Jimmy Layne Webb
by Graham Sclater
Jimmy Layne Webb was born in Elk City Oklahoma in 1946 and in the mid-sixties he was known for his work transcribing other people's music before being signed to Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Motown Records. His first self-penned release on that label was “My Christmas Tree” recorded by the Supremes for their 1965 Merry Christmas album.
It was to be another year before
he would meet singer and
producer Johnny Rivers who
signed him to a publishing deal
and recorded his song, “By the
Time I Get to Phoenix.” That
was released on his 1966 album.
Rivers then asked Webb to write
for the 5th Dimension, a group
he was producing. The result was
incredible and in 1967 they
achieved a worldwide hit with,
“Up, Up and Away”.
In the same year, whilst recording a commercial for General Motors, Webb met Glen Campbell who in November released his version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", which became another worldwide hit for Webb.
In February 1968 “Up, Up and Away” was named Record of the Year and Song of the Year and along with “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” which received eight Grammy Awards between them.
Following his huge success as a songwriter Jimmy Webb was marketed as a singer-songwriter in 1968. His first album Jimmy Webb sings Jimmy Webb was released by Epic Records to poor reviews. In his words, “It was produced by a bunch of ruffians from some old demos.” However, since 1970 he has released more than six albums but he has never recreated the vocal fame he has achieved as a songwriter.
In 1969 Webb accepted further Grammy Awards for his songs "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park", a song turned down earlier by the Association. Glen Campbell continued the streak of Webb hits with gold records for "Galveston" and “Where’s the Playground Susie?”
Since those heady days Webb has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including his earlier works "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park". During his career as well as working with Glen Campbell and the 5th Dimension, he has collaborated with Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, Art Garfunkel and Richard Harris.
In 1989 Webb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 1990 the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. This was followed by numerous accolades including: the National Academy of Songwriters
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award in 2003, the ASCAP "Voice of Music" Award in 2006, and the Ivor Novello Special International Award in 2012. According to BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song in the fifty years between 1940 and 1990. Webb is the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration.
In 2011, Webb was unanimously elected Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2019 "Wichita Lineman" was added to the National recording registry and his songs have been recorded by a who’s who of diverse artists which include Frank Sinatra, Isaac Hayes, Waylon Jennings, Richard Harris, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers and so many more.
Check out my novel “Ticket to Ride” based on my time in Hamburg on Amazon, Tabitha Books or my website www.grahamsclater.com
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