Randy Newman
Encyclopedia
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter
, arranger
, composer
, and pianist
who is known for his mordant (and often satirical
) pop song
s and for film scores.
Newman often writes lyrics from the perspective of a character far removed from Newman's own experiences, sometimes using the point of view of an unreliable narrator
. For example, the 1972 song "Sail Away
" is written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves, while the narrator of "Political Science" is a U.S. nationalist who complains of worldwide ingratitude toward America and proposes a brutally ironic final solution. One of his biggest hits, "Short People
" was written from the perspective of "a lunatic" who hates short people.
Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. His film score
s include Ragtime
, Awakenings
, The Natural
, Leatherheads
, James and the Giant Peach
, Meet the Parents
, Cold Turkey
, Seabiscuit
and The Princess and the Frog. He has scored six Disney
-Pixar
films: Toy Story
, A Bug's Life
, Toy Story 2
, Monsters, Inc.
, Cars
and most recently Toy Story 3
.
Newman has been nominated for twenty Academy Awards
, winning twice. He has also won three Emmy
s, five Grammy Award
s, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 2002. In 2007, Newman was inducted as a Disney Legend
.
, the son of Adele (née
Fox), a secretary, and Irving George Newman, an internist. He lived in New Orleans as a small child and spent summers there until he was 11 years old, his family having by then returned to Los Angeles. The paternal side of his family includes three uncles who were noted Hollywood film-score composers: Alfred Newman
, Lionel Newman
and Emil Newman
. Newman's cousins Thomas
and David
, and nephew Joey
are also composers for motion pictures. He graduated from University High School in Los Angeles. Newman attended the University of California, Los Angeles
.
as his greatest influence growing up, stating, "I loved Charles' music to excess." His first single as a performer was 1961's "Golden Gridiron Boy", released when he was eighteen. However, the single flopped and Newman chose to concentrate on songwriting and arranging for the next several years.
In various interviews, National Academy of Songwriters to PBS telecasts, Newman has credited The Fleetwoods with giving him his first national break: The trio recorded his song, "They Tell Me It's Summer", as the B side of one of their 11 hit singles, giving Newman great exposure and royalties (piggy-backed on the sale of the Fleetwoods' 1962 hit A side, "Lovers By Night, Strangers By Day"). Two decades later, The Fleetwoods' founder and manager, female lead Vocalist/Songwriter/Arranger Gretchen Christopher selected, from their recordings, two more of Newman's songs to be included among 10 previously unreleased masters, for their 13th album. The Fleetwoods - Buried Treasure LP and cassette, released in 1982, included Newman's "Who's Gonna Teach You About Love" and "Ask Him If He's Got A Friend For Me".
His early songs were recorded by Gene Pitney
, Jerry Butler
, Jackie DeShannon
, The O'Jays
and Irma Thomas
, among others. His work as a songwriter met with particular success in the UK: top 40 UK hits written by Newman included Cilla Black
's "I've Been Wrong Before" (#17, 1965), Gene Pitney
's "Nobody Needs Your Love" (#2, 1966) and "Just One Smile" (#8, 1966); and The Alan Price Set's "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear
" (#4, 1967). Besides "Simon Smith", Price featured seven Randy Newman songs on his 1967 A Price on His Head album.
In the mid-1960s, Newman was briefly a member of the band The Tikis, who later became Harpers Bizarre
, best known for their 1967 hit version of the Paul Simon
composition "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
". Newman kept a close musical relationship with Harpers Bizarre, offering them some of his own compositions, including "Simon Smith" and "Happyland". The band recorded six Newman compositions during their short initial career (1967–1969).
In this period, Newman began a long professional association with childhood friend Lenny Waronker
. Waronker had been hired to produce The Tikis, the Beau Brummels
, and The Mojo Men
, who were all contracted to the Los Angeles independent label Autumn Records
, and he in turn brought in Newman, Leon Russell
and another friend, pianist/arranger Van Dyke Parks
, to play on recording sessions. Later in 1966 Waronker was hired as an A&R manager by Warner 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.
Randy Newman recently endorsed jazz singer Roseanna Vitro
's album, The Randy Newman Project (Motéma Music
, 2011).
, was a critical success but never dented the Billboard Top 200. Many artists, including Alan Price
, Van Dyke Parks
, Dave Van Ronk
, Judy Collins
, the Everly Brothers
, Claudine Longet
, Dusty Springfield
, Nina Simone
, Pat Boone
and Peggy 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 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").
In 1970, Harry Nilsson
recorded an entire album of Newman compositions called Nilsson Sings Newman
. That album was a success, 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 from Byrds members Gene Parsons
and Clarence White
helped to give the album a much rootsier feel. 12 Songs was also critically acclaimed (6th best album of the seventies according to Rolling Stone critic Robert Christgau), but again found little commercial success, though Three 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 the Billboard charts, at #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
" for Norman Lear
's 1971 film Cold Turkey
.
1972's Sail Away
reached #163 on Billboard, with the title track making its way into the repertoire of Ray Charles
and Linda Ronstadt
. "You Can Leave Your Hat On
" enigmatically touches on what it is men find important in relationships, and was covered by Three Dog Night
, then Joe Cocker
, and later by Keb Mo, Etta James
, Tom Jones
(whose version was later used for the final striptease to the 1997 film The Full Monty
), and the Québécois singer Garou. The album also featured "Burn On", an ode to an infamous incident in which the heavily polluted Cuyahoga River
literally caught fire. In 1989, "Burn On" was used as the opening theme to the film Major League
, whose focus was the hapless Cleveland Indians
.
His 1974 release Good Old Boys was a set of songs about the American South. "Rednecks
" began with a description of segregationist Lester Maddox
pitted against a "smart-ass New York Jew" on a TV show, in a song that criticizes both southern 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 a paean to Huey Long
(the assassinated former Governor
and United States Senator from Louisiana
), 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 #36 on Billboard and spending 21 weeks in the Top 200.
Little Criminals
(1977) contained the surprise hit "Short People
," which also became a subject of controversy. In September 1977, the British
music magazine, NME
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." The album proved Newman's most popular to date, reaching #9 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
1979's Born Again featured a song satirically mythologizing the Electric Light Orchestra
(and their arranging style) entitled "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band".
His 1983 album Trouble in Paradise included the hit 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, the Beach Boys...that sounds 'really' good to me." The ABC network
and Frank 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 the Los Angeles Dodgers
, Los Angeles Lakers
, and the Los Angeles Kings
use the song along with their Goal Horn.
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, and was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus
. He has released three albums of new material as a singer-songwriter since that time: Land of Dreams
(1988), Bad Love
(1999), and Harps and Angels
, which was released on August 5, 2008. Land of Dreams included one of his most well-known songs, "It's Money That Matters", and featured Newman's first stab at autobiography with "Dixie Flyer" and "Four Eyes", while Bad Love included "I Miss You", a moving tribute to his ex-wife. (In an interview with Glenn Tilbrook, half of the writing partnership of English pop band Squeeze, to promote the album (probably on BBC radio), Newman acknowledged that ‘I Miss You’ was written for his ex-wife. When asked by Tilbrook how his current wife felt about this, Newman said that though he had always been obedient to his wives in most things there was one area in which he did as he chose; ‘I write what I write’ he said.) He has also re-recorded a number songs that span his career, accompanying himself on piano, with The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003) and The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 (2011). He continues to perform his songs before live audiences as a touring concert artist.
In the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina
catastrophe of 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." In a related performance, Newman contributed to the 2007 release of Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
(Vanguard
), contributing his version of Domino's "Blue Monday
". Domino had been rescued from his New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina, initially having been feared dead.
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. His orchestral film scores resemble the work of Elmer Bernstein
(with whom he had worked on ¡Three Amigos!) and Maurice Jarre
.
Newman has scored six Disney
/Pixar
feature films; Toy Story
, A Bug's Life
, Toy Story 2
, Monsters, Inc.
, Cars
, and Toy Story 3
. He has earned at least one Academy Award nomination for each of the films he has scored for Pixar, winning the award for Monsters, Inc.
and Toy Story 3
, both times in the category of Best Original Song
. Additional scores by Newman include Avalon
, Parenthood, James and the Giant Peach
, Seabiscuit
, Awakenings
, The Paper
, Overboard
, Meet the Parents
, and its sequel, Meet the Fockers
. His score for Pleasantville
was an Academy Award nominee. He also wrote the songs for Turner's Cats Don't Dance
.
One of Newman's most iconic and recognizable works is the central theme to The Natural
, a dramatic and Oscar-nominated score, which was described by at least one complimentary critic as "Coplandesque
".
Newman had the dubious distinction of receiving the most Oscar
nomination
s (15) without a single win. His losing streak was broken when he received the Academy Award for Best Original Song
in 2001, 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!"
Besides writing songs for films, he also writes songs for television series such as the Emmy-Award winning current 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.
In October 2006, it was revealed that Newman would write the music for the Walt Disney
movie The Princess and the Frog, which was released in December 2009. During the Walt Disney Company's annual shareholder meeting in March 2007, Newman performed a new song written for the movie. He was accompanied by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
. The New Orleans setting of the film played to Newman's musical strengths, and his songs contained elements of Cajun music
, zydeco
, blues
and Dixieland jazz
. Two of the songs, "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans
", were nominated for Oscars.
In total, Newman has received 20 Oscar nominations with two wins, both for Best Original Song (including 2011's win for "We Belong Together"). In accepting the 2011 award, he joked "my percentages aren't great".
and Deborah Rush
, and at one point included Treat Williams
.
In the 1990s, Newman adapted Goethe's Faust
into a concept album and musical, Randy Newman's Faust
. After a 1995 staging at the La Jolla Playhouse
, he retained David Mamet
to help rework the book before its relaunch on the Chicago
Goodman Theatre
mainstage
in 1996. Newman's Faust project had been many years in the making, and it suffered for it; a central joke was Newman's depiction of Faust as a shallow heavy metal music
fan in thrall to Satan, and this had to be modified to accommodate the less-than-devil obsessed age of grunge rock that was in fashion by 1995.
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 celebrated American autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams
. Newman, together with Jerry Patch and Michael Roth, surveyed Newman's songs to find those that, taken together, depict the life of an American artist in the last half of the 20th century. After its premiere at SCR
, it was reworked with additional songs written specifically for the show by Newman and presented in Seattle by ACT.
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.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who is known for his mordant (and often satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
) pop song
Pop Song
Pop Song is the first single by the Drugs. It was released in 2000 and earned the Drugs some positive press. It has been described as "addictive". A live version was released on The Only Way Is Up...
s and for film scores.
Newman often writes lyrics from the perspective of a character far removed from Newman's own experiences, sometimes using the point of view of an unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
. For example, the 1972 song "Sail Away
Sail Away (Randy Newman song)
"Sail Away" is a song by Randy Newman, the title track of his 1972 album.-Lyrics and interpretation:"Sail Away" is representative of Newman's trademark unconventional and clever approach to songwriting: it takes the form of a "come on" or a "pitch" from an American slave trader to potential slaves...
" is written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves, while the narrator of "Political Science" is a U.S. nationalist who complains of worldwide ingratitude toward America and proposes a brutally ironic final solution. One of his biggest hits, "Short People
Short People
"Short People" is a song by Randy Newman from his 1977 album Little Criminals, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The verses and chorus seem to be a pointed attack on the short...
" was written from the perspective of "a lunatic" who hates short people.
Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. His film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s include Ragtime
Ragtime (film)
Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
, Awakenings
Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
, The Natural
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
, Leatherheads
Leatherheads
Leatherheads is a 2008 American sports comedy film from Universal Pictures directed by and starring George Clooney. The film also stars Renée Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce and John Krasinski and focuses on the early years of professional American football....
, James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach (film)
James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
, Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
, Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey (film)
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
, Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (film)
Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
and The Princess and the Frog. He has scored six Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
-Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
films: Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
, Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
, Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, Cars
Cars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
and most recently Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
.
Newman has been nominated for twenty Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, winning twice. He has also won three Emmy
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
s, five Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 2002. In 2007, Newman was inducted as a Disney Legend
Disney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
.
Early life
Newman was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, the son of Adele (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Fox), a secretary, and Irving George Newman, an internist. He lived in New Orleans as a small child and spent summers there until he was 11 years old, his family having by then returned to Los Angeles. The paternal side of his family includes three uncles who were noted Hollywood film-score composers: Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
, Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of Randy Newman, David Newman and Thomas Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman....
and Emil Newman
Emil Newman
Emil Newman was an American composer and conductor who worked on over 200 films and TV shows. He was nominated for an Oscar for musical direction on the classic Sun Valley Serenade ....
. Newman's cousins Thomas
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. He is one of the more respected and recognized composers for modern film and has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades.Newman has received a total of ten...
and David
David Newman (composer)
David Louis Newman is an American composer and conductor known particularly for his film scores. In a career spanning nearly forty years, he has composed music for nearly 100 feature films.-Life and career:...
, and nephew Joey
Joey Newman
Joey Newman is a Los Angeles-based film composer, orchestrator, arranger and conductor working in the fields of film and television. Joey was educated at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.-Biography:...
are also composers for motion pictures. He graduated from University High School in Los Angeles. Newman attended the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
Songwriter
Newman has been a professional songwriter since he was 17. He cites Ray CharlesRay Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
as his greatest influence growing up, stating, "I loved Charles' music to excess." His first single as a performer was 1961's "Golden Gridiron Boy", released when he was eighteen. However, the single flopped and Newman chose to concentrate on songwriting and arranging for the next several years.
In various interviews, National Academy of Songwriters to PBS telecasts, Newman has credited The Fleetwoods with giving him his first national break: The trio recorded his song, "They Tell Me It's Summer", as the B side of one of their 11 hit singles, giving Newman great exposure and royalties (piggy-backed on the sale of the Fleetwoods' 1962 hit A side, "Lovers By Night, Strangers By Day"). Two decades later, The Fleetwoods' founder and manager, female lead Vocalist/Songwriter/Arranger Gretchen Christopher selected, from their recordings, two more of Newman's songs to be included among 10 previously unreleased masters, for their 13th album. The Fleetwoods - Buried Treasure LP and cassette, released in 1982, included Newman's "Who's Gonna Teach You About Love" and "Ask Him If He's Got A Friend For Me".
His early songs were recorded by Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
, Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
, Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
, The O'Jays
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
and Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas is an American Grammy Award-winning soul and rhythm and blues singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans"....
, among others. His work as a songwriter met with particular success in the UK: top 40 UK hits written by Newman included Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
's "I've Been Wrong Before" (#17, 1965), Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
's "Nobody Needs Your Love" (#2, 1966) and "Just One Smile" (#8, 1966); and The Alan Price Set's "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear
Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear
"Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" is a song written by Randy Newman, about a sincere young man of modest means named Simon Smith who entertains affluent members of the public with his dancing bear, which may or may not be real....
" (#4, 1967). Besides "Simon Smith", Price featured seven Randy Newman songs on his 1967 A Price on His Head album.
In the mid-1960s, Newman was briefly a member of the band The Tikis, who later became Harpers Bizarre
Harpers Bizarre
Harpers Bizarre was an American pop-rock band of the 1960s, best known for their Broadway/Sunshine Pop sound and their remake of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song ."- Career :...
, best known for their 1967 hit version of the Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
composition "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
"The 59th Street Bridge Song " is a song by folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel, appearing on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. "59th Street Bridge" is the colloquial name of the Queensboro Bridge in New York City...
". Newman kept a close musical relationship with Harpers Bizarre, offering them some of his own compositions, including "Simon Smith" and "Happyland". The band recorded six Newman compositions during their short initial career (1967–1969).
In this period, Newman began a long professional association with childhood friend Lenny Waronker
Lenny Waronker
Lenny Waronker is a record producer for Warner Bros. Records.-Career:He produced recording sessions for Nancy Sinatra, The Everly Brothers, Van Dyke Parks, The Beau Brummels, Harpers Bizarre, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Arlo Guthrie, Maria Muldaur, Gordon Lightfoot, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, ...
. Waronker had been hired to produce The Tikis, the Beau Brummels
The Beau Brummels
The Beau Brummels were an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino , Ron Elliott , Ron Meagher , Declan Mulligan , and John Petersen...
, and The Mojo Men
The Mojo Men
The Mojo Men were a rock music band, inspired by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who recorded for the Autumn Records label in San Francisco, California....
, who were all contracted to the Los Angeles independent label Autumn Records
Autumn Records
Autumn Records was a 1960s San Francisco-based pop record label. Its most prominent contract was considered The Beau Brummels, a band who released a pair of top 20 singles, "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little"....
, and he in turn brought in Newman, Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
and another friend, pianist/arranger Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
, to play on recording sessions. Later in 1966 Waronker was hired as an A&R manager by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
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.
Randy Newman recently endorsed jazz singer Roseanna Vitro
Roseanna Vitro
- Biography :Born Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro in Hot Springs, Arkansas on February 28, 1951, Vitro began singing at an early age, drawing inspiration from various musical genres like gospel, rock, and R&B, theatre, and classical music. Her father owned a night club in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the '50s...
's album, The Randy Newman Project (Motéma Music
Motéma Music
Motéma Music is an American record label focused on jazz and world music, as well as other creative projects by virtuosic musicians who also compose. It was founded by Jana Herzen in 2003, and is now based in Harlem, New York City...
, 2011).
Recording artist
His 1968 debut album, Randy NewmanRandy Newman (album)
Randy Newman is the debut recording by Randy Newman, released in 1968. Unlike his later albums which featured Newman and his piano backed by guitar, bass guitar and drums, Randy Newman was highly orchestral and aimed to blend the orchestra with Newman's voice and piano. Randy Newman is the debut...
, was a critical success but never dented the Billboard Top 200. Many artists, including Alan Price
Alan Price
Alan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
, Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
, Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
, Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
, Claudine Longet
Claudine Longet
Claudine Georgette Longet is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams from 1961 until 1975...
, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
and Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
his songs and "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" became an early standard.
In 1969, he did the orchestral arrangements for Peggy Lee's single "Is That All There Is?
Is That All There Is?
"Is That All There Is?" is a song written by American songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller during the 1960s. It became a hit for American singer Peggy Lee from her recording in November 1969...
", as well as her album with the same title
Is That All There Is? (album)
The Allmusic review by Alex Henderson awarded the album four and a half stars and commented that "Everything on this LP is a gem...The LP's centerpiece, however, is Newman's hit arrangement of Leiber & Stoller's title song, which was covered by P.J. Harvey in the 1990s. Influenced by German...
(which also contained her cover versions of two of his songs: "Love Story" and "Linda").
In 1970, Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
recorded an entire album of Newman compositions called Nilsson Sings Newman
Nilsson Sings Newman
Nilsson Sings Newman is an album of Randy Newman compositions sung by Harry Nilsson, with Newman on piano. The record was not a great commercial success, but it was critically praised, and helped Newman gain notice...
. That album was a success, and it paved the way for Newman's 1970 release, 12 Songs
12 Songs (Randy Newman album)
12 Songs is a 1970 album by singer/songwriter Randy Newman. His second album, 12 Songs received much better reviews than his first. On 12 Songs Newman collaborates with Clarence White and Ry Cooder. The album set the stage for Newman's later career with songs sung from the point of view of...
, a more stripped-down sound that showcased Newman's piano. Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
's slide guitar and contributions from Byrds members Gene Parsons
Gene Parsons
Gene Victor Parsons is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and innovative engineer, best known for his work with The Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green...
and Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
helped to give the album a much rootsier feel. 12 Songs was also critically acclaimed (6th best album of the seventies according to Rolling Stone critic Robert Christgau), but again found little commercial success, though Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
made a huge hit of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come
Mama Told Me Not to Come
"Mama Told Me " is a song by Randy Newman written for Eric Burdon's first solo album in 1966. Three Dog Night's 1970 cover of the song topped the U.S. pop singles charts.-Newman original and first recordings:...
". The following year, Randy Newman Live
Randy Newman Live
Randy Newman Live is a live album by American singer Randy Newman. It is the only official live recording he has released. The album was recorded over three evenings between September 17 and 19, 1970 at the Bitter End, New York....
cemented his cult following and became his first LP to appear in the Billboard charts, at #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
He Gives Us All His Love
"He Gives Us All His Love" is a song written and performed by Randy Newman. It first appeared in the 1971 film Cold Turkey, for which it served as a sort of theme song and played during the opening credits....
" for Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
's 1971 film Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey (film)
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
.
1972's Sail Away
Sail Away (Randy Newman album)
-Personnel:* Randy Newman - arranger, composer, piano, vocals* Ry Cooder - guitars on "Last Night I Had a Dream" & "You Can Leave Your Hat On"* Russ Titelman - guitars* Jim Keltner - drums* Gene Parsons - drums* Earl Palmer - drums* Chris Ethridge - bass...
reached #163 on Billboard, with the title track making its way into the repertoire of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
. "You Can Leave Your Hat On
You Can Leave Your Hat On
"You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a song written by Randy Newman and appearing on his 1972 album Sail Away. It was made famous by Joe Cocker when featured in the 1986 Adrian Lyne film 9½ Weeks during the striptease scene....
" enigmatically touches on what it is men find important in relationships, and was covered by Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
, then Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, and later by Keb Mo, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
(whose version was later used for the final striptease to the 1997 film The Full Monty
The Full Monty
The Full Monty is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy...
), and the Québécois singer Garou. The album also featured "Burn On", an ode to an infamous incident in which the heavily polluted Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
literally caught fire. In 1989, "Burn On" was used as the opening theme to the film Major League
Major League (film)
Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
, whose focus was the hapless Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
.
His 1974 release Good Old Boys was a set of songs about the American South. "Rednecks
Rednecks (song)
"Rednecks" is a song by Randy Newman, the lead-off track on his 1974 album Good Old Boys.- Lyrics and interpretation :"Rednecks" is sung from the perspective of a Southern "redneck". In it he expresses his dismay at the way that the North looks down upon The South...
" began with a description of segregationist Lester Maddox
Lester Maddox
Lester Garfield Maddox was an American politician who was the 75th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971....
pitted against a "smart-ass New York Jew" on a TV show, in a song that criticizes both southern 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
Every Man a King
"Every Man a King" is a song connected with Louisiana's governor and senator Huey Long. Long was known for his political slogan "Every man a king," which was the title of his autobiography and the catch-phrase of his Share Our Wealth proposal during the Great Depression.-Writing and...
", the former a paean to Huey Long
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
(the assassinated former Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
and United States Senator from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
), 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 #36 on Billboard and spending 21 weeks in the Top 200.
Little Criminals
Little Criminals
Little Criminals is a 1977 album from Randy Newman. Like most of Newman's work, the album eschews traditional pop-music themes in favor of musical story-telling, often featuring quirky characters and cynical views. The first song on the album — "Short People" — became a hit single in its own right...
(1977) contained the surprise hit "Short People
Short People
"Short People" is a song by Randy Newman from his 1977 album Little Criminals, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The verses and chorus seem to be a pointed attack on the short...
," which also became a subject of controversy. In September 1977, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
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." The album proved Newman's most popular to date, reaching #9 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
1979's Born Again featured a song satirically mythologizing the Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
(and their arranging style) entitled "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band".
His 1983 album Trouble in Paradise included the hit single "I Love L.A.
I Love L.A.
"I Love L.A." is a song about Los Angeles, California written and recorded by Randy Newman. It was originally released on his 1983 album Trouble in Paradise...
", 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, the Beach Boys...that sounds 'really' good to me." The ABC network
ABC Network
ABC Network may refer to any of the following:*American Broadcasting Company, a private television network in the United States.*Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, regional radio and television broadcaster in Japan....
and Frank Gari Productions
Frank Gari
Frank Gari is a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a performer are "Utopia" , "Lullaby of Love" and "Princess" , all of which hit the U.S. Top 40 in 1961. He co-wrote with Roger McGuinn the song Beach Ball for Bobby Darin...
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 the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, and the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
use the song along with their Goal Horn.
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, and was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus
Epstein-Barr virus
The Epstein–Barr virus , also called human herpesvirus 4 , is a virus of the herpes family and is one of the most common viruses in humans. It is best known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis...
. He has released three albums of new material as a singer-songwriter since that time: Land of Dreams
Land of Dreams
Land of Dreams is a 1988 album by Randy Newman full of vignettes of his childhood in New Orleans. The most well-known song on the album is "It's Money That Matters", which rose to the top of the Mainstream Rock chart for two weeks, to become Newman's only number one hit on any U.S...
(1988), Bad Love
Bad Love (Randy Newman album)
Bad Love is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman released 1999. It was Newman's first solo album since 1988s Land of Dreams and followed an 11-year hiatus during which Newman had focused on film soundtracks, receiving several Academy Award nominations.It received...
(1999), and Harps and Angels
Harps and Angels
Harps and Angels is a studio album by Randy Newman. It was released on August 5, 2008 and was produced by Mitchell Froom and Lenny Waronker. It contains two updated versions of previously released compositions...
, which was released on August 5, 2008. Land of Dreams included one of his most well-known songs, "It's Money That Matters", and featured Newman's first stab at autobiography with "Dixie Flyer" and "Four Eyes", while Bad Love included "I Miss You", a moving tribute to his ex-wife. (In an interview with Glenn Tilbrook, half of the writing partnership of English pop band Squeeze, to promote the album (probably on BBC radio), Newman acknowledged that ‘I Miss You’ was written for his ex-wife. When asked by Tilbrook how his current wife felt about this, Newman said that though he had always been obedient to his wives in most things there was one area in which he did as he chose; ‘I write what I write’ he said.) He has also re-recorded a number songs that span his career, accompanying himself on piano, with The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003) and The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 (2011). He continues to perform his songs before live audiences as a touring concert artist.
In the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
catastrophe of 2005, Newman's "Louisiana 1927
Louisiana 1927
"Louisiana 1927" is a 1974 song telling the story of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 that left 700,000 people homeless in Louisiana and Mississippi...
" 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
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
'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." In a related performance, Newman contributed to the 2007 release of Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino is a 2007 tribute album by various artists to Fats Domino, issued by Vanguard Records.-History:In contrast to an earlier tribute album, That's Fats: A Tribute to Fats Domino , which mostly contained previously released cover versions, Goin' Home: A Tribute to...
(Vanguard
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
), contributing his version of Domino's "Blue Monday
Blue Monday (Fats Domino song)
"Blue Monday" is a song originally written by Dave Bartholomew, and first recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1954.It was later popularized in a recording by Fats Domino in 1956, on Imperial Records , on which the songwriting credit was shared between Bartholomew and Domino. Most later versions have...
". Domino had been rescued from his New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina, initially having been feared dead.
Film composer
Newman's work as a film composer began in 1971, with his work on the Norman LearNorman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
satire Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey (film)
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
. He returned to film work with 1981's Ragtime
Ragtime (film)
Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
, for which he was nominated for two Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. Newman co-wrote the 1986 film ¡Three Amigos!
¡Three Amigos!
Three Amigos is a 1986 American adventure musical comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, and Randy Newman...
with Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
, wrote three songs for the film, and provided the voice for the singing bush. His orchestral film scores resemble the work of Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
(with whom he had worked on ¡Three Amigos!) and Maurice Jarre
Maurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...
.
Newman has scored six Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
/Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
feature films; Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
, Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
, Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, Cars
Cars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
, and Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
. He has earned at least one Academy Award nomination for each of the films he has scored for Pixar, winning the award for Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
and Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
, both times in the category of Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
. Additional scores by Newman include Avalon
Avalon (1990 film)
Avalon is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and...
, Parenthood, James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach (film)
James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
, Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (film)
Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
, Awakenings
Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
, The Paper
The Paper
The Paper is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, and Glenn Close. The film depicts 24 hours in a newspaper editor's professional and personal life.-Plot:...
, Overboard
Overboard (1987 film)
Overboard is a 1987 American romantic comedy film starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. It was directed by Garry Marshall, produced by Roddy McDowell and loosely inspired by the 1974 Italian film Swept Away...
, Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
, and its sequel, Meet the Fockers
Meet the Fockers
Meet the Fockers is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to Meet the Parents. The film stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo. It was followed up by a sequel, Little Fockers, in 2010.-Plot:Nurse Gaylord "Greg"...
. His score for Pleasantville
Pleasantville (film)
Pleasantville is a 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Marley Shelton and Jeff Daniels. Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Jane Kaczmarek, and J. T. Walsh are also featured.The film...
was an Academy Award nominee. He also wrote the songs for Turner's Cats Don't Dance
Cats Don't Dance
Cats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical comedy film, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment's feature animation unit . The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...
.
One of Newman's most iconic and recognizable works is the central theme to The Natural
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
, a dramatic and Oscar-nominated score, which was described by at least one complimentary critic as "Coplandesque
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
".
Newman had the dubious distinction of receiving the most Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
s (15) without a single win. His losing streak was broken when he received the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
in 2001, for the Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
song "If I Didn't Have You
If I Didn't Have You
Hannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso recorded a cover version of the song for the Disneymania 6 album. The song was produced by Bryan Todd...
", beating Sting, Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
. After receiving a standing ovation, a bemused but emotional Newman began his acceptance speech with "I don't want your pity!"
Besides writing songs for films, he also writes songs for television series such as the Emmy-Award winning current theme song of Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
, "It's a Jungle out There". Newman also composed the Emmy-Award winning song "When I'm Gone" for the final episode.
In October 2006, it was revealed that Newman would write the music for the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
movie The Princess and the Frog, which was released in December 2009. During the Walt Disney Company's annual shareholder meeting in March 2007, Newman performed a new song written for the movie. He was accompanied by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a New Orleans, Louisiana, brass band. The ensemble was established in 1977 by Benny Jones together with members of the Tornado Brass Band...
. The New Orleans setting of the film played to Newman's musical strengths, and his songs contained elements of Cajun music
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
, zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and Dixieland jazz
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
. Two of the songs, "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans
Down in New Orleans (song)
"Down in New Orleans" is a jazz song from Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog, written by Randy Newman. Several versions of the song were recorded for use in different parts of the film and other materials...
", were nominated for Oscars.
In total, Newman has received 20 Oscar nominations with two wins, both for Best Original Song (including 2011's win for "We Belong Together"). In accepting the 2011 award, he joked "my percentages aren't great".
Musical theatre
A revue of Newman's songs, titled Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong, was performed at the Astor Place Theater in New York City in 1982, and later at other theaters around the country. The New York cast featured Mark Linn-BakerMark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
and Deborah Rush
Deborah Rush
Deborah Rush is an American actress.Rush has worked in television, film and on Broadway. In 1984, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off. She also acted in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot...
, and at one point included Treat Williams
Treat Williams
Richard Treat Williams is a Screen Actors Guild Award–nominated American actor and children's book author who has appeared on film, stage and television...
.
In the 1990s, Newman adapted Goethe's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
into a concept album and musical, Randy Newman's Faust
Randy Newman's Faust
Randy Newman's Faust is a 1993 musical by American musician and songwriter Randy Newman, who based the work on the classic story of Faust, borrowing elements from the version by Goethe, as well as Milton's Paradise Lost, but updating the story to the modern day, and infusing it with humorous cynicism...
. After a 1995 staging at the La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
, he retained David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
to help rework the book before its relaunch on the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
mainstage
Mainstage
Main stage theatre is that which falls between studio theatre and large-scale events. It is usually performed in a proscenium theatre or on a thrust stage. Main stage is also used to describe the performance space with the largest audience capacity at a performing arts festival or other venues.-...
in 1996. Newman's Faust project had been many years in the making, and it suffered for it; a central joke was Newman's depiction of Faust as a shallow heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
fan in thrall to Satan, and this had to be modified to accommodate the less-than-devil obsessed age of grunge rock that was in fashion by 1995.
In 2000, South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
(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
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, it was modeled on the celebrated American autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams
The Education of Henry Adams
The Education of Henry Adams records the struggle of Bostonian Henry Adams , in his later years, to come to terms with the dawning 20th century, so different from the world of his youth. It is also a sharp critique of 19th century educational theory and practice. In 1907, Adams began privately...
. Newman, together with Jerry Patch and Michael Roth, surveyed Newman's songs to find those that, taken together, depict the life of an American artist in the last half of the 20th century. After its premiere at SCR
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
, it was reworked with additional songs written specifically for the show by Newman and presented in Seattle by ACT.
In 2010, the Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre...
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
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
and featured Ryder Bach, Storm Large
Storm Large
Storm Large is a singer best known as a contestant on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova.-Personal life:...
, Adriane Lenox
Adriane Lenox
Adriane Lenox is an American stage and film actress whose performance in the play Doubt: A Parable garnered her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2005. She also appeared as Hattie in the Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate and had a role in the 2009 film The Blind Side, as Denise...
, Michael McKean
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
, Katey Sagal
Katey Sagal
Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married.....
and Matthew Saldivar.
Notable performances and appearances
- In 2000, Newman hosted a PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
special on Sunset Blvd, in his native Los Angeles. Driving a convertible, he followed the road from the Amtrak train station downtown, through Silver LakeSilver Lake, Los Angeles, CaliforniaSilver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...
, on past his alma mater UCLA, and finished in Santa Monica. - Randy Newman appeared on The Colbert Report on October 9, 2006, performing "Political Science" after his interview. At the end of the performance Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
said "I hope they're listening in D.C." This appearance came days after North Korea conducted an underground test2006 North Korean nuclear testThe 2006 North Korean nuclear test was the detonation of a nuclear device conducted on October 9, 2006 by North Korea.North Korea announced its intention to conduct a test on October 3, six days prior, and in doing so became the first nation to give warning of its first nuclear test...
of a nuclear weapon. - Newman appeared on the season two finale of the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun3rd Rock from the Sun3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
, accompanying the character Harry SolomonHarry SolomonHarry S. Solomon is a character in 3rd Rock from the Sun, played by French Stewart. He is the brother of Dick Solomon and Sally Solomon, and the uncle of Tommy Solomon. His middle initial is mentioned in the episode "Dick the Vote." French Stewart said in a 1998 interview, "The way the character...
's performance of "Life Has Been Good To Me" on piano in a dream sequence. - He appeared as a musical guest at the end of the Keynote Address at MacworldMacworld Conference & ExpoProduced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
's 2008 San Francisco Macworld Expo, performing the songs "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" and "You've Got a Friend in MeYou've Got a Friend in Me"You've Got a Friend in Me" is a song written and first recorded by Randy Newman. Originally written as the theme song for the 1995 Disney·Pixar animated film Toy Story, it has since become the theme song for its sequels, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3...
". - Newman appeared as a musical guest on the second episode of NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1975, as well as on the show's Mardi Gras special in 1977. - In June 2010, Newman was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
. Monty Python's Eric Idle presented at the ceremony
Parody
- In the third episode of the second season of Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, titled "Da BoomDa Boom"Da Boom" is the third episode of the second season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 26, 1999. The episode features the Griffin family after a nuclear holocaust occurs, due to Y2K on New Year's Eve. The family then travels in...
", Newman's songwriting and singing style is the subject of parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. He is described as "singing about what he sees." In an interview, Newman stated this was probably what he'd be remembered for.
Albums
- Randy NewmanRandy Newman (album)Randy Newman is the debut recording by Randy Newman, released in 1968. Unlike his later albums which featured Newman and his piano backed by guitar, bass guitar and drums, Randy Newman was highly orchestral and aimed to blend the orchestra with Newman's voice and piano. Randy Newman is the debut...
(1968) - 12 Songs12 Songs (Randy Newman album)12 Songs is a 1970 album by singer/songwriter Randy Newman. His second album, 12 Songs received much better reviews than his first. On 12 Songs Newman collaborates with Clarence White and Ry Cooder. The album set the stage for Newman's later career with songs sung from the point of view of...
(1970) - Randy Newman LiveRandy Newman LiveRandy Newman Live is a live album by American singer Randy Newman. It is the only official live recording he has released. The album was recorded over three evenings between September 17 and 19, 1970 at the Bitter End, New York....
(1971) - Sail AwaySail Away (Randy Newman album)-Personnel:* Randy Newman - arranger, composer, piano, vocals* Ry Cooder - guitars on "Last Night I Had a Dream" & "You Can Leave Your Hat On"* Russ Titelman - guitars* Jim Keltner - drums* Gene Parsons - drums* Earl Palmer - drums* Chris Ethridge - bass...
(1972) - Good Old Boys (1974)
- Little CriminalsLittle CriminalsLittle Criminals is a 1977 album from Randy Newman. Like most of Newman's work, the album eschews traditional pop-music themes in favor of musical story-telling, often featuring quirky characters and cynical views. The first song on the album — "Short People" — became a hit single in its own right...
(1977) - Born AgainBorn Again (Randy Newman)Born Again is the sixth album by American composer Randy Newman. It has been generally received by critics as one of the low points in his catalog, though fans were much more merciful with their opinions...
(1979) - Trouble in Paradise (1983)
- Land of DreamsLand of DreamsLand of Dreams is a 1988 album by Randy Newman full of vignettes of his childhood in New Orleans. The most well-known song on the album is "It's Money That Matters", which rose to the top of the Mainstream Rock chart for two weeks, to become Newman's only number one hit on any U.S...
(1988) - Randy Newman's FaustRandy Newman's FaustRandy Newman's Faust is a 1993 musical by American musician and songwriter Randy Newman, who based the work on the classic story of Faust, borrowing elements from the version by Goethe, as well as Milton's Paradise Lost, but updating the story to the modern day, and infusing it with humorous cynicism...
(1995) - Bad LoveBad Love (Randy Newman album)Bad Love is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman released 1999. It was Newman's first solo album since 1988s Land of Dreams and followed an 11-year hiatus during which Newman had focused on film soundtracks, receiving several Academy Award nominations.It received...
(1999) - Harps and AngelsHarps and AngelsHarps and Angels is a studio album by Randy Newman. It was released on August 5, 2008 and was produced by Mitchell Froom and Lenny Waronker. It contains two updated versions of previously released compositions...
(2008) - Live in London (2011)
Compilations
- Lonely at the Top: The Best of Randy NewmanLonely at the Top: The Best of Randy NewmanLonely at the Top: The Best of Randy Newman is a 1987 compilation album by Randy Newman. It was not issued in the U.S.-Track listing:All tracks written by Randy Newman# "Love Story "# "Livin' Without You"...
(1987) - Guilty: 30 Years of Randy NewmanGuilty: 30 Years of Randy NewmanGuilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman is a four-disc box set released in November 1998 that chronicles the first three decades of singer songwriter Randy Newman's musical career.-Disc One:#"Love Story "#"Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad"#"Cowboy"...
(1998) (Box set) - The Best of Randy Newman (2001)
- The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 contains newly recorded, stripped down versions of some of Newman's best known songs, performed by Randy Newman singing and playing the piano without accompaniment....
(2003) (New recordings of previously released songs) - The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 (May 2011)
Other Contributions
- Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats DominoGoin' Home: A Tribute to Fats DominoGoin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino is a 2007 tribute album by various artists to Fats Domino, issued by Vanguard Records.-History:In contrast to an earlier tribute album, That's Fats: A Tribute to Fats Domino , which mostly contained previously released cover versions, Goin' Home: A Tribute to...
(VanguardVanguard RecordsVanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
, 2007)
Film scores
- PerformancePerformance (soundtrack)Performance is a 1970 soundtrack album to the film Performance by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. It features music from Randy Newman, Merry Clayton, Ry Cooder, Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Last Poets and Mick Jagger....
(1970) (song: Gone Dead Train) - Cold TurkeyCold Turkey (film)Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
(1971) - RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
(1981) - The NaturalThe Natural (film)The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
(1984) - ¡Three Amigos! (1986) (songs: "The Ballad of the Three Amigos," "My Little Buttercup," and "Blue Shadows")
- Parenthood (1989)
- Major LeagueMajor League (film)Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
(1989) (song: "Burn On") - AwakeningsAwakeningsAwakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
(1990) - AvalonAvalon (1990 film)Avalon is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and...
(1990) - The PaperThe PaperThe Paper is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, and Glenn Close. The film depicts 24 hours in a newspaper editor's professional and personal life.-Plot:...
(1994) - MaverickMaverick (film)Maverick is a 1994 Western comedy film based on the 1950s television series of the same name, created by Roy Huggins. The film was directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by William Goldman and features Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner, as well as several cameo appearances...
(1994) - Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
(1995) - James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach (film)James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
(1996) - MichaelMichael (1996 film)Michael is a 1996 American fantasy film directed by Nora Ephron and released in 1996. The film stars John Travolta as the Archangel Michael, who is sent to Earth to do various tasks, including mending some wounded hearts...
(1996) - Bean (1997) (song: I love L.A.)
- Cats Don't DanceCats Don't DanceCats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical comedy film, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment's feature animation unit . The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...
(1997) (songs: "Danny's Arrival Song","Little Boat On The Sea","Animal Jam Session","Big and Loud","Tell Me Lies", and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now") - A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
(1998) - Babe: Pig in the CityBabe: Pig in the CityBabe: Pig in the City is a 1998 sequel to the 1995 film Babe. It occurs in the fictional city of Metropolis. Due to the unexpected darker and more mature subject matter , the film was not received as well as the first Babe film was, as it flopped at the box office and reviews were generally...
(1998) (song: "That'll Do" by Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
) - PleasantvillePleasantville (film)Pleasantville is a 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Marley Shelton and Jeff Daniels. Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Jane Kaczmarek, and J. T. Walsh are also featured.The film...
(1998) - Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
(1999) - Meet the ParentsMeet the Parents (soundtrack)Meet the Parents is the soundtrack that accompanies the 2000 film Meet the Parents. The soundtrack album was released on September 26, 2000 on the DreamWorks Records label...
(2000) - Jurassic Park 3 (2001) (song: "Big Hat, No Cattle")
- Monsters, Inc. (2001)
- SeabiscuitSeabiscuit (film)Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
(2003) - Meet the FockersMeet the FockersMeet the Fockers is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to Meet the Parents. The film stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo. It was followed up by a sequel, Little Fockers, in 2010.-Plot:Nurse Gaylord "Greg"...
(2004) - CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
(2006) - LeatherheadsLeatherheadsLeatherheads is a 2008 American sports comedy film from Universal Pictures directed by and starring George Clooney. The film also stars Renée Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce and John Krasinski and focuses on the early years of professional American football....
(2008) - The Princess and the Frog (2009)
- Toy Story 3Toy Story 3Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
(2010)
Awards and honors
- Academy Award
- 2011: Winner – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "We Belong Together" – Toy Story 3Toy Story 3Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital... - 2010: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "Almost There" – The Princess and the Frog - 2010: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "Down in New OrleansDown in New Orleans (song)"Down in New Orleans" is a jazz song from Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog, written by Randy Newman. Several versions of the song were recorded for use in different parts of the film and other materials...
" – The Princess and the Frog - 2007: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "Our Town" – CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney... - 2002: Winner – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "If I Didn't Have YouIf I Didn't Have YouHannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso recorded a cover version of the song for the Disneymania 6 album. The song was produced by Bryan Todd...
" – Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett... - 2002: Nominee – Best Original Score – Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
- 2001: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "A Fool in Love" – Meet The ParentsMeet the ParentsMeet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents... - 2000: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "When She Loved Me" – Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar... - 1999: Nominee – Best Original Dramatic Score – PleasantvillePleasantville (film)Pleasantville is a 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Marley Shelton and Jeff Daniels. Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Jane Kaczmarek, and J. T. Walsh are also featured.The film...
- 1999: Nominee – Best Original Musical or Comedy Score – A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
- 1999: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "That'll Do" – Babe: Pig in the CityBabe: Pig in the CityBabe: Pig in the City is a 1998 sequel to the 1995 film Babe. It occurs in the fictional city of Metropolis. Due to the unexpected darker and more mature subject matter , the film was not received as well as the first Babe film was, as it flopped at the box office and reviews were generally... - 1997: Nominee – Best Musical or Comedy Score – James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach (film)James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
- 1996: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "You've Got a Friend in Me" – Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen... - 1996: Nominee – Best Original Musical or Comedy Score – Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
- 1995: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "Make Up Your Mind" – The PaperThe PaperThe Paper is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, and Glenn Close. The film depicts 24 hours in a newspaper editor's professional and personal life.-Plot:... - 1991: Nominee – Best Original Score – AvalonAvalon (1990 film)Avalon is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and...
- 1990: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "I Love to See You Smile" – Parenthood - 1985: Nominee – Best Original Score – The NaturalThe Natural (film)The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
- 1982: Nominee – Best Original Score – RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
- 1982: Nominee – Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
– "One More Hour" – RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
- 2011: Winner – Best Original Song
- Golden Globe
- 2000: Nominee – Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
– "When She Loved Me" – Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar... - 1999: Nominee – Best Original ScoreGolden Globe Award for Best Original ScoreThe Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
– A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy... - 1996: Nominee – Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
– "You've Got a Friend in Me" – Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen... - 1991: Nominee – Best Original ScoreGolden Globe Award for Best Original ScoreThe Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
– AvalonAvalon (1990 film)Avalon is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and... - 1990: Nominee – Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
– "I Love to See You Smile" – Parenthood - 1982: Nominee – Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
– "One More Hour" – RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
- 2000: Nominee – Best Original Song
- Grammy
- 2011: Winner – Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– Toy Story 3Toy Story 3Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital... - 2011: Nominee – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
– "Down in New OrleansDown in New Orleans (song)"Down in New Orleans" is a jazz song from Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog, written by Randy Newman. Several versions of the song were recorded for use in different parts of the film and other materials...
" – The Princess and the Frog - 2007: Winner – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
– "Our Town" – CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney... - 2004: Nominee – Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– SeabiscuitSeabiscuit (film)Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand... - 2003: Winner – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
– "If I Didn't Have YouIf I Didn't Have YouHannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso recorded a cover version of the song for the Disneymania 6 album. The song was produced by Bryan Todd...
" – Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett... - 2003: Nominee – Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett... - 2001: Winner – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
– "When She Loved Me" – Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar... - 2001: Nominee – Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar... - 2000: Winner – Best Instrumental Composition Written for Motion Picture or TelevisionGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy... - 2000: Nominee – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
– "The Time of Your Life" – A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy... - 1992: Nominee – Instrumental Composition Written for Motion Picture or TelevisionGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– AvalonAvalon (1990 film)Avalon is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and... - 1992: Nominee – Instrumental Composition Written for Motion Picture or TelevisionGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– AwakeningsAwakeningsAwakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa... - 1990: Nominee – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
– Parenthood - 1985: Winner – Best Instrumental CompositionGrammy Award for Best Instrumental CompositionThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
– The NaturalThe Natural (film)The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
(tied with John Williams'John WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
Olympic Fanfare) - 1983: Nominee – Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television SpecialGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
– RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
- 2011: Winner – Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
- EmmyPrimetime Emmy AwardThe Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
- 2010: Winner – Original Music and Lyrics ("When I'm Gone") – MonkMonk (TV series)Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
- 2004: Winner – Main Title Theme MusicPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme MusicThis is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
("It's a Jungle Out There") – MonkMonk (TV series)Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July... - 1991: Winner – Achievement in Music and Lyrics – Cop RockCop RockCop Rock is an American musical police drama series that aired on ABC in 1990. The show, a police drama presented as a musical, was co-created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer...
- 2010: Winner – Original Music and Lyrics ("When I'm Gone") – Monk
- Annie AwardAnnie AwardThe Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
- 2007: Winner – Music in an Animated Feature Production – CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
- 2003: Nominee – Music in an Animated Feature Production – Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
- 2000: Winner – Music in an Animated Feature Production – Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
- 1997: Winner – Music in an Animated Feature Production – Cats Don't DanceCats Don't DanceCats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical comedy film, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment's feature animation unit . The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...
- 1996: Winner – Music in an Animated Feature Production – Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
- 2007: Winner – Music in an Animated Feature Production – Cars
- BAFTA Award
- 1983: Nominee – Original Song – "One More Hour" – RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
- 1983: Nominee – Original Song – "One More Hour" – Ragtime
- Chicago Film Critics Association Award
- 1999: Nominee – Original Score – A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
- 1996: Winner – Original Score – Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
- 1999: Nominee – Original Score – A Bug's Life
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association AwardLos Angeles Film Critics AssociationThe Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
- 1981: Winner – Music – RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
- 1981: Winner – Music – Ragtime
- Online Film Critics Society AwardOnline Film Critics SocietyThe Online Film Critics Society is a professional association for film critics who publish their reviews, interviews, and essays on the Internet.The OFCS was founded in 1997...
- 1999: Winner – Original Score – PleasantvillePleasantville (film)Pleasantville is a 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Marley Shelton and Jeff Daniels. Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Jane Kaczmarek, and J. T. Walsh are also featured.The film...
- 1999: Winner – Original Score – Pleasantville
External links
- RandyNewman.com
- Randy Newman: American Dreams, Kevin Courrier (2005) ISBN 1-55022-690-8
- Interview with Randy Newman on the Art of Songwriting
- Randy Newman in NPR's All Songs Considered
- Randy Newman at Movieguide
- Randy Newman at NNDB