Jimmy Webb
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Jimmy Webb (born August 5 1946 in Elk City, Oklahoma) is an idiosyncratic American popular music composer.
Webb is responsible for large number of 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, including the underestimated "MR. Shuck and Jive," an Ed Frank favorite. He is probably the only songwriter to have had his songs recorded by both R.E.M. and Frank Sinatra.
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.
Elected to the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 1990 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
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)