A contemporary of Acoustic Music San Diego's most
prestigious entertainers—Woodstock icon Richie Havens and veteran session ace
Al Kooper—will be adding his name this month to the list of the greats to have
performed at the Normal Heights venue. The buzz has been growing since the
announcement was made last fall that Jimmy Webb would be making a rare San
Diego appearance.
One of the
most successful American songwriters of the twentieth century, Webb is the
61-year-old native of Elk City, Oklahoma, who composed "By the Time I get to
Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," and "MacArthur Park." In reality, there have been
two Jimmy Webbs in the public persona since the '60s: the songwriter whose
consistent body of work resulted in gold records for the Fifth Dimension ("Up,
Up, and Away"), Glen Campbell ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix"), and Art
Garfunkel ("All I Know"); and the enigmatic artist whose solo albums (1977's El
Mirage, produced by Sir George Martin, is a particularly compelling disc) have
been critically praised for their depth and sophistication.
Even in his
best known work, Webb has been able to balance on the difficult tightrope
between the literal and the abstract. In "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," one of
the best "breakup" songs from the '60s, the song's narrator surprises the
listener at the conclusion: there is no reunion, no happy ending; "And she'll
cry just to think I'd really leave her/Tho' time and time I try to tell her so/
She just didn't know I would really go."
In contrast
to the realism of "Phoenix," there is the image of a cake left out in the rain
in Webb's "MacArthur Park." Along with the mystery of vandals taking the
handles in Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and the disturbing thought
of kids kicking Edgar Allen Poe in John Lennon's "I Am the Walrus," will we
ever find the recipe for the cake again?
No less a
musical authority than Jools Holland posed the question when Webb performed on
Holland's British TV show:
Jools: What's the
song about, really?
Jimmy Webb:
(Laughs) SEARCH ME!
And that
apparently ended the speculation.
Currently
in Martha's Vineyard working on a recording project with Carly Simon, Webb took
time out to discuss a number of topics with the San Diego Troubadour, including
his current one-man concert tour in support of his latest album, Live and at
Large: Jimmy Webb in the UK.
San Diego Troubadour:
You performed last November in the Oklahoma Centennial. How did it feel to go
home?
Jimmy Webb: It
was a tremendous experience. It involved writing a song, a bit of a pep rally
anthem for the state called "Oklahoma Rising." I co-wrote it with Vince Gill. I
think it turned out to be a pretty darned good song...very rhythmic, very up
tempo. There are a lot of good people out there. I told my father, "You're 83
years old, only 17 years younger [laughs] than a state!"
SDT: You
originally left the Midwest when you moved to Southern California with your
family when you were in your teens. Please describe the L.A. music scene of the
'60s.
JW: I arrived during the summer of 1963. It was warm but not
boiling hot. There were lots of flowers and everything was still quite green. I
remember the great scent of night-blooming jasmine floating over the
neighborhoods of San Bernardino and Colton. The music of the Beach Boys was
emanating from every house on the block. Songs like "In my Room" and "Surfer
Girl" represented the prototypical sound of that summer. I took to Southern
California like a fish to water. It was a combination of good luck and the
blessings of the good lord that I was able to experience the California dream.
People talk about the Southern California myth. To me, it wasn't a myth but an
eminent reality.
I was a
pretty typical kid. I fell in love with the prettiest girl in school and got
beat up [laughs] for doing so! I took Susan Horton to Grad Night my senior
year. She later married into the Ronstadt clan. After high school, I attended
San Bernardino Valley College but I wasn't much of a student. Russell C.
Baldwin [the head of the music program] brought me into his office and said,
"Mr. Webb, I‘m giving you an A-plus for your composition and a F for your
semester grade. Mr. Webb, we don't want to have you at the college and you
don't want to to be at the college. If you want to become a songwriter, why
don't you get the hell out of here and become one!" So I realized it was put up
or shut up time.
SDT: One of your
earliest songwriting assignments was with Motown.
JW: I was working
for Jobete Music at Motown's West Coast office. I wasn't back in Detroit. The
Supremes recorded one of my songs, "My Christmas Tree." It appeared on their
Christmas album. I was very lucky. Glen Campbell once gave me some advice; he
said, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." I enjoyed my time at Motown
and had the opportunity to meet people like Brenda Holloway and Billy Eckstine.
I heard "My Girl" [by the Temptations] on a reel-to-reel tape before it came
out as a single.
SDT: Johnny
Rivers was the artist-in-residence at the Whisky a Go Go nightclub on the
Sunset Strip. He turned out to be an important contact for you.
JW: Johnny was
starting up a burgeoning record label called Soul City. He had an intense
closed-door meeting with an employer I was working for at the time. An hour
later, he walked out of the office, looked at me, and said, "You are going to
be working with me." One of the groups [Johnny] signed was called the
Versatiles. They later became the 5th Dimension. They recorded "Up, Up, and
Away." After that, things started taking off for me in a big way.
SDT: John Lennon
had Paul McCartney to bounce ideas back and forth. Burt Bacharach wrote the
music and Hal David provided the lyrics. What are the challenges in your case,
a songwriter who is responsible for words and music?
JW: I'm not
working alone. There is inspiration, the role of inspiration taking part in the
songwriting process. Richard Rogers didn't believe in it but Oscar Hammerstein
did. I believe that most successful songwriters will admit to a higher power
taking a part in the creative process, inspiration, or this higher power having
a role to play in songwriting.
My mother
was the power behind me. You know the old saying, "Behind every successful
man...?" Well, that was my mother. When I was a kid, she had a strict rule: I
was to practice the piano 30 minutes a day, and there were severe repercussions
when I didn't practice. No baseball, nothing! I fulfilled her earthly dream
when I became good enough to play at my father's Baptist Church service. She
was radiating this wonderful glow when I would play. Unfortunately, she died
[shortly after the family moved to California]. So, she never saw any of
this.... there have been many, many times I've thought about her. In 1968, I
took home three Grammys—for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman,"
and "MacArthur Park." I was in the spotlight, all the flash bulbs going off.
And I remember thinking about my mother. What would she had thought about it?
Would she have been proud?
SDT: Frank
Sinatra's best TV special was "Sinatra: A Man and his Music." Is your current
tour and live album similar in concept? Is this a look back at more than 40
years of your contributions to popular music?
JW: My life has
been blessed by meetings with some of the most interesting characters. I
remember I was in the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas having a conversation in a
dimly lit room with this black guy. After talking with him for three minutes, I
realized he was Louis Armstrong! Going out on the road and performing has given
me the chance to reflect on 40 years. In between songs, I've been sharing
stories about people I've met, stories that I believe have become more
interesting over time. There are some I've never shared before. I talk about
Frank Sinatra—Mister Sinatra—who I knew fairly well. And I also get to talk
about my friendship with Harry Nilsson.
SDT: Over the
last 40 years, your music was released on vinyl, eight-track tapes, cassettes,
and CDs. What do you think of the iPod age and music downloading?
JW: I really miss
the brick-and-mortar record stores. I remember telling my kids ten years ago
that Tower Records wouldn't be around in another ten years...and now they're
gone. I blame the record companies for a lot of the problems with illegal
downloading. They had the opportunity to address the problems years ago but
they chose not to. I can't imagine there are people out there depriving artists
the right to make a living. Will this be the first generation of creative artists
to not be able to make a living?
A limited number of
tickets remain for the February 9th concert featuring Jimmy Webb. Visit www.acousticmusicsandiego.com.