Randy Newman | |
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.jpg) Newman in 2012 | |
| Born | Randall Stuart Newman (1943-11-28)November 28, 1943 (age 81) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1961–present |
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| Children | 5, includingEric Newman |
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| Website | randynewman |
Musical artist | |
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for hisnon-rhoticSouthern-accented singing style, earlyAmericana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and variousfilm scores.[5] His hits as a recording artist include "Short People" (1977), "I Love L.A." (1983), and "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995) withLyle Lovett, while other artists have enjoyed success withcover versions of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1966), "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (1968), and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1972).
Born inLos Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers,[6] Newman began his songwriting career at the age of 17, penning hits for acts such asthe Fleetwoods,Cilla Black,Gene Pitney, andthe Alan Price Set. In 1968, he made his formal debut as a solo artist with the albumRandy Newman, produced byLenny Waronker andVan Dyke Parks. Four of Newman's non-soundtrack albums have charted in the US top 40:Sail Away (1972),Good Old Boys (1974),Little Criminals (1977), andHarps and Angels (2008).
Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. He has scored nineDisney-Pixar animated films, including allToy Story films (1995–present),A Bug's Life (1998), bothMonsters, Inc. films (2001, 2013), and thefirst andthirdCars films (2006, 2017), as well as Disney'sJames and the Giant Peach (1996) andThe Princess and the Frog (2009). His other film scores includeCold Turkey (1971),Ragtime (1981),The Natural (1984),Awakenings (1990),Cats Don't Dance (1997),Pleasantville (1998),Meet the Parents (2000),Seabiscuit (2003), andMarriage Story (2019).
Newman has received twenty-twoAcademy Award nominations in theBest Original Score andBest Original Song categories and has won twice in the latter category, contributing to the Newmans being themost nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories. He has also won threeEmmys, sevenGrammy Awards and the Governor's Award from theRecording Academy.[7] In 2007, he was recognized bythe Walt Disney Company as aDisney Legend.[8] He was inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and to theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.[9]
Newman was born to a Jewish family on November 28, 1943, his father's 30th birthday,[10] inLos Angeles, California. He is the son of Adele "Dixie" (née Fuchs/Fox; August 30, 1916 – October 4, 1988), a secretary, and Irving George Newman (November 28, 1913 – February 1, 1990), aninternist.[11] He lived inNew Orleans, Louisiana, as a young child and spent summers there until he was 11 years old, when his family returned to Los Angeles. The paternal side of his family includes grandparents Luba (née Koskoff) (July 21, 1883 – March 3, 1954) and Michael Newman (Nemorofsky) (1874–1948), and 3 uncles who were Hollywood film-score composers:Alfred Newman,Lionel Newman, andEmil Newman.[12] Newman's cousins,Thomas,Maria,David, andJoey, are also composers for motion pictures. He graduated fromUniversity High School in Los Angeles. He studied music at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, but dropped out one semester shy of a B.A.[13] In June 2021, he finally completed his degree at UCLA.[14]
Newman's parents were non-observant Jews: Newman himself is anatheist.[15] He has said that religion or any sense of religious identity was completely absent in his childhood. To illustrate this, he has often recounted in interviews anantisemitic incident that occurred when he was young: he was invited by a classmate to be her date to acotillion at her Los Angeles country club, theRiviera Country Club.[15] He accepted the invitation but was subsequently disinvited by the girl's father, who told Newman that his daughter should never have invited him becauseJews were not allowed at the club. Newman hung up the phone, then went to ask his own father what a "Jew" was.[15][16][17]
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Newman has been a professional songwriter since he was 17. He citesRay Charles as his greatest influence growing up, stating, "I loved Charles' music to excess."[18] His first single as a performer was 1962's "Golden Gridiron Boy", released when he was 18.[19] The single flopped and Newman chose to concentrate on songwriting and arranging for the next several years.
An early writing credit was "They Tell Me It's Summer", used as the b-side ofthe Fleetwoods 1962 single, "Lovers by Night, Strangers by Day", which led to further commissions from the Fleetwoods and alsoPat Boone.[20] Other early songs were recorded byGene Pitney,Jerry Butler,Petula Clark,Dusty Springfield,Jackie DeShannon,the O'Jays, andIrma Thomas, among others. His work as a songwriter met with particular success in the UK: top 40 UK hits written by Newman includedCilla Black's "I've Been Wrong Before" (No. 17, 1965), Gene Pitney's "Nobody Needs Your Love" (No. 2, 1966) and "Just One Smile" (No. 8, 1966); andthe Alan Price Set's "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" (No. 4, 1967). Price, an English keyboardist who was enjoying great success at the time, championed Newman by featuring seven Randy Newman songs on his 1967A Price on His Head album.
In the mid-1960s, Newman kept a close musical relationship with the bandHarpers Bizarre, best known for their 1967 hit version of thePaul Simon composition "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)". The band recorded six Newman compositions, including "Simon Smith" and "Happyland," during their short initial career (1967–1969).
In this period, Newman began a long professional association with childhood friendLenny Waronker. Waronker had been hired to produce the Tikis,the Beau Brummels andthe Mojo Men, who were all contracted to the Los Angeles independent labelAutumn Records. He in turn brought in Newman,Leon Russell and another friend, pianist/arrangerVan Dyke Parks, to play on recording sessions. Later in 1966, Waronker was hired as an A&R manager byWarner Bros. Records and his friendship with Newman, Russell and Parks began a creative circle around Waronker at Warner Bros. that became one of the keys to Warner Bros.' subsequent success as a rock music label.[21]
In the 1970s, Newman co-wrote withJake Holmes the "Most Original Soft Drink Ever" jingle forDr Pepper.[22]
In 2011, Newman endorsed jazz singerRoseanna Vitro's album,The Randy Newman Project (Motéma Music, 2011).[23]
In 2020, Newman wrote a song called “Stay Away” to support people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The song can be downloaded and proceeds go to the Ellis Marsalis Center to support underserved children in New Orleans’ 9th Ward.[24]
Newman's song compositions are represented byDowntown Music Publishing.[25]
His 1968 debut album,Randy Newman, was a critical success but never entered theBillboard Top 200. Many artists, includingBarbra Streisand,Helen Reddy,Bette Midler,Alan Price,Van Dyke Parks,Dave Van Ronk,Judy Collins,Glen Campbell,Cass Elliot,Art Garfunkel,the Everly Brothers,Claudine Longet,Bonnie Raitt,Dusty Springfield,Tom Odell,Nina Simone,Lynn Anderson,Wilson Pickett,Pat Boone,Neil Diamond andPeggy Lee,covered his songs and "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" became an early standard.
In 1969, he did the orchestral arrangements for the songs "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender" onGordon Lightfoot'sSit Down Young Stranger (later renamedIf You Could Read My Mind) (1970), and forPeggy Lee's single "Is That All There Is?", as well asher album with the same title (which also contained her cover versions of two of his songs: "Love Story" and "Linda").[26] Also in 1969 he recorded "Gone Dead Train" for the 1970 movie andsoundtrack album toPerformance, starring Mick Jagger.
In 1970,Harry Nilsson recorded an entire album of Newman compositions (Newman played piano) calledNilsson Sings Newman. The album was not a commercial success, but critics liked it (it won a "Record of the Year" award fromStereo Review magazine), and it paved the way for Newman's 1970 release,12 Songs, a more stripped-down sound that showcased Newman's piano.Ry Cooder's slide guitar and contributions fromByrds membersGene Parsons andClarence White helped to give the album a much rootsier feel.12 Songs was also critically acclaimed (6th best album of the seventies according toVillage Voice criticRobert Christgau), but again found little commercial success, thoughThree Dog Night made a huge hit of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come". The following year,Randy Newman Live cemented his cult following and became his first LP to appear in theBillboard charts, at No. 191. Newman also made his first foray into music for films at this time, writing and performing the theme song "He Gives Us All His Love" forNorman Lear's 1971 filmCold Turkey.
1972'sSail Away reached No. 163 onBillboard, with the title track making its way into the repertoire ofRay Charles andLinda Ronstadt. "You Can Leave Your Hat On" which was covered byThree Dog Night, thenJoe Cocker, and later byKeb Mo,Etta James,Tom Jones (whose version was later used for the final striptease to the 1997 filmThe Full Monty), and the Québécois singerGarou. The album also featured "Burn On", an ode to an infamous incident in which the heavily pollutedCuyahoga River literally caught fire. In 1989, "Burn On" was used as the opening theme to the filmMajor League, whose focus was the haplessCleveland Indians.
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His 1974 releaseGood Old Boys was a set of songs about the American South. "Rednecks" began with a description of segregationistLester Maddox pitted against a "smart-ass New York Jew" on a TV show (this was a joke, because the "Jew" wasDick Cavett), in a song that criticizes bothsouthern racism and the complacent bigotry of Americans outside of the south who stereotype all southerners as racist yet ignore racism in northern and midwestern states and large cities. This ambiguity was also apparent on "Kingfish" and "Every Man a King", the former apaean toHuey Long (the assassinated former Governor andUnited States Senator fromLouisiana), the other a campaign song written by Long himself. An album that received lavish critical praise,Good Old Boys also became a commercial breakthrough for Newman, peaking at No. 36 onBillboard 200, spending 21 weeks there.
Little Criminals (1977) contained the surprise hit "Short People", which also became a subject of controversy. In September 1977, the English music magazineNME reported the following interview with Newman talking about his then-new release. "There's one song about a child murderer," Newman deadpans. "That's fairly optimistic. Maybe. There's one called 'Jolly Coppers on Parade' which isn't an absolutely anti-police song. Maybe it's even a fascist song. I didn't notice at the time. There's also one about me as a cowboy called 'Rider in the Rain.' I think it's ridiculous.The Eagles are on there. That's what's good about it. There's also this song 'Short People.' It's purely a joke. I like other ones on the album better but the audiences go for that one."[27] The album proved Newman's most popular to date, reaching No. 9 on the USBillboard 200 chart. Another somewhat controversial Randy Newman number, recorded by bothHarpers Bizarre andThe Nashville Teens, was "The Biggest Night of Her Life", a song about a schoolgirl who is "too excited to sleep" because she has promised to lose her virginity on her sixteenth birthday to a boy whom her parents like "because his hair is always neat".
1979'sBorn Again was relatively commercially and critically unsuccessful, with reviews criticizing its cynicism and bad taste andRolling Stone comparing it unfavorably toSweeney Todd in a double review.[28][29]
His 1983 albumTrouble in Paradise included the single "I Love L.A.", a song that has been interpreted as both praising and criticizing the city of Los Angeles. This ambivalence is borne out by Newman's own comments on the song. As he explained in a 2001 interview, "There's some kind of ignorance L.A. has that I'm proud of. The open car and the redhead, theBeach Boys ... I can't think of anything a hell of a lot better than that." TheABC network andFrank Gari Productions transformed "I Love L.A." into a popular 1980s TV promotional campaign, retooling the lyrics and title to "You'll Love It!" (on ABC) The song is played at home games for theLos Angeles Dodgers andLos Angeles Lakers as well as theLos Angeles Kings who use the song along with theirgoal horn. In spite of its prominence, however, it failed to chart on theBillboard Hot 100.
In 1985 Newman performed a set at the firstFarm Aid concert that included a duet withBilly Joel on facing grand pianos. Newman performed "Sail Away".
In 2003 Newman's song "It's a Jungle Out There" was used for season 2 of the USA Network's showMonk; it won him the 2004Emmy Award for Best Main Title Music.
In the years followingTrouble in Paradise, Newman focused more on film work, but his personal life entered a difficult period. He separated from his wife of nearly 20 years, Roswitha. He released four albums of new material as a singer-songwriter since that time:Land of Dreams (1988),Bad Love (1999),Harps and Angels (2008), andDark Matter (2017).Land of Dreams included one of his best-known songs, "It's Money That Matters" (featuringMark Knopfler on guitar), and featured Newman's first stab at autobiography with "Dixie Flyer" and "Four Eyes", whileBad Love included "I Miss You", a moving tribute to his ex-wife[30] He has also rerecorded a number of songs that span his career, accompanying himself on piano, withThe Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003),The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 (2011) andThe Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 3 (2016). He continues to perform his songs before live audiences as a touring concert artist.
In the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina in 2005, Newman's "Louisiana 1927" became an anthem and was played heavily on a wide range of American radio and television stations, in both Newman's 1974 original andAaron Neville's cover version of the song. The song addresses the deceitful manner in whichNew Orleans's municipal government managed aflood in 1927, during which, as Newman asserts, "The guys who ran theMardi Gras, the bosses in New Orleans decided the course of that flood. You know, they cut a hole in the levee and it flooded the cotton fields."[31] In a related performance, Newman contributed to the 2007 release ofGoin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard), contributing his version ofFats Domino's "Blue Monday". Domino had been rescued from his New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina, initially having been feared dead.
In October 2016, Newman released the song "Putin".The Washington Post wrote: "inspired bythe Russian leader's penchant for bare-chested photo ops and a geopolitical approach that's somewhat short of soft and cuddly, Newman has crafted a song that tells Putin's story from multiple perspectives."[32] Newman explained that the song was from a new album that would be released in 2017, but he was putting out this song early because "I think that people will lose interest after this surfeit of political talk and attention afterthe election.... I've got the thing done. I just want to see what happens. I'm curious to see how the thing is received."[32] The song earned Newman aGrammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals.[33]
Newman released his much anticipated new album,Dark Matter in August 2017. It received positive reviews, many citing its musical ambition as well as its lyrical bite.
Newman's earliest scoring work was for television, creating background music for a 1962 episode of TV'sThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and later working briefly on the 1960s TV showsLost in Space,Peyton Place, andVoyage To The Bottom Of The Sea and more extensively onJudd For The Defense.[34] In 1966, an album of Newman'sPeyton Place music appeared, credited to The Randy Newman Orchestra. The music was not a score from any episode, but incidental library music designed to be heard in contexts where characters turned on a radio station, or were watching TV. Newman claims to have been unaware of the album's existence at the time of release and does not include it in the official "complete discography" on his website. He also co-wrote the title song for the 1970 dramaCover Me Babe. The recording was performed byBread.
Newman also co-wrote pop songs for films as early as 1964, co-penning "Look At Me" withBobby Darin forThe Lively Set (1964), and "Galaxy-a-Go-Go, or Leave It To Flint" withJerry Goldsmith forOur Man Flint (1966). However, Newman's work as a composer of actual film scores began withNorman Lear's 1971 satireCold Turkey. He returned to film work with 1981'sRagtime, for which he was nominated for twoAcademy Awards. Newman co-wrote the 1986 filmThree Amigos withSteve Martin andLorne Michaels, wrote three songs for the film, and provided the voice for the singing bush.
Newman has scored nineDisney/Pixar feature films;Toy Story,A Bug's Life,Toy Story 2,Monsters, Inc.,Cars,Toy Story 3,Monsters University,Cars 3, andToy Story 4.[35] He has earned at least one Academy Award nomination for seven of the nine films he has scored for Pixar, winning the award forMonsters, Inc. andToy Story 3, both times in the category ofBest Original Song. Additional scores by Newman includeAvalon,Parenthood,James and the Giant Peach,Seabiscuit,Awakenings,The Paper,Meet the Parents, and its sequel,Meet the Fockers. His score forPleasantville was anAcademy Award nominee. He also wrote the songs for Turner'sCats Don't Dance.
In 1997, Randy was hired by directorWolfgang Petersen to do the soundtrack of the movieAir Force One, however he was rejected because Petersen thought that the score sounded like a parody. So Newman was replaced byJerry Goldsmith andJoel McNeely who wrote the final score in 12 days. After the film’s premiere, several bootlegs of Newman’s rejected score were distributed. ComposerHans Zimmer once indicated that he considered these cues superior to any he had written at the time.[36]
Newman had the dubious distinction of receiving the mostOscar nominations (15) without a single win. His losing streak was broken when he received theAcademy Award for Best Original Song in 2002, for theMonsters, Inc. song "If I Didn't Have You", beatingSting,Enya andPaul McCartney. After receiving a standing ovation, a bemused but emotional Newman began his acceptance speech with "I don't want your pity!" When the orchestra began playing the underscore signifying that the speaker's time on stage is concluding, Newman ordered them to stop before thanking "all these musicians, many of whom have worked for me several times and may not again."
Besides writing songs for films, he also writes songs for television series such as the Emmy Award-winning theme song ofMonk, "It's a Jungle Out There". Newman also composed the Emmy Award-winning song "When I'm Gone" for the final episode.
Newman wrote the music forWalt Disney Animation Studios'The Princess and the Frog. During Disney's annual shareholder meeting in March 2007, Newman performed a new song written for the movie. He was accompanied by theDirty Dozen Brass Band. The New Orleans setting of the film played to Newman's musical strengths, and his songs contained elements ofCajun music,zydeco,blues andDixieland jazz.[37] Two of the songs, "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans", were nominated for Oscars.[38]
In total, Newman has received 22 Academy Award nominations with two wins, both for Best Original Song. While accepting the award for "We Belong Together" in 2011, he joked "my percentages aren't great."[39]
A revue of Newman's songs, titledMaybe I'm Doing It Wrong, was performed at theAstor Place Theatre in New York City in 1982, and later at other theaters around the country. The New York cast featuredMark Linn-Baker andDeborah Rush,[40] and at one point includedTreat Williams.[41]
In the 1990s, Newman adapted Goethe'sFaust into a concept album and musical,Randy Newman's Faust. After a 1995 staging at theLa Jolla Playhouse, he retainedDavid Mamet to help rework the book before its relaunch on the ChicagoGoodman Theatremainstage in 1996. Newman'sFaust had a one-timeOff-Broadway performance at theCity Center in New York City on 1 July 2014, where Newman starred as the Devil.[42]
In 2000,South Coast Repertory (SCR) producedThe Education of Randy Newman, a musical theater piece that recreates the life of a songwriter who bears some resemblance to the actual Newman. Set inNew Orleans and Los Angeles, it was modeled on the American autobiography,The Education of Henry Adams.
In 2010, theCenter Theatre Group stagedHarps and Angels, a musical revue of the Randy Newman songbook, interspersed with narratives reflecting on Newman's inspirations. The revue premiered at theMark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and included among other songs "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", "Sail Away", "Marie", "Louisiana 1927", "Feels Like Home", "You've Got a Friend in Me" and "I Love L.A". The revue was directed byJerry Zaks and featured Ryder Bach,Storm Large,Adriane Lenox,Michael McKean,Katey Sagal and Matthew Saldivar.[43]
Newman was married to German-born Roswitha Schmale from 1967 to 1985 and they had three sons:[44]Eric, Amos and John.[45] He has been married to Gretchen Preece since 1990, with whom he has two children, Patrick and Alice. Gretchen's father was directorMichael Preece.[46]
Newman endorsed Democratic PresidentBarack Obama for reelection in 2012 and wrote a satirical song about voting for white candidates.[47]
Newman has been nominated for 22Academy Awards, winning two times –Best Original Song in 2002 for "If I Didn't Have You" fromMonsters, Inc., and again in 2011 for "We Belong Together" fromToy Story 3. He has received threeEmmys, sevenGrammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from theRecording Academy.[7] Newman was inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.[48] In 2007, he was inducted as aDisney Legend.[8] In 2010, he received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame. Newman was inducted to theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.[9] In September 2014, Newman received a Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award and performed at the annual film music galaHollywood in Vienna for the first time together with his cousinDavid Newman.
