He is noted for having written songs that were hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He is the only person to receive Grammy Awards in all three categories: music, lyrics and orchestration. He has also written musicals 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.
He is a popular performer of his own music, having released several albums, the most recent of which, "Ten Easy Pieces" 1996, was a critical success. In 1998 Webb wrote a book, "Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting", which was well received by songwriters. He continues to do live performances.
External links:
Official artist's site (http://www.jimmywebb.com)
Ultimate Band List page (http://www.ubl.com/music/artist/card/0,,508102,00.html)
Webb, in fact, may well have kept the craft of the songwriter in popular music alive and kicking in a new generation of popular music, saving the songwriting profession from being ghettoized on to the Broadway stage and the world of the commercial jingle.
JimmyWebb was born the son of a Baptist minister in Elk City, OK, on August 15, 1946.
And JimmyWebb was suddenly in their ranks, as visible as any of them, and with a hit to his credit as big as anything that George Martin as a producer or Nelson Riddle as an arranger had signed their names to, respectively.
But the late '60s was an era when songwriters largely were singing their own songs, and Webb turned to performing after the unpleasant experience of having some of his demos overdubbed and released without his permission as the 1968 Epic Records LP Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb.
Webb deliberately took a less elaborate approach to his music than he and others had taken on his many hits, recording largely alone with guitarist Fred Tackett (who also overdubbed bass, percussion, and trumpet).
Webb sang in a light, occasionally gruff tenor that revealed his roots in Oklahoma, his renditions far less polished than those of the singers who usually handled his songs, but more technically accomplished than, say, Bob Dylan or Randy Newman, and so perfectly acceptable.
Feeds |
Contact