Bob's new book coming Oct. 22, 2024
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Hachette's Announcement of the BookRandy Newman is widely hailed as one of America’s all-time greatest songwriters, equally skilled in the sophisticated melodies and lyrics of the Gershwin-Porter era and the cultural commentary of his own generation, with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon among his most ardent admirers.
While tens of millions around the world can hum “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” his disarming centerpiece for Toy Story, most listeners would be astonished to learn that the heart of Newman’s legacy is in the dozens of brilliant songs that detail the injustices, from racism to class inequality, that have contributed to the division of our nation. Rolling Stone declared that a single Newman song, “Sail Away,” tells us more about America than “The Star-Spangled Banner.” And yet, Randy’s legacy remains largely undocumented in book form—until now. In A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY, veteran music journalist Robert Hilburn presents the definitive portrait of an American legend. Hilburn has known Newman since his club debut at the Troubadour in 1970, and the two have maintained a connection in the decades since, conversing over the course of times good and bad. Though Newman has long refused to talk with potential biographers, he now gives Hilburn unprecedented access not only to himself but also to his archives, as well as his family, friends, and collaborators. Dylan, Simon, John Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley and Chuck D, among others, wrote mini-testimonials about Newman for the book. In addition to exploring Newman’s prolific career and the evolution of his songwriting, A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY also dives into his childhood and early influences, his musical family that ruled Hollywood movie scores for decades, the relationships that have provided inspiration for his songs, and so much more. As thought-provoking and thorough as it is tender, this book is an overdue tribute to the legendary songwriter whose music has long reflected and challenged the America we know today. |
Early Praise:"Robert Hilburn presents Randy Newman front and center as an American classic, a political lightning bolt and one of the finest songwriters of his generation. Like all of Hilburn's biographies it is addictive and utterly definitive, an intoxicating blend of scrupulously researched detail and unearthed treasures."
- Bernie Taupin 
Photo: Steve Starr / Corbis / Getty Images
"Apart from his many other astonishing gifts, I believe newman to be the finest American satirist in any medium in my lifetime."
- Garry Trudeau, "Doonesbury" "Words in Defense of Our Country is a strong and invaluable book. The title is perfect and expands and deepens as the story goes on, and Randy's commitment to artistic citizenship, and Robert Hilburn's pursuit of the theeme, give the book great weight. The arguments powering Newman's work is that defending your country means criticizing it, living in it as it really is, demanding that the country live up to its promises while acknowledging its betrayals."
- Greil Marcus, Author of Mystery Train "Randy Newman is our great master of American song and storytelling."
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Bob's Blurbs on Randy Newman
Behind Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."
Randy's "I Love L.A." grew out of a conversation with Don Henley, a friend who would later induct Randy into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. While talking about all the cities with pop theme songs, the Eagles co-founder suggested that Randy would be the perfect person to write a theme for the City of Angels. Randy didn't think much of the idea. He wasn't a fan of the swagger and braggadocio of city salutes, especially the Sinatra hit "New York, New York." "You can't write a sort of worshipful song about an American city today," he told me. "If asked to write a song about, say, Sacramento, I could do it, but I'd have to lie."
Eventually, however, the idea of a Los Angeles theme song intrigued him - at least a theme with the usual Newman twist. The song's narrator falls so completely for the feel-good imagery of his city (the miles of beach, the near constant sunshine, and the seemingly endless parade of pretty women) that he is oblivious to the city's problems; he sees a bum on his knees as party of the city's charm. Newman's point about homelessness and poverty in paradise was slipped into the cheerful sing-along with such subtlety-just twelve words-that it's easy to miss, but it is a memorable slice of Newman satire.
Discussing the 1983 song in an interview for my biography of him (A Few words in Defense of Our Country), Newman spoke fondly of his home town, but he meant the lyrics to be pointed. "The guy in the song is sort of aggressively ignorant," he said. "He thinks the great thing about the city is rolling down Imperial Highway in a convertible with his redhead at his side. To him, everything is so great that he doesn't really see things at all. he doesn't distinguish between 'that mountain...those trees...that bum down on his knees.' The truth is, Imperial Highway is kind of a shitty street. In fact, all the streets in the song are kind of shitty, undistinguished. There's nothing taller on Imperial Highway than I am."
Henley applauded the song. "Like a lot of Randy's songs, 'I Love L.A.' has been widely misunderstood." he told me. It has that quality, that contradictory element. It's a send-up; it's a take-down. It's a satirical song - good-natured mocking disguised as a song of praise and delivered with tongue-firmly-in-cheek. It's a reflection of the classis "love-hate" relationship that so many of us have with our home cities, and by extension, America itself.
The video of "I Love L.A." picked up lots of MTV airplay, but the song's full impact wasn't felt until the following year when Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics. Nike bought the rights to some scenes for use in a high-profile ad whose visibility made "I Love L.A." known around the world and so popular in Los Angeles that the song was celebrated as an unofficial city anthem. decades later, it would still be played at virtually every professional sporting event in Los Angeles, including Dodgers, Lakers and Rams.
Eventually, however, the idea of a Los Angeles theme song intrigued him - at least a theme with the usual Newman twist. The song's narrator falls so completely for the feel-good imagery of his city (the miles of beach, the near constant sunshine, and the seemingly endless parade of pretty women) that he is oblivious to the city's problems; he sees a bum on his knees as party of the city's charm. Newman's point about homelessness and poverty in paradise was slipped into the cheerful sing-along with such subtlety-just twelve words-that it's easy to miss, but it is a memorable slice of Newman satire.
Discussing the 1983 song in an interview for my biography of him (A Few words in Defense of Our Country), Newman spoke fondly of his home town, but he meant the lyrics to be pointed. "The guy in the song is sort of aggressively ignorant," he said. "He thinks the great thing about the city is rolling down Imperial Highway in a convertible with his redhead at his side. To him, everything is so great that he doesn't really see things at all. he doesn't distinguish between 'that mountain...those trees...that bum down on his knees.' The truth is, Imperial Highway is kind of a shitty street. In fact, all the streets in the song are kind of shitty, undistinguished. There's nothing taller on Imperial Highway than I am."
Henley applauded the song. "Like a lot of Randy's songs, 'I Love L.A.' has been widely misunderstood." he told me. It has that quality, that contradictory element. It's a send-up; it's a take-down. It's a satirical song - good-natured mocking disguised as a song of praise and delivered with tongue-firmly-in-cheek. It's a reflection of the classis "love-hate" relationship that so many of us have with our home cities, and by extension, America itself.
The video of "I Love L.A." picked up lots of MTV airplay, but the song's full impact wasn't felt until the following year when Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics. Nike bought the rights to some scenes for use in a high-profile ad whose visibility made "I Love L.A." known around the world and so popular in Los Angeles that the song was celebrated as an unofficial city anthem. decades later, it would still be played at virtually every professional sporting event in Los Angeles, including Dodgers, Lakers and Rams.
What Most Pop Fans Will Be Surprised To Learn From The Book About Randy Newman
Millions around the world can hum "You've Got a Friend in Me," Newman's disarming composition for Toy Story, but most would be amazed to know that the heart of his legacy is in the dozes of brilliant songs detailing the injustices, from racism to economic disparity, that have contributed to the United States being as divided as any time since the Civil Warm. No major pop figure of his generation has written about America's socio-political shortcomings more purposefully or consistently as Newman. Rolling Stone has declared that a single Newman song, "Sail Away," tells us more about America than "The Star-Spangled Banner."
When the national debate over fundamental human values led more that two thousand extremists to storm the U.S. Capitol in 2021 after President Donald Trump's failed re-election bid, horrified Americans asked themselves how their country could have gotten to this point. Much can be learned from what Newman's most insightful songs had been warning us about for fifty rears.
"I've always gone against the two things that sell 90 per cent of the records in America," he says. "It's kinda like I came across a fork in the highway and took another road-away from how the medium has been used for a thousand years. I don't write love songs and I don't write in the first person. It's not what interests me. The songs are about things that need to be noticed, places like ghettos and slums that should shame everyone. It hurts to see people living like that in this rich country, where the fact that one zip code entitles you to better medical care and the wrong one can be a death sentence."
Randy was 28 in 1972 when he wrote "Rednecks," a song whose language was so fiercely defiant it still stands as one of the most explosive slices of social commentary ever released by a major record label in America.
Ever since, Newman has written about what he sees in America's shortcomings with such storytelling richness and sharply drawn vignettes that he seemed to be a novelist living in a musician's body; music critics and cultural commentators frequently refer to novelists when describing Newman's approach, and it's significant that they reach as high as Mark Twain and William Faulkner to convey his originality and depth.
Newman's focus goes beyond race. In a dozen studio albums, he has also examined a wide range of social ills, including sexism, economic injustice, homophobia, mistreatment of immigrants and other targets which helped stretch the boundaries of pop.
Inducting Newman into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Don Henley declared, "Employing lyrics that are eloquent in their simplicity and set in a wide-ranging musical landscape, Randy has chronicled both the hypocritical and the honorable traits of our culture, often with dark and biting humor, but always with compassion and empathy for the human condition."
When the national debate over fundamental human values led more that two thousand extremists to storm the U.S. Capitol in 2021 after President Donald Trump's failed re-election bid, horrified Americans asked themselves how their country could have gotten to this point. Much can be learned from what Newman's most insightful songs had been warning us about for fifty rears.
"I've always gone against the two things that sell 90 per cent of the records in America," he says. "It's kinda like I came across a fork in the highway and took another road-away from how the medium has been used for a thousand years. I don't write love songs and I don't write in the first person. It's not what interests me. The songs are about things that need to be noticed, places like ghettos and slums that should shame everyone. It hurts to see people living like that in this rich country, where the fact that one zip code entitles you to better medical care and the wrong one can be a death sentence."
Randy was 28 in 1972 when he wrote "Rednecks," a song whose language was so fiercely defiant it still stands as one of the most explosive slices of social commentary ever released by a major record label in America.
Ever since, Newman has written about what he sees in America's shortcomings with such storytelling richness and sharply drawn vignettes that he seemed to be a novelist living in a musician's body; music critics and cultural commentators frequently refer to novelists when describing Newman's approach, and it's significant that they reach as high as Mark Twain and William Faulkner to convey his originality and depth.
Newman's focus goes beyond race. In a dozen studio albums, he has also examined a wide range of social ills, including sexism, economic injustice, homophobia, mistreatment of immigrants and other targets which helped stretch the boundaries of pop.
Inducting Newman into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Don Henley declared, "Employing lyrics that are eloquent in their simplicity and set in a wide-ranging musical landscape, Randy has chronicled both the hypocritical and the honorable traits of our culture, often with dark and biting humor, but always with compassion and empathy for the human condition."
Why Randy Newman?
Randy Newman has long been high on my short list of great American songwriters ever, but the main reason I wanted to write his biography is the uniqueness of his music. No one has written more purposefully and consistently about the socio-political problems dividing the nation than Newman.
He may be best known for "You've Got a Friend in Me," his disarming composition for Toy Story, or the cheerful lilt of "I Love L.A.," but the heart of his legacy is in the dozens of brilliant compositions detailing the injustices, from racism to economic disparity, that have contributed to the United States being as divided as any time since the Civil War.
"The songs are about things that need to be noticed, places like ghettos and slums that should shame everyone," he told me. "it hurts to see people living like that in this rich country, where the fact that one zip code entitles you to a better medical care and the wrong one can be a death sentence."
But racism isn't Newman's only target. He has written with equal insight and passion about a score of other issues, from sexism to homophobia in immigration hostility and flat-out human cruelty - and his writing style is as unique in pop as his subject matter.
Rather than the first-person pronouncements that have long been the blue-print of protest music, Newman uses a device he had seen in literature, the unreliable narrator. He assumes the role of a character to express the harmful views of that person, feeling the absurdity of the words is the best way to combat the viewpoint.
In addition to his art, Randy’s personal story is also fascinating. After being intimidated for years about following his famous uncles, Alfred and Lionel Newman, into film music (as was expected of him), he turned to pop music, where he built enough confidence to finally, at the age of 40, step up to the challenge. He was so successful in films, from his score to The Natural and his many contributions to the Toy Story series, that he has received twenty-two Oscar nominations and two Oscars. It is a resume that places him, arguably, as the greatest musical Newman of all.
He may be best known for "You've Got a Friend in Me," his disarming composition for Toy Story, or the cheerful lilt of "I Love L.A.," but the heart of his legacy is in the dozens of brilliant compositions detailing the injustices, from racism to economic disparity, that have contributed to the United States being as divided as any time since the Civil War.
"The songs are about things that need to be noticed, places like ghettos and slums that should shame everyone," he told me. "it hurts to see people living like that in this rich country, where the fact that one zip code entitles you to a better medical care and the wrong one can be a death sentence."
But racism isn't Newman's only target. He has written with equal insight and passion about a score of other issues, from sexism to homophobia in immigration hostility and flat-out human cruelty - and his writing style is as unique in pop as his subject matter.
Rather than the first-person pronouncements that have long been the blue-print of protest music, Newman uses a device he had seen in literature, the unreliable narrator. He assumes the role of a character to express the harmful views of that person, feeling the absurdity of the words is the best way to combat the viewpoint.
In addition to his art, Randy’s personal story is also fascinating. After being intimidated for years about following his famous uncles, Alfred and Lionel Newman, into film music (as was expected of him), he turned to pop music, where he built enough confidence to finally, at the age of 40, step up to the challenge. He was so successful in films, from his score to The Natural and his many contributions to the Toy Story series, that he has received twenty-two Oscar nominations and two Oscars. It is a resume that places him, arguably, as the greatest musical Newman of all.
Bob will write more about the book in the coming weeks.
ROCK N ROLL TIMES WITH ROBERT HILBURN
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THE SOCAL SOUND
