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Randy Newman
1,646,893 plays (143,290 listeners)
Listening now: chrisrowe
Biography:
Randy Newman writes mordant, ironic, concise songs with chromatic twists worthy of George Gershwin and Kurt Weill. He sings in a deep drawl and accompanies himself on piano (Fats Domino was an early hero) and often tours alone. Newman tends to write lyrics about characters usually bordering on the pathological: bigots, perverts, slaveship captains, ELO fans. While this practice tends to limit his pop appeal, a few of his songs have been widely covered, and he has a solid cult following. He has had one major hit single - “Short People” (#2, 1978) - and recorded other popular songs, including “The Blues” (#54, 1983) and “I Love L.A.” Since the ’80s he has also established himself as a leading composer of movie soundtracks, collecting 13 Oscar nominations for his efforts.
Newman grew up in a musical family with Hollywood connections; his uncles Alfred and Lionel both scored numerous films. By age 17, Randy was staff writer for a California music publisher. One semester short of a B.A. in music from UCLA, he dropped out of school. Lenny Waronker, son of Liberty Records’ president, was a close friend and, later, as a staff producer for Warner Bros., helped get Newman signed to the label.
Newman’s early songs were recorded by a number of performers.
Randy Newman writes mordant, ironic, concise songs with chromatic twists worthy of George Gershwin and Kurt Weill. He sings in a deep drawl and accompanies himself on piano (Fats Domino was an early hero) and often tours alone. Newman tends to write lyrics about characters usually bordering on the pathological: bigots, perverts, slaveship captains, ELO fans. While this practice tends to limit his pop appeal, a few of his songs have been widely covered, and he has a solid cult following. He has had one major hit single - “Short People” (#2, 1978) - and recorded other popular songs, including “The Blues” (#54, 1983) and “I Love L.A.” Since the ’80s he has also established himself as a leading composer of movie soundtracks, collecting 13 Oscar nominations for his efforts.
Newman grew up in a musical family with Hollywood connections; his uncles Alfred and Lionel both scored numerous films. By age 17, Randy was staff writer for a California music publisher. One semester short of a B.A. in music from UCLA, he dropped out of school. Lenny Waronker, son of Liberty Records’ president, was a close friend and, later, as a staff producer for Warner Bros., helped get Newman signed to the label.
Newman’s early songs were recorded by a number of performers.
Top Albums
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Sail Away
Randy NewmanBuy- Download Album
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The Best of Randy Newman
Randy NewmanBuy- Download Album
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Little Criminals
Randy Newman
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Bad Love
Randy NewmanBuy- Download Album
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Shoutbox
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Cacophonaut wrote:
"Bigots, perverts, slaveship captains, ELO fans." lol
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wastedish wrote:
Arik Einstein - "A Randy Newman Song" - "Dayton, Ohio1903" Cover Rare Randy Newman Cover in Hebrew - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Hm-2OX5p0
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lizwenholdt wrote:
I started a new group for fans of Randy Newman and other pianist/songwriters. Check it out and please join! Thanks, Lizzie: http://www.last.fm/group/Pianist-Singer-Songwriters
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Crustclock wrote:
Agreed. A beautiful song.
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t_3000 wrote:
why is baltimore not in the top 15. how distressing.
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Candlewhack wrote:
His stuff from the 70's is underrated, compared to how amazing it is.
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djboe11 wrote:
The Story of a Rock and Roll Band from Born Again is the song in question.
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Crustclock wrote:
Haha. Who added 'ELO fans' to the bio? Or did he actually write a song about them?
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santelia wrote:
Hello! Join to this group http://www.lastfm.es/group/Toy+Story
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berrichino wrote:
Oh Randy! /swoon
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I_Ashley_I wrote:
love his stuff :) :) :) :) :)
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Echoes917 wrote:
I wish I could find my damned Good Old Boys album...grrrrr.
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Thorpe wrote:
Pleasantville score FTW.
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mydiversemusic wrote:
Too bad Randy is hanging on to his songs so freak'n tight. If I could hear a few songs maybe I would buy some others.
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David_CZ wrote:
"The Scare Floor" <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
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PhamilyJules wrote:
This guy knows how to write a song.
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wjp4107 wrote:
Good day... Please check out the Movie Score Addicts... group. We would be very glad to have you as a member too. Thanks...
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Megantron wrote:
Randy is the greatest
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lihei wrote:
Just don't see it in this guy?? Utter crap!
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HeleddtheSea wrote:
beautiful
Videos
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Events
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Apr
30
Randy Newman
Peer Gynt salen, Bergen, Norway
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| 1 attendee
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May
3
Randy Newman
Passionskirche, Berlin, Germany
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| 4 attendees
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May
6
Randy Newman
Cultuurcentrum De Spil (Schouwburg), Roeselare, Belgium
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| 1 attendee
News
Song Licensing
13 Aug 2009 | from www.randynewman.com
Songfile is the place to go if you want to license music written by Randy.
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"Laugh and Be Happy" Video at Nonesuch
9 Aug 2008 | from www.randynewman.com -
A Few Words about "A Few Words"
9 Aug 2008 | from www.randynewman.com -
"Potholes" Video at Nonesuch
9 Aug 2008 | from www.randynewman.com
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Recent Activity
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DjEcletico, kirkpearson, joelstevens and 20 other people added Randy Newman to their libraries. 19 minutes ago
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knithappens added Randy Newman to the lineup of Randy Newman at Royal Concert Hall. Sunday evening
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Ralven, sminsoc, lostfanboy16 and 36 other people added Randy Newman to their libraries. Sunday evening
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pvdr added Randy Newman to the lineup of Randy Newman at Cultuurcentrum De Spil (Schouwburg). last week
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okiejoann, kaikendall, JellyWhip and 2 other people added Randy Newman to their libraries. last week
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Lotteh added Randy Newman to the lineup of Randy Newman at Concertgebouw. last week
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keef_usa, jdtphotos, pikolo1954 and 11 other people added Randy Newman to their libraries. last week
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RocknRollGirl93 tagged Randy Newman with rock, pop and singer-songwriter. 12 days ago
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brianchaffey and TheJarvis91 added Randy Newman to their libraries. 12 days ago
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sk_no55 added Randy Newman to the lineup of Randy Newman at Passionskirche. 13 days ago
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