Jimmy Webb

Born in Elk City, Oklahoma, in 1946, Jimmy Webb is one of the premier songwriters of the last half of the 20th century. The singers who have sung and recorded his songs range from actor Richard Harris to Frank Sinatra, from Willie Nelson to Donna Summer.

He has also scored several movies. He is noted for having written songs that were hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and is the only person to receive Grammy Awards in all three categories: music, lyrics and orchestration. (Wikipedia)


Here is my postcard tribute to his music.

MacArthur Park

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark.



To listen, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwYQgk05DY

Richard Harris - 1968 -- MacArthur Park made its debut on the American charts on 6 May 1968 at #39. It was the first top-40 song to run over 7 minutes.

For years, throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, I proclaimed this to be my all-time favorite song ever. It still ranks right up there, but I’m not sure I have one single number-one favorite any more, just lots of songs I really love. This is one of them.

I absolutely love this song, particularly the Richard Harris rendition, despite the amount of abuse it has taken from critics about some of the lyrics. The music alone is enough to send chills up my spine. The metaphorical lyrics have taken a lot of hits from critics, and the song itself has been panned and parodied and covered by several artists, including “Weird Al” Yankovich, Waylon Jennings, Maynard Ferguson and Donna Summer (I was never sure if hers was a cover or a parody, to be honest). For anyone who has ever had that one great love in their life, against which all others are compared and found wanting, the lyrics are particularly haunting –

After all the loves of my life, yes, after all the loves of my life, you’ll still be the one.
…After all the loves of my life, I’ll be thinking of you, and wondering why.
If you have an ounce of poetry in your soul, these lyrics will speak to you.

If you have an ounce of music in your soul, the two instrumental breaks will call to you over and over.

By the Time I Get to Phoenix - 1

By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising.


To listen, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUg5p3BncuQ


Recorded in 1967 by Glen Campbell, this song reflects a man who finally has a plan to leave the woman he loves, after several previously empty threats to do so. He is envisioning her reactions at various points in his trip. In the tradition of Jimmy Webb, the first one is pure poetry.

By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising.
That’s what phoenixes (phoenixi?) do – rise from the ashes. Could it be inferred that that is what he hopes to do once he reaches his final destination (which is never disclosed)?

She’ll find the note I left hanging on her door.
An indication that while he has pulled himself together enough to make the final decision to leave, he doesn’t trust himself not to waver if he has to tell her face-to-face.

By the Time I Get to Phoenix - 2

By the time I make Albuquerque she'll be working.
She'll prob'ly stop at lunch and give me a call
But she'll just hear that phone keep on ringin'
Off the wall
That's all

By the Time I Get to Phoenix - 3

By the time I make Oklahoma, she’ll be sleeping. She’ll turn softly and call my name out low,
And she'll cry just to think I'd really leave her

Wichita Lineman

And the Wichita lineman is still on the line.


To isten, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKeqXyY-9xA

Recorded in 1968 by Glen Campbell, this is the anthem of a solitary worker at once contemplating his job responsibilities and nursing loneliness and a longing for the one he loves. It appears to be the anthem to the hard-working guys who keep us powered up, but on deeper inspection, it’s a working man’s way of saying that no matter how hard I am working, you (the love of my life) are constantly on my mind.

Jimmy Webb once again draws us in, past any dirt and grime and weather we may associate with the lot of the outdoors working man, to deeper matters of the heart so as to illustrate that need can be greater than desire, and the desire is forever.

Covered by many singers, Glen Campbell's version of Wichita Lineman came in at #192 of Rolling Stone's top 500 songs of all time.

And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time.

Galveston

Galveston, oh Galveston, I still hear your sea waves crashing

To listen, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTbTHlTmDX8

You can almost hear them pounding the sand as you look at this postcard.

Recorded by Glen Campbell in 1969, some sources say that it was about a soldier in the Spanish American war missing his sweetheart, but at the time that it was written and recorded, the Vietnam war was in full swing and being protested mightily all across America and some thought it was written about that.

Where's the Playground, Susie?

Where's the playground, Susie?



To listen, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s17Be3PZA8c

One of the lesser-known of Glen Campbell’s songs written by Jimmy Webb, this song peaked at #26 on the charts in 1969. I had always thought of it as another “Come Back When You Grow Up Girl” or “Young Girl Get Out of My Mind” kind of song, but finding out that Jimmy Webb had written it caused me to reexamine the lyrics, and now it seems as if it has a different meaning altogether. The singer seems to be confronting his lover as if to say, “How did we get here? How did things get to be such a mess? Obviously you aren’t happy with me and you want to play around, but where are the boundaries?” Because it doesn’t get much airplay (I haven’t heard it in years and didn’t even know it was a Jimmy Webb song until I started my research for this blog), I am including the lyrics here for the edification of the reader.

The end has come and found us here
With our toys scattered all around us here
The puzzle that we never found an answer for
Still asks us, darlin', just what all the games were for
And here we stand in a box of sand
Where's the playground Susie?
You're the one who's supposed to know her way around
Where's the playground Susie
If I don't stay around?
If I don't stay around?
The carousel has stopped us here
It twirled a time or two and then it dropped us here
And still you're not content with something about me
But what merry-go-round can you ride without me
To take your hand
How would you stand?
Where's the playground Susie
If I decide to let you go and play around?
Where's the playground Susie
If I don't stay around?
If I don't stay around?
Where's the playground Susie?
You're the one who's supposed to know her way around
Where's the playground Susie
If I decide to let you go and play around?
Let’s face it – half the songs on the top 40 that contained a girl’s name contained the name Susie or some variation thereof (Susan, Sue) – but Jimmy’s use of the name is a possible confirmation that this song, MacArthur Park, By the Time I Get to Phoenix and The Worst That Could Happen were all inspired by his love affair with a woman named Susan, who did marry someone else.

Up, Up and Away (In My Beautiful Balloon)

The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon.






To listen, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQVLsvZcr34

Recorded by the Fifth Dimension in 1967. This song was originally written for use in a documentary that never panned out. It won four Grammy awards.

The Worst That Could Happen

To listen, click below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPTvxkV3FAk

Recorded in 1969 by Brooklyn Bridge

According to information I found on www.songfacts.com, when Johnny Maestro (former lead singer of the Crests) put together an 11-piece band, his managers complained that it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge than to promote such a large ensemble. The name stuck.

My favorite Brooklyn Bridge song was Your Husband/My Wife. I have no idea who wrote it.

There is little commentary on this song because it is one of my least favorite of Jimmy Webb's songs. I included it here largely because of the artists' name being Brooklyn Bridge.  But let's face it -- a not-so-great Jimmy Webb song is better than a "great" song by most songwriters.