While I would not generalize as much as saying nobody, I understood and agree with her point. Until singer-songwriters became a big deal, most people associated hit songs with the artists who performed them rather than with the composer. “Galveston,” “By the time I get to Phoenix,” and “Wichita Lineman” will forever be associated with superstar Glenn Campbell.
But that talented vocalist and guitarist wasn’t the only one who took advantage of Jimmy Webb’s writing ability. Artists such as Frank Sinatra (the teenaged Jimmy always addressed him as Mr. Sinatra out of respect), Barbara Striesand, Linda Rhonstadt, Tom Jones, and Art Garfunkel have also covered his songs.
Listening to the composer talk about his career I learned that early on he worked for Johnny Rivers and for Motown, managing the pop band The Fifth Dimension and penning that group’s big hit “Up, Up, and Away.” During the show he played a rousing rendition of his hit “MacArthur Park” on the grand piano.
Jimmy also told the story of his song “The Highwayman,” which would be recorded by a group consisting of some of country’s biggest stars. He recounted that Willie Nelson was all in on the reincarnation concept but Waylon Jennings and Chris Kerstopherson were waiting to hear what Johnny Cash thought of the song. They were certain they were all in agreement when Johnny said he wanted to fly the starship.
To show just how expansive the Webb musical influence has been, I was watching an old Ed Sullivan rerun the other night and saw Johnny Maestro and Brooklyn Bridge perform their hit “I Heard You Got Married.” The song’s writer: Jimmy Webb of course.
But the conversation at the Lenoir concert often returned to Glenn with Jimmy marveling at the late singer’s five-octave vocal range. They had a very friendly and productive working relationship and friendship even when they didn’t agree on how a song should be performed. Jimmy noted that Glenn stepped up the tempo of “Galveston” but that he couldn’t argue with the choice because the song became a monster hit.
Webb also claimed some credit for one of Campbell’s hits that he didn’t write. He said Glenn was at his house when Jimmy played a record that had the song “Rhinestone Cowboy” on it. Glenn like it and the rest is history.
Success and fame in the music business seemed unlikely for a farm boy and son of a Baptist preacher who moved the family around a lot. Webb thanks God and his mother for his successful career. She wanted him to become a church pianist and made him practice an hour a day six days a week. A piano teacher recognized his ear for music and
encouraged him to improvise.
Back on the farm, the teenager would listen to pop music on a transistor radio while driving a tractor. When he heard the Beach Boys singing about two girls for every boy, he knew he had to move to California.
The move worked out. At the 10th Annual Grammy Awards he won songwriter of the year for “Up Up and Away” and was also nominated for “By the Time I Get To Phoenix” nominated that year.
Webb said it’s a challenge to stay relevant in a dramatically changing musical landscape. But with a stellar music catalog like his it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Donna Summer had a hit with “MacArthur Park” ten years after the song first charted, and Kanye West appropriated his song “Do What You Gotta Do” for “Famous,” the rap artist’s slight of hit songwriter Taylor Swift. Webb’s son alerted him that West was using the Webb composition without permission and he eventually settled for 43 percent of the proceeds.
The program for the Lenoir concert called Jimmy Webb America’s Songwriter and nothing I heard that night of for the five decades proceeding it would contradict that title.