Randy Newman
Randy Newman | |
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Born | Randall Stuart Newman November 28, 1943 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1961–present |
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Children | 5, including |
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Website | randynewman |
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer and conductor known for his
Born in Los Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers,
Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. He has scored nine Disney-Pixar animated films, including all four Toy Story films (1995–2019), A Bug's Life (1998), both Monsters, Inc. films (2001, 2013), and the first and third Cars films (2006, 2017), as well as Disney's James and the Giant Peach (1996) and The Princess and the Frog (2009). His other film scores include Cold Turkey (1971), Ragtime (1981), The Natural (1984), Awakenings (1990), Cats Don't Dance (1997), Pleasantville (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Seabiscuit (2003), and Marriage Story (2019).
Newman has received twenty-two
Early life and education
Newman was born to a
Newman's parents were non-observant Jews: Newman himself is an
Career
Songwriter
Newman has been a professional songwriter since he was 17. He cites Ray 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 of
In the mid-1960s, Newman kept a close musical relationship with the band Harpers Bizarre, best known for their 1967 hit version of the Paul 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 friend
In the 1970s, Newman co-wrote with Jake Holmes the "Most Original Soft Drink Ever" jingle for Dr Pepper.[22]
In 2011, Newman endorsed jazz singer Roseanna 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 by
Recording artist
His 1968 debut album,
In 1969, he did the orchestral arrangements for the songs "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender" on Gordon Lightfoot's Sit Down Young Stranger (later renamed If You Could Read My Mind) (1970), and for Peggy Lee's single "Is That All There Is?", as well as her 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 and soundtrack album to Performance, starring Mick Jagger.
In 1970,
1972's
His 1974 release
1979's Born Again featured a song satirically mythologizing the Electric Light Orchestra (and their arranging style) titled "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band".
His 1983 album
In 1985 Newman performed a set at the first Farm Aid concert that included a duet with Billy Joel on facing grand pianos. Newman performed "Sail Away".
In 2003 Newman's song "
In the years following Trouble 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:
In the aftermath of Hurricane 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 and Aaron Neville's cover version of the song. The song addresses the deceitful manner in which New Orleans's municipal government managed a flood in 1927, during which, as Newman asserts, "The guys who ran the Mardi 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."[29] In a related performance, Newman contributed to the 2007 release of Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard), contributing his version of Fats 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 by the 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."[30] 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 after the election.... I've got the thing done. I just want to see what happens. I'm curious to see how the thing is received."[30] The song earned Newman a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals.[31]
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.
Film composer
Newman's earliest scoring work was for television, creating background music for a 1962 episode of TV's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and later working briefly on the 1960s TV shows Lost in Space, Peyton Place, and Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea and more extensively on Judd For The Defense.[32] In 1966, an album of Newman's Peyton 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 drama Cover Me Babe. The recording was performed by Bread.
Newman also co-wrote pop songs for films as early as 1964, co-penning "Look At Me" with Bobby Darin for The Lively Set (1964), and "Galaxy-a-Go-Go, or Leave It To Flint" with Jerry Goldsmith for Our Man Flint (1966). However, Newman's work as a composer of actual film scores began with Norman Lear's 1971 satire Cold Turkey. He returned to film work with 1981's Ragtime, for which he was nominated for two Academy Awards. Newman co-wrote the 1986 film Three Amigos with Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels, wrote three songs for the film, and provided the voice for the singing bush.
Newman has scored nine
Newman had the dubious distinction of receiving the most Oscar nominations (15) without a single win. His losing streak was broken when he received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2002, for the Monsters, Inc. song "If I Didn't Have You", beating Sting, Enya and Paul 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 of Monk, "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 for
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."[36]
Musical theatre
A revue of Newman's songs, titled Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong, was performed at the Astor Place Theatre in New York City in 1982, and later at other theaters around the country. The New York cast featured Mark Linn-Baker and Deborah Rush,[37] and at one point included Treat Williams.[38]
In the 1990s, Newman adapted Goethe's
In 2000, South Coast Repertory (SCR) produced The Education of Randy Newman, a musical theater piece that recreates the life of a songwriter who bears some resemblance to the actual Newman. Set in New Orleans and Los Angeles, it was modeled on the American autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams.
In 2010, the Center Theatre Group staged Harps and Angels, a musical revue of the Randy Newman songbook, interspersed with narratives reflecting on Newman's inspirations. The revue premiered at the Mark 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 by Jerry Zaks and featured Ryder Bach, Storm Large, Adriane Lenox, Michael McKean, Katey Sagal and Matthew Saldivar.[40]
Personal life
Newman was married to German-born Roswitha Schmale from 1967 to 1985, and they had three sons,[41] Eric, Amos, and John.[42] He has been married to Gretchen Preece since 1990, with whom he has two children, Patrick and Alice. Gretchen's father is director Michael Preece.[43]
Newman endorsed Democratic President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012 and wrote a satirical song about voting for white candidates.[44]
Accolades
Newman has been nominated for 22
Discography
Studio albums
- Randy Newman (1968)
- 12 Songs (1970)
- Sail Away (1972)
- Good Old Boys (1974)
- Little Criminals (1977)
- Born Again(1979)
- Trouble in Paradise (1983)
- Land of Dreams (1988)
- Randy Newman's Faust (1995)
- Bad Love(1999)
- The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003)
- Harps and Angels (2008)
- The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 (2011)
- The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 3 (2016)
- Dark Matter (2017)
Film scores
- Cold Turkey (1971)
- Ragtime (1981)
- The Natural (1984)
- ¡Three Amigos! (1986)
- Parenthood(1989)
- Major League (1989)
- Avalon (1990)
- Awakenings (1990)
- The Paper (1994)
- Maverick (1994)
- Toy Story (1995)
- James and the Giant Peach (1996)
- Michael (1996)
- A Bug's Life (1998)
- Pleasantville (1998)
- Toy Story 2 (1999)
- Meet the Parents (2000)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001)
- Seabiscuit (2003)
- Meet the Fockers (2004)
- Cars (2006)
- Leatherheads (2008)
- The Princess and the Frog (2009)
- Toy Story 3 (2010)
- Monsters University (2013)
- Cars 3 (2017)
- The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
- Toy Story 4 (2019)
- Marriage Story (2019)
References
- ^ "Randy Newman, The Musical Voice Of 'Toy Story'". KOSU. June 21, 2019. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ Butler, Christian (November 6, 2016). "Randy Newman: still biting, still brilliant". Spiked. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-521-79639-2. Archivedfrom the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- Allmusic. Archivedfrom the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ Kamf, David (February 18, 2016). "How Randy Newman and His Family Have Shaped Movie Music for Generations". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "How Randy Newman and His Family Have Shaped Movie Music for Generations". Vanity Fair. February 18, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
- ^ a b "Chronology". Randynewman.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
- ^ a b "Randy Newman Disney Legend". D23.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ a b "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces 2013 Inductees". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (February 18, 2011). "Jewish Stars 2/18". Cleveland Jewish News. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ISSN 0006-2510.
- ISBN 9781468313802.
- ^ "Randy Newman Biography". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- ^ "UCLA's 2021 commencement celebrates returning to and redefining normal". UCLA Newsroom. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Randy Newman". Salon.com. August 24, 1999. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
- ^ "Nothing but the truth: The Whitlams' Tim Freedman talks to his misunderstood hero Randy Newman". Smh.com. July 30, 2011. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "Randy Newman: Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad". Rolling Stone. November 1, 1979. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ All Songs Considered (August 4, 2008). "Guest DJ Randy Newman". NPR. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ISBN 9781550226904. Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Fred Goodman, The Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce (Random House, 1997), p.65
- ^ "Advertising Jingle Music Folio Books". Classicthemes.com. April 24, 2003. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ All About Jazz (August 2011). "Roseanna Vitro: Following Her Muse". Allaboutjazz.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ^ "Stay Away". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ Trakin, Roy. "Randy Newman Inks Deal With Downtown Music Publishing". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
- ^ "Peggy Lee discography". Peggylee.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- Reed International Books Ltd. p. 304. CN 5585.
- ISBN 9781550226904. Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- Village Voice. (September 12, 2008) Newman discusses "Louisiana 1927" in a Village Voice interview Archived September 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Blogs.villagevoice.com. Retrieved on July 13, 2012.
- ^ a b Edgers, Geoff (October 10, 2016). "Randy Newman's first new song in years is about bare-chested Vladimir Putin". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- ^ Chow, Andrew R. (January 28, 2018). "Grammy 2018 Winners: Full List". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ISBN 9781550226904. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- ^ Giardina, Carolyn (August 14, 2015). "D23: Pixar Previews 'Finding Dory' and 'Toy Story 4'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ Burlingame, Jon (November 16, 2009). "Newman mines Big Easy music for 'Frog'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
- ^ "Randy Newman, T Bone Burnett Earn Oscar Nominations". Billboard. February 2010.
- ^ Chilton, Martin (February 28, 2011). "Oscars 2011: Randy Newman wins best joker award". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ Gussow, Mel (March 15, 1982). "A Revue Built From Newman's Music". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ISBN 9781476603292. Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- ^ "The Devil Went to Midtown to Serenade the Lord: 'Randy Newman's Faust,' With the Composer on Hand". The New York Times. July 3, 2014. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ "World Premiere of Randy Newman's Harps and Angels Opens Nov. 21". Playbill. November 21, 2010. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011.
- ^ Lubow, Arthur. "Randy Newman". People. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
- ^ Kamp, David (February 18, 2016). "How Randy Newman and His Family Have Shaped Movie Music for Generations". Vanity Fair. No. Hollywood. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ Peppard, Alan (October 13, 1997). "Archives | The Dallas Morning News, dallasnews.com". Nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
- Hollywood Reporter. Archivedfrom the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Songwriters Hall of Fame". Songhall.org. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
Further reading
- Allison, Amy (1999). "Randy Newman". In Hochman, Steve; Adams, McCrea (eds.). Popular Musicians. Vol. 3. Pasadena, CA; Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press. pp. 768–770. ISBN 0-89356-989-5 – via the Internet Archive.
- Guest DJ Randy Newman in NPR's All Songs Considered, 2008
- Randy Newman: American Dreams, ISBN 1-55022-690-8
- Winkler, Peter. "Randy Newman's Americana," in ISBN 978-0198166115. originally published in Popular Music [Great Britain], vii (1988), 1–26
- Dunne, Sara. "Randy Newman and the Extraordinary Moral Position", Popular Music and Society, xvi (1992), 53–61,
External links
- Official website
- Randy Newman at IMDb
- Randy Newman discography at Discogs