Randy Newman
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| - | '''Randall Stuart “Randy” Newman''' (born [[November 28]][[1943]]) is an [[Academy Award]]–winning [[United States|American]] [[songwriter]], [[arrangement|arranger]], [[composer]], singer and [[pianist]] who is notable for his [[wiktionary:mordant|mordant]] (and often [[satire|satirical]]) [[pop song]]s and for his many [[film scores]]. | + | '''Randall Stuart Newman''' (born November 28, 1943) is an [[American singer-songwriter]], arranger, composer, and pianist known for his [[Southern American English|Southern-accented]] singing style, early [[Americana (music)|Americana]]-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and various [[film score]]s. dfHis best-known songs as a recording artist are "[[Short People]]" (1977), "[[I Love L.A.]]" (1983), and "[[You've Got a Friend in Me]]" (1995), while other artists have enjoyed more success with [[cover version]]s of his "[[Mama Told Me Not to Come]]" (1966), "[[I Think It's Going to Rain Today]]" (1968) and "[[You Can Leave Your Hat On]]" (1972). |
| - | Newman is noted for his practice of writing lyrics from the perspective of a “character” far removed from Newman’s own biography, often using the literary device of an [[unreliable narrator]]. For example, the 1972 song "[[Sail Away (Randy Newman song)|Sail Away]]" is written as a slave trader’s sales pitch to attract slaves, while the narrator of "[[Political Science (Randy Newman song)|Political Science]]" is a U.S. nationalist who complains of worldwide ingratitude toward America and proposes a brutally ironic final solution (“Let’s drop the big one”). | + | Born in Los Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers, Newman began his songwriting career at the age of 17, penning hits for acts such as [[the Fleetwoods]], [[Cilla Black]], [[Gene Pitney]], and [[the Alan Price Set]]. In 1968, he made his formal debut as a solo artist with the album ''[[Randy Newman (album)|Randy Newman]]'', produced by [[Lenny Waronker]] and [[Van Dyke Parks]]. Four of Newman's non-soundtrack albums have charted in the US top 40: ''[[Sail Away (Randy Newman album)|Sail Away]]'' (1972), ''[[Good Old Boys (Randy Newman album)|Good Old Boys]]'' (1974), ''[[Little Criminals]]'' (1977), and ''[[Harps and Angels]]'' (2008). |
| - | Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. His [[film score]]s include ''[[Ragtime (film)|Ragtime]]'', ''[[The Natural (film)|The Natural]]'', ''[[Toy Story]]'', ''[[Meet the Parents]]'' and ''[[Seabiscuit (film)|Seabiscuit]]''. He also scored four other [[Pixar]] films: ''[[A Bug's Life]]'', ''[[Toy Story 2]]'', ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'', and ''[[Cars (film)|Cars]]''. | + | Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. He has scored nine [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]-[[Pixar]] animated films, including all four ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' films (1995–2019), ''[[A Bug's Life]]'' (1998), both ''[[Monsters, Inc. (franchise)|Monsters, Inc.]]'' films (2001–2013), and the first and third ''[[Cars (franchise)|Cars]]'' films (2006, 2017), as well as Disney's ''[[James and the Giant Peach (film)|James and the Giant Peach]]'' (1996) and ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' (2009). His other film scores include ''[[Ragtime (film)|Ragtime]]'' (1981), ''[[The Natural (film)|The Natural]]'' (1984), ''[[Awakenings]]'' (1990), ''[[Pleasantville (film)|''Pleasantville'']]'' (1998), ''[[Meet the Parents]]'' (2000), ''[[Seabiscuit (film)|Seabiscuit]]'' (2003), and ''[[Marriage Story]]'' (2019). |
| + | Newman has received twenty-two [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations in the [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] categories and has won twice in the latter category, contributing to the Newmans being the [[List of Academy Award-winning families#Extended family|most nominated Academy Award extended family]], with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories. He has also won three [[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy]]s, seven [[Grammy Award]]s and the Governor's Award from the [[Recording Academy]]. | ||
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Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and various film scores. dfHis best-known songs as a recording artist are "Short People" (1977), "I Love L.A." (1983), and "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995), while other artists have enjoyed more success with cover versions of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1966), "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (1968) and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1972).
Born in Los Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers, Newman began his songwriting career at the age of 17, penning hits for acts such as the Fleetwoods, Cilla Black, Gene Pitney, and the Alan Price Set. In 1968, he made his formal debut as a solo artist with the album Randy Newman, produced by Lenny Waronker and Van Dyke Parks. Four of Newman's non-soundtrack albums have charted in the US top 40: Sail Away (1972), Good Old Boys (1974), Little Criminals (1977), and Harps and Angels (2008).
Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. He has scored nine Disney-Pixar animated films, including all four Toy Story films (1995–2019), A Bug's Life (1998), both Monsters, Inc. films (2001–2013), and the first and third Cars films (2006, 2017), as well as Disney's James and the Giant Peach (1996) and The Princess and the Frog (2009). His other film scores include Ragtime (1981), The Natural (1984), Awakenings (1990), Pleasantville (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Seabiscuit (2003), and Marriage Story (2019).
Newman has received twenty-two Academy Award nominations in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories and has won twice in the latter category, contributing to the Newmans being the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories. He has also won three Emmys, seven Grammy Awards and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy.
