The first commercial recording of a Jimmy Webb song was "My Christmas Tree" by The Supremes, which appeared on their 1965 Merry Christmas album. Webb would later recall his father warning him about his musical aspirations, saying, "This songwriting thing is going to break your heart." Seeing that his son was determined, however, he gave him $40, saying, "It's not much, but it's all I have." Career Early success, 1965–1969 Īfter transcribing other people's music for a small music publisher in Hollywood, Webb was signed to a songwriting contract with Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Motown Records. Webb decided to stay in California to continue his music studies and to pursue a career as a songwriter in Los Angeles. Following the death of his mother in 1965, his father made plans to return to Oklahoma. In 1964, Webb and his family moved to Southern California, where he attended San Bernardino Valley College, studying music. Webb was drawn to the singer's distinctive voice. In 1961, at the age of 14, he bought his first record, " Turn Around, Look at Me" by Glen Campbell. He began to write religious songs at this time, but his musical direction was soon influenced by the new music being played on the radio, including the music of Elvis Presley. ĭuring the late 1950s, Webb began applying his creativity to the music he was playing at his father's church, frequently improvising and rearranging the hymns. His father restricted radio listening to country music and white gospel. With his mother's encouragement, Webb learned piano and organ and by the age of 12 was playing in the choir of his father's churches, accompanied by his father on guitar and his mother on accordion. He grew up in a religiously conservative family His father, Robert Lee Webb, was a Baptist minister and veteran of the United States Marine Corps who presided over rural churches in southwestern Oklahoma and west Texas. Webb was born on August 15, 1946, in Elk City, Oklahoma and raised in Laverne, Oklahoma.
Webb is the only artist ever to receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration. According to BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song in the 50 years between 19.
He received 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. Webb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990.
He had successful collaborations with Glen Campbell, Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, the Supremes, Art Garfunkel and Richard Harris. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Worst That Could Happen", " Galveston" and " All I Know". Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer.