Jimmy Webb, Jane Monheit coming to Port Washington
By the time Jimmy Webb gets to Port Washington, he'll be smiling. It won't take him long to ride from his home in Bayville to the Landmark on Main Street. There, on Saturday night, he'll team with singer Jane Monheit, who grew up in Oakdale, in a joint appearance long in the making.
Webb, whose collaborative CD "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" was released a year ago, at age 68 has begun writing a memoir. So let's go up, up and away with a few thoughts from the man who last fall replaced Hal David as chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
What prompted you to perform with Jane?
I saw her in a lovely concert some time ago at Columbus Circle, and I've been impressed with her deference to traditional repertoire and style, and her fresh turn of phrase. She's got a very sophisticated palate, and she's quite a singer, which I am not. The demand out there is for a more creative approach to bookings.
Shortly after "MacArthur Park" hit the airwaves in 1968 as AM's longest song, The Beatles matched its length with "Hey Jude."
When "Hey Jude" came out, this relatively short song with a long, long fade -- basically the same material that repeated ad infinitum -- it ended precisely at 7 minutes and 21 seconds. I always thought it curious, and I later asked George Martin about it. He said he remembered the night The Beatles had gone into the studio and timed it out to be one second longer than "MacArthur Park" because they weren't to be outdone by anybody. They said, "We have to have a long record." They would go into the studio, look at the clock and somehow managed to get an extra second on their record.
When did you feel you had made it?
Bob Guccione asked would I be in the first American issue of Penthouse. Clothes on -- in fact, that was the whole idea. It was a modeling thing, and Sally Field and I were dating, so there were a lot of pictures. There was a teen magazine called Tiger Beat, and I was in it a lot. I remember thinking, "This really isn't the sort of publicity that a songwriter usually gets." Usually we don't get asked to appear on the red carpet very much.
So you started to get perks?
I remember going to a Beatles session in 1968, and they didn't really invite people to their sessions. They really didn't like people in their sessions because they were having a lot of problems, and so a spectator was another problem to add to the sea of troubles they were having. All of a sudden, I realized I'm getting to go places and do things that I never dreamed that I was going to be able to do.
Few people know you wrote "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" for Paul Petersen of "The Donna Reed Show," not Glen Campbell, who won a Grammy for it.
That's an odd historical fact, and it's quite true. I was working at Motown Records, and they came in and asked for material for Paul Petersen, who had had a couple of almost novelty records. One of them was called "My Dad," and the other one was called "She Can't Find Her Keys." He was viable because he had a lot of exposure and just needed some songs, and I actually wrote "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" specifically for Paul Petersen. They turned it down. In fact, they turned it down and they gave it back to me. Usually they didn't really give anything back, but they didn't even want a contract on it. I wrote 45 songs when I was probably 17, 18 years old, and I walked away with two or three songs that they didn't want, and that was one of them.
What makes you most proud?
I still cherish this reputation that I have as a songwriter. That's what I set out to do in life, and to be known as a songwriter and respected as a songwriter is really a culmination of this dream of this farm boy. I was 14 years old when I bought my first record, which was Glen Campbell's version of "Turn Around, Look at Me." That was my first record, and I borrowed a dollar from my dad, and I drove 20 miles to a record store. I brought this record home, and I absolutely wore it out. When I got finished with it, it wasn't playable.
Finally, let's find out a few of your favorite things. Your favorite male singer?
It's between Glen Campbell and Harry Nilsson.
Your favorite female singer?
Phoebe Snow and Linda Ronstadt.
Favorite songwriter?
Probably Paul Simon and Randy Newman.
Your favorite group?
The Beatles.
Favorite male actor?
John Cassavetes.
And actress?
Ava Gardner.
How about your favorite movie?
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
Favorite TV show?
The David Letterman show.
Favorite author?
I'm a bookworm, but I'm most influenced by Ray Bradbury.
Your favorite website?
It's eBay. Because I'm a collector. I have a few things that I collect kind of religiously. My interests are wide-ranging, and I love ephemera. I have an ashtray in front of me from Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn in Las Vegas, where I use to play when I was a kid. All that stuff pulls emotional strings with me. Sometimes I feel compelled to buy it because it's a piece of my life and I have to get my hands on it.
What's your guilty pleasure?
Butter pecan ice cream.
Your favorite food?
I love osso buco.
And last, your favorite snack?
American cheese and ham on white bread with mayonnaise. I'm gluten-free now, but that's definitely what it is.