Jimmy Webb returns to Australia for three shows
Wednesday 12th March – Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Friday 14th March – State Theatre, Sydney
Sunday 16th March – Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane
A songwriter’s songwriter, Jimmy has written for Glen Campbell, Linda Ronstadt, Richard Harris, Art Garfunkel, with hits “MacArthur Park”, “Wichita Lineman,” “The Highwayman”, “Up, Up and Away”, “All I Know”, “Honey, Come Back”, “By The Time I Get to Phoenix”, “The Worst That Could Happen”, “Where’s The Playground, Susie”, and “Galveston”.
“… A night with Jimmy at the keys is not unlike getting to hear George Gershwin or Cole Porter live. It’s hard to believe one guy could have written all these amazing songs…if you get a chance to see him live, grab it. People ask why nobody writes songs like they used to. Fortunately for us all, Jimmy Webb still does.”
– Paul Zollo, Songwriters on Songwriting
Jimmy Webb has had songs performed by a who’s who of the world’s greatest singers – Barbara Streisand, The Supremes, Frank Sinatra, Waylon Jennings, Donna Summer, Isaac Hayes, Judy Collins, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Kenny Rogers, Amy Grant, and Billy Joel are just some of the voices that have been lent to Jimmy’s songs.
With his show “An Evening with Jimmy Webb”, the multi-Grammy winner gives fans of classic song-craft a unique connection to his music, revealing the stories behind his hits from his first songwriting job at Motown, through a career trajectory that took a teen preacher’s son from a farm town in Oklahoma to the top of the music world. This is the man that Frank Sinatra said penned the greatest torch song ever written. Do not miss this phenomenal concert.
“Few singers blend grit and grandeur like Jimmy Webb…[his] voice is like an old Mustang heading through a treacherous yet often gorgeous landscape.” – Rolling Stone
“At an age when other singers are losing their voices, Mr. Webb finds his mercurial, unguarded, singing…attaining the gritty authority of a softhearted country outlaw’s…Mr. Webb is still at the top of his game.” – Stephen Holden, The New York Times
AWARD HIGHLIGHTS
- 1967 Grammy Award for Song of the Year (“Up, Up and Away”)
- 1969 Oklahoma Baptist University Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia honorary membership, Pi Tau Chapter
- 1986 Grammy Award for Best Country Song (“Highwayman”)
- 1986 National Academy of Popular Music Songwriter’s Hall of Fame inductee
- 1990 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee
- 1993 National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1999 Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee
- 1999 ASCAP Board of Directors member, current Vice Chair.
- 2000 Songwriters Hall of Fame Board of Directors member
- 2003 Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award
- 2006 ASCAP “Voice of Music” Award
- 2011 Chairman, Songwriters Hall of Fame
- Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 2012 Ivor Novello Special International Award
- Great American Songbook Hall of Fame 2013 Songbook Award
Jimmy Webb’s Biography
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer and singer known worldwide as a master of his trade. His timeless hits continue to be performed and recorded by the industry’s biggest names, and his new compositions span the musical spectrum from classical to pop. This past year saw his “Wichita Lineman” on the set list in three major artist tours – Guns N’ Roses, Little Big Town, and Toby Keith – and used prominently in an episode of the Netflix series Ozark.
Not many artists can say they premiered a classical nocturne and had a rap hit with Kanye West (“Do What You Gotta Do” a central hook in “Famous”) in the same year, but Jimmy’s career is full of surprises.
Since his first platinum record “The Worst That Could Happen,” Webb has had numerous hits including “Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman, “Galveston,” “Highwayman,” “All I Know” and “MacArthur Park,” and has also become a leader and mentor in the industry as a champion for songwriters.
Webb is the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration. His numerous accolades include the prestigious Ivor Novella International Award (2012) and the Academy of Country Music’s Poet Award (2016). In 2016 Rolling Stone magazine listed Webb as one of the top 50 songwriters of all time.
Jimmy Webb was the youngest member ever inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and served as its Chairman. He has also served proudly as the Vice Chair of ASCAP. Time and again Webb has paved the way for songwriters in an ever-changing media landscape, spearheading the ongoing effort to preserve the rights of songwriters and their intellectual property in the digital age.
Webb is an international touring artist, averaging 50 shows a year. Webb is also an author – his memoir The Cake and the Rain (2017) brings to life a 15-year span in Webb’s unique career, written with the same sense of poetry and story as his many hits. Webb’s first book, Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting, in addition to being a good read, is considered a “bible” among musicians.
Jimmy Webb was trained in the sacred space of Motown and had his first commercial recordings there. Webb’s songs have been recorded by the greatest voices including Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Nina Simone, Isaac Hayes, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Tony Bennett, Michael Feinstein, Michael Ball and Josh Groban. Per BMI, his song “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” was the third most performed song between 1940 and 1990.
Webb continues to write and record, and has released ten solo albums, while also writing for other artists. In Spring 2019 Webb will release SlipCover, his piano interpretations of contemporary composers including friends Billy Joel and Randy Newman. Webb is happily married to Laura Savini, a producer and host for PBS. He has five sons, the perfect daughter and is grandfather to precious Josephine.