Winning his first GRAMMY for Song of the Year at the young age of 21, Jimmy Webb would go
on to prove that it was just the beginning of his career
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Winning his first GRAMMY for Song of the Year at the young age of 21, Jimmy Webb would go
on to prove that it was just the beginning of his career and not the peak. Going on to win
multiple other GRAMMYs and awards, an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he’s
even managed to top the charts with multiple Platinum Hits from pop to country, blues, jazz,
disco to even rap and EDM. This cross-genre songwriter has worked with some of the industry’s
greatest including Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Josh Groban, Glen Campbell,
The Highwaymen, Barbra Streisand, Guns n’ Roses, and Little Big Town.
Since Webb’s Grammy sweep in 1968 when his own “Up, Up and Away” and “By the Time I Get
to Phoenix” vied for Song of the Year ( “Up” won) to the use of his “Do What You Gotta Do” in
Kanye West’s “Famous,” the man often praised as “America’s Songwriter” remains a respected
icon in popular music and continues to challenge his artistic boundaries with projects like a
classical nocturne. His most famous songs are touchstones for a generation yet remain timeless
- “MacArthur Park,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Worst That Could Happen.”
During his live shows Webb brings fans of his music a unique connection to their favorite
songs, revealing the stories behind his hits as far back as his first songwriting job at Motown
through a career trajectory that took a teenaged preacher’s son from a farm town in Oklahoma
to the top of his longed-for profession in just a few short years, with pitfalls and blessings in
equal measure between. His books, Tunesmith: The Art of Songwriting and recent memoir The
Cake and the Rain demonstrate his incredible talent with words and music.
