The Cake and the Rain: A Memoir
Page 36
Wichita Lineman
Winners Tell Jokes and Losers Say “Deal”
Winter Clothes
Wishing Now
Wives
Wooden Planes (aka “A Song for My Brother”)
Work for a Dollar
World Made of Windows
(The) Worst That Could Happen
(The) Yard Went on Forever
You Can’t Blame a Man for Trying
You Can’t Treat the Wrong Man Right
You Have Going
You Look Like a Winner
You Might as Well Smile (aka “Shine It on Me”)
You’ll Be Back, I Know It
You’ll Just Have to do It
You’re Leaving What You’re Looking For
You’re So Young
ANIMALS’ CHRISTMAS, THE (Cantata, 1985)
Carol of the Birds (J.W. music)
Herod
Incredible Phat
Just a Simple Little Tune
The Annunciation
The Creatures of the Field
The Decree
The Friendly Beasts (J.W. music)
The Frog
The Song of the Camels (J.W. music)
Wild Geese
Words from An Old Spanish Carol (J.W. music)
BRONX TALE, A (Musical, 2000)
Belmont Avenue
CHILDREN’S CRUSADE, A (Musical, 1980)
Only One Life
CLEAN AND NARROW, THE (Film, 1999)
Right as Rain
DANCING GIRL (San Bernardino Valley College, 1965)
Dancing Girl
Didn’t We?
Where’s the Playground, Susie?
DANDELION WINE (Musical, 1981)
Alive, Alive, Oh!
Dandelion Wine
Gee, It’s Gonna Be Lonely Without the Lonely One
Kangaroo Tennis Shoes
One and the Same
Simpatico
Statistics
Summer 1928, Begin!
The Happiness Machine
There’s Something in This Summer
The Sad Machine
Time Flies
Time Traveler
The Thing at the Bottom of the Stairs
Whatta Ya Want for a Dime
You’re Gonna Live Forever
DOC (Film, 1971)
Alhambra Mariachi
Interlude
Mariachi Waltz
The Whore and Cisco
E/R (TV, 1984–85)
I’ve Got a Real Emergency, Here (‘Theme Song’)
show no. 18, I Raise You
show no. 19, Merry Wives of Sheinfeld pt. 1
show no. 20, Merry Wives of Sheinfeld pt. 2
show no. 21, All Tied Up
show no. 22, A Change in Policy
FERNGULLY (Film, 1992)
A Dream Worth Keeping
I’m Back Medley: Humans Did It All / The Holocaust / Gather Everyone
Remember Everything
Spirit of the Trees
The Battle for Old High Rise
The Grotto Song
Genesis
FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (Film, 1971)
Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon
HANOI HILTON, THE (Film, 1987)
Hero’s Heart (aka “What Makes You So Special?”)
Dance of the Bamboos
Dance of the Bells
My Native Land
Let Us Sew Warm Clothes
When the Ta-Lu Sounds
HIS OWN DARK CITY (Musical, 1960s)
Sunshower
Highpockets
Laspitch
HOW SWEET IT IS! (Film, 1968)
How Sweet It Is!
Montage
INSTANT INTIMACY (Musical, 1992)
Boat People Are Beautiful
Close By (“Love Me, Love My Dog”)
Defiance
I Don’t Know How to Love You Anymore
Instant Intimacy
Is There Love After You?
It Only Takes One Guy to Tap
Other People’s Lives
That’s How a Lady Learns to Flirt
Two Women
Wasn’t There a Moment?
What Does a Woman See in a Man
Yours for the Taking
LAST UNICORN, THE (Film, 1982)
In the Sea
Man’s Road
Now That I’m a Woman
That’s All I’ve Got to Say
The Last Unicorn
LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG (Musical, 1990s)
Close By (A Duet)
Females
If You Love Me, Love My Dog
Just Us
Mrs. Metternick
LOVE STORY (Film, 1972)
Love Song
Once Before I Die
NAKED APE, THE (Film, 1972)
Fingerpainting (aka “Fingerpaint Me”)
Jesus Loves Me
Saturday Suit
Survival Rag
The Elephant Hunt
PETER PAN (Film, 1969 / 70)
ROLLING STONE (TV Anniversary Special, 1977)
Main Theme
SANTA CLAUSE, THE (Film, 1994)
Christmas Will Return
SCANDAL (Musical, 1985)
An American Woman in Paris (“A Ballet Fantasy”)
Claudia’s Song “Broom Closet”)
Chase and Crash
Dyke Fantasy
Eat Your Little Heart Out
Garage (“Car Horns”)
Gershwin Ballet
Gotta Make This Flight
Masturbation Fantasy
Menage a Trois (“Second Ballet Fantasy”)
Nice Little Piece
Opening Number (“Fire”)
Orgy
She Just Lays There
Telephones
Overnight (Theme Song)
The Most Important Thing
They Just Don’t Make ’Em Like You Anymore
Wedding
SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (TV, 1982)
Angelina’s Chili
Baby’s Breath
Deep Inside
For Sure, for Certain, Forever, for Always
Hannah
Hold On
If I Ever Get to Talk to You
I’m a Ramblin’ Ranchin’ Man
It’s Not a Bad Dream
Let It All Out
Let’s Get This Show on the Road
Long Gone Highway
Main Theme
Men, Men, Amen
Now That I Found You
Old Scarback
Saturday Night
Stomp and Holler (aka “My Brother’s Keeper”)
The Election Song
Theme
You Gotta Treat a Woman Like a Horse
SHANE THE MUSICAL (Musical, 2004)
The Ballad of Shane
TALES FROM THE CRYPT (TV, 1991)
TFTC: Loved to Death
TUXEDO (Musical, 1980s)
Because He’s Free
Bend Your Backs
Event of the Season
Going Up to the Autumn Ball
House Without Love
Hurrah
Ice Covered Lake on a Snow Covered Christmas
It’s Not What You Do, It’s How You Do It
Lorillard’s Four Point
Our Little Lady
Overnight Success
She Moves and Eyes Follow
Tarantella
The Old Tuxedo
The Roarin’ Steins
These Are All Mine
Tuxedo
VOICES (Film, 1979)
Across the River (Inst.)
Disco If You Want to (Inst.)
Drunk as a Punk
Family Theme (Inst.)
I Will Always Wait for You (Theme from Voices) (Inst.)
Rosemarie and Drew (Inst.)
Rosemarie’s Dance (Inst.) / I Will Always Wait for You (Reprise)
Rosemary’s Theme (Inst.)
The Children’s Song
The Children’s Song (Inst.)
On a Stage
WILDFIRE (TV, 1986)
Wildfire
WINTER PEOPLE (Film, 1989)
Lightning in a Bottle
Self portrait of Jimmy Webb (Courtesy of the author)
ALBUMS
• Words and Music (1970)
• And So: On (1971)
• Letters (1972)
• Land’s End (1974)
• El Mirage (1977)
• Angel Heart (1982)
• Suspending Disbelief (1993)
• Ten Easy Pieces (1996)
• Twilight of the Renegades (2005)
• Live and at Large (2007)
• Just Across the River (2010)
• Still Within the Sound of My Voice (2013)
COLLABORATIVE ALBUMS
• Up, Up and Away (1967) by The 5th Dimension
• The Magic Garden (1967) by The 5th Dimension
• Rewind (1967) by Johnny Rivers
• A Tramp Shining (1968) by Richard Harris
• The Yard Went On Forever (1968) by Richard Harris
• Sunshower (1969) by Thelma Houston
• The Supremes (Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb) (1972) by The Supremes
• Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (1974) by Glen Campbell
• Earthbound (1975) by The 5th Dimension
• Live at the Royal Festival Hall (1977) by Glen Campbell
• Watermark (1977) by Art Garfunkel
• Breakwater Cat (1980) by Thelma Houston
• The Last Unicorn (1982) by America
• The Animals’ Christmas (1986) by Art Garfunkel and Amy Grant
• Light Years (1988) by Glen Campbell
• Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989) by Linda Ronstadt
• Film Noir (1997) by Carly Simon
• Only One Life: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (2003) by Michael Feinstein
• This Kind of Love (2008) by Carly Simon
• Cottonwood Farm (2009) by Jimmy Webb and The Webb Brothers
• Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb: In Session (2012) by Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb
COMPILATION ALBUMS
• Tribute to Burt Bacharach and Jim Webb (1972)
• Archive (1994)
• And Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain … (1998)
• Reunited with Jimmy Webb 1974–1988 (1999)
• Tunesmith: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (2003)
• The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress: Jimmy Webb in the Seventies (2004)
• Archive & Live (2005)
SONGS ABOUT AND/OR MENTIONING JIMMY WEBB
“The Songs of Danny Galway”
By Prefab Sprout
Album: Crimson/Red
“Jimmy Webb Is God”
By Boo Radleys
Album: Kingsize
“Sometime Next Year”
By Clifford T. Ward
Album: Sometime Next Year
“Jimmy Webb”
By Paul Bevoir
Album: Dumb Angel
“1937 Pre-War Kimball”
By: Nanci Griffith
Album: The Dust Bowl Symphony
Jimmy Webb. (Courtesy of the author)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am very fortunate to have a team of music fans who know me better than I know myself. When the home team was stuck and couldn’t find a date, or a place or a song or a photo—these music sleuths always came through. They were generous with their time, memorabilia, and Webb archives. Thank you to my unofficial archivist and leader of the fans Erik “the Dane” Christensen; thanks also to Jon Butcher, William O’Reilly, and Hyde Kirby.
You can count on family, and mine was so supportive during this process. My niece Kelly Kraemer was an undaunted researcher and proofreader. She kept me straight when my opinions were sounding too strong. When she left me to become a nurse, cousin Lisa Trainor stepped in and brought an organized calm to the long editing and submission process. My sister Janice Linnens combed through every box of photos and news clippings in her home. She recounted memories over the phone with me many, many times, as did my sister Suzan Webb and stepbrother Garth Sadler. Garth lived this story with me. As did Suzy Horton Ronstadt, who was utterly selfless with her memories, time, and scrapbooks.
Friends generously answered my questions, compared memories, and dug up old—and I mean old—photos including Nancy Sinatra, Johnny Rivers, Thelma Houston, Bill Medley, Fred and Patricia Tackett, Ray Rich, and Henry Diltz. Henry, I am grateful to you for documenting the lives of so many musicians and for your friendly support in the creation of this book.
There were readers along the way who offered their time and honest feedback: my mother-in-law Corinda Savini, librarian Lauraine (Laurie) Farr, the always enthusiastic Winston Simone, and dear friends who won’t appear until “book two”—Linda Ronstadt and Michael Feinstein.
Dr. Richard Zenn mystically dropped into my life at the beginning of the writing process and coached me through. When I wavered, he kept the helm in the wind and the sails close hauled. And just as quickly as he entered my life, when the writing was done, he was gone.
The team that gave me the opportunity to write this book—Winston Simone and David Simone, David Vigliano, and she-of-the-velvet-hammer, my editor Elizabeth Beier at St. Martins Press—you each applauded, pushed, prompted, or made calls with spot-on timing.
When the thought of losing half of my stories became too subjective and emotional for Laura and me, Thomas Flannery, Jr., took on that thankless task with tremendous respect and dedication to preserving the feel and flow of the book. Thank you, Tom.
Behind every leap of faith there is a guardian angel and tireless engine of humanity who struggles with every crisis, large and small. Without my fair and gracious wife Laura Savini, these recollections could easily have been cast to the winds. She was the engine and the angel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JIMMY WEBB, “America’s Songwriter,” is the author of the musician’s bible Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting. Webb’s songs, with their complex chord structure, have been recorded or performed by artists from Frank Sinatra to Carly Simon to R.E.M. He tours extensively, performing his own works and stories in the United States and around the world. He was the youngest man ever inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top fifty songwriters of all time. A father of six and grandfather of one, Webb lives with his wife, Laura Savini, in New York. You can sign up for email updates here.
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THE CAKE AND THE RAIN. Copyright © 2017 by Jimmy Webb. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover by Rob Grom
Cover photograph © Jack Robinson/Getty Images
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-05841-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-15094-3 (signed edition)
ISBN 978-1-4668-6257-9 (e-book)
eISBN 978-1-4668-6257-9
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and
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First Edition: April 2017
CONTENTS
Fontispiece
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Top 100 Charts-United States
Highlights: Jimmy Webb Awards & Honors
Highlights of Awards & Recognitions for Jimmy Webb Works and Compositions
Artists Who Have Performed or Recorded Jimmy Webb Songs (Partial List)
Artists Who Have Recorded “MacArthur Park” (Partial List)
Jimmy Webb Song List (Partial List)
Albums
Songs About and/or Mentioning Jimmy Webb
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright