has also written musicals, commercial jingles and film scores, including the music for the animated film The Last Unicorn. He has written for television as well, including music for the show ER.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - Grammy Award - ER

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Webb is also a performer of his own music, having released several albums beginning with 1970's "Words & Music", to 2005's "Twilight of The Renegades".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1998 he authored a book, Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting, which was well received by songwriters and performers. He still continues to do live performances.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elected to the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 1990 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Related Topics:
Songwriters Hall of Fame - Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His two sons also write and perform as The Webb Brothers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~