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Randy Newman

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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.

Tagged as:

singer-songwriter, piano, soundtrack, pop, rock
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Top Albums

Sail Away
Randy Newman
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The Best of Randy Newman
Randy Newman
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Little Criminals
Randy Newman
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Bad Love
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Top Tracks

1	You've Got A Friend In Me full track	614
2	Sail Away	246
3	Short People	209
4	Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)	151
5	Political Science	149
6	I Love L.A.	139
7	Strange Things	118
8	Louisiana 1927	108
9	You Can Leave Your Hat On	104
10	Rednecks	100
11	Lonely at the Top	99
12	Marie	83
13	I'll Be Home	80
14	If I Didn't Have You	78
15	Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear	71

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Cacophonaut wrote:
19 days ago

"Bigots, perverts, slaveship captains, ELO fans." lol

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wastedish wrote:
22 days ago

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:
last month

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:
September 2009

Agreed. A beautiful song.

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t_3000 wrote:
September 2009

why is baltimore not in the top 15. how distressing.

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Candlewhack wrote:
September 2009

His stuff from the 70's is underrated, compared to how amazing it is.

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djboe11 wrote:
September 2009

The Story of a Rock and Roll Band from Born Again is the song in question.

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Crustclock wrote:
September 2009

Haha. Who added 'ELO fans' to the bio? Or did he actually write a song about them?

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santelia wrote:
August 2009

Hello! Join to this group http://www.lastfm.es/group/Toy+Story

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berrichino wrote:
August 2009

Oh Randy! /swoon

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I_Ashley_I wrote:
July 2009

love his stuff :) :) :) :) :)

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Echoes917 wrote:
July 2009

I wish I could find my damned Good Old Boys album...grrrrr.

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Thorpe wrote:
July 2009

Pleasantville score FTW.

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mydiversemusic wrote:
July 2009

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:
June 2009

"The Scare Floor" <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

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PhamilyJules wrote:
May 2009

This guy knows how to write a song.

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wjp4107 wrote:
May 2009

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:
April 2009

Randy is the greatest

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lihei wrote:
March 2009

Just don't see it in this guy?? Utter crap!

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HeleddtheSea wrote:
March 2009

beautiful

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Apr 27 Randy Newman Kulttuuritalo, Helsinki, Finland
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Apr 30 Randy Newman Peer Gynt salen, Bergen, Norway
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May 3 Randy Newman Passionskirche, Berlin, Germany
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