I've heard it said that art at it's best is inspirational, and if this is in fact true Jimmy Webb is an artist of the highest order.Time, and space does not permit me to express my feelings, or name all of the songs he has written that have touched me deeply.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Very highly recommended! Read full review Bottom line, this book was so interesting & informative on so many levels, a real page-turner. Every page is interesting, but I was really amazed how incredibly knowledgeable he is about many subjects, is incredibly well-read(which he uses in hi s craft), & writes prose as well as he writes songs! A sidelight that really blew my mind was in his preface, he signed it in an obscure place in my home State of Maine! I was amazed as to how Jimmy Webb, who has been everywhere, would end up in a place in my state I've never even heard of, amazing! It's a small world out there sometimes. He goes through the songwriting process minutely, but in a very interesting & organized way. This book is even better than i expected(and I expected a lot!).
When I heard about this book he wrote in 1998 about songwriting, I had to get it. I had not followed him for several years, but recently rediscovered him again from some amazing songs I didn't play way back in the 60's. I've been amazed by the complexity of his music & lyrics, absolutely in awe of his songwriting ability. In 2019 Webb released a piano-only CD, SlipCover, featuring some of his favorite songs from his contemporaries Billy Joel, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones and more.I've been an admirer of Jimmy Webb for almost 50 years, his 1st burst of success was in my teenage years, his music was the soundtrack of my young life. Jimmy Webb is the author of the memoir, The Cake and the Rain, and the “bible” of songwriting, Tunesmith: The Art of Songwriting.
During this Evening with Jimmy Webb, audiences will hear this multi-Grammy Award winner’s songs and experience his insightful and often humorous stories about his work with Glen Campbell, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt (“Still Within the Sound of My Voice”), Art Garfunkel (“All I Know”), The Fifth Dimension (“Up, Up and Away”), The Highwaymen (“The Highwayman”), Kanye West (“Famous” features Webb’s “Do What You Gotta Do”), and more. Jimmy Webb, America’s Songwriter, has written songs that transcend generations and genres –think “Wichita Lineman,” “MacArthur Park,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” and “Didn’t We.” This Motown-trained composer writes all of his own lyrics and music and is the only hit maker to have scored songs on the Pop, Country, R&B, Rap, Disco and New Age charts.