• AOL
  • MAIL
    • You might also like: 
    • Music | 
    • Movies | 
    • TV | 
    • Celebrity
    •  and More
    • Main
    • News
    • Features
      • The Hit List
      • Spinner Interview
      • Potent Quotables
      • Guest Blogger
    • Songs
      • MP3 of the Day
      • Listening Party
      • What's That Song?
    • Videos
      • The Interface
      • Sessions
      • Video of the Day
    • Our Widgets
      • iPhone App
      • Radio Toolbar
    • Send Feedback

    Spinner Exclusives

    • The Interface - Live Performances
    • Listening Parties - New CDS for Free
    • Spinner Radio
    • Listening Parties - New CDS for Free

    Features

    • Bad Song, Good Band
    • Bands With Brothers
    • Banned Bands
    • Outrageous Tribute Bands
    • Sad Songs
    • Worst Lyrics Ever

    All Categories

    • Spinner Says(7)
    • All About Jazz(26)
    • Clash of the Cover Art(1)
    • Lyrics(4)
    • Music A-Z(24)
    • New Releases(53)
    • Quizzes & Trivia(2)
    • Album(110)
    • Around the World(147)
    • Book Club(57)
    • Canada(318)
    • Celebrity Doppelganger(13)
    • Clash of the Cover Songs(45)
    • Coming Out Stories(20)
    • Concerts and Tours(1664)
    • Count Five(63)
    • Country(45)
    • Electronic(274)
    • Exclusive(2432)
    • Free MP3 Download of the Day(898)
    • Grammy Awards(87)
    • Guest Blogger(61)
    • Holy Hell(644)
    • I Fought the Law(31)
    • I Freakin' Love This Song(238)
    • Jazz(16)
    • Laugh, Rage, Cry(6)
    • Movies(163)
    • Music Appreciation(50)
    • New Music(304)
    • News(4710)
    • Politics as Usual(19)
    • Pop Culture(40)
    • Potent Quotables(613)
    • R.I.P.(183)
    • Road Report(17)
    • Rock Almanac(366)
    • Rock Hall(29)
    • RPM(25)
    • Schwag Hag(37)
    • Songs(201)
    • Spinner Interview(110)
    • Television(94)
    • The Chum Bucket(606)
    • The Crap Stack(17)
    • The Hit List(1128)
    • Total Dick Move(2)
    • Twisted Tales(125)
    • UK(512)
    • Video(923)
    • Video of the Day(707)
    • Wacked News(190)
    • What's That Song?(79)

    Randy Newman Sells Himself 'Short'

    • Posted on Sep 12th 2008 5:00PM by James Sullivan
    • Comment (1)
    Print |  Email More
    If you had to pick a musical voice of America, you could do an awful lot worse than the orchestral-pop composer Randy Newman. While few were looking, this acquired taste quietly dug himself in as an American songwriter for the ages. His catalog of notable songs, and their extended reach into the movies, pop culture and the repertoires of other artists, practically qualifies him as a national treasure.

    For a guy who's only clambered into the pop Top 40 once in his long career, Newman's successes are many. 'Louisiana 1927,' which he recorded in 1974, was revived as a communal ode in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His saucy song 'You Can Leave Your Hat On,' covered by Joe Cocker, provided the most memorable scene in the softcore hit '9 1/2 Weeks.' Newman's 'Mama Told Me (Not to Come)' was the first of three No. 1s for the huge early-'70s rock act Three Dog Night. And as a film composer he has defined a certain brand of unabashed Americana, from the theme to 'The Natural' to signature Pixar songs such as 'You've Got a Friend in Me' (from 'Toy Story') and 'If I Didn't Have You' ('Monsters, Inc.').

    But despite his genuinely heartfelt film music, Newman is a satirist to the core. And as Jonathan Swift and Stephen Colbert would tell you, satire is a tough business. The satirist is bound to offend someone, somewhere. Invariably, it's someone who's missed the point completely. Newman's one true hit record marked him for life.

    Having already condemned slavery ('Sail Away'), war-mongering ('Political Science') and blind religious faith ('God's Song') -- in each case writing from the point of view of the guilty party -- for his 1977 album 'Little Criminals,' Newman recorded the most absurd example of stereotyping he could dream up. 'Short People,' backed in the studio by members of the Eagles, comically exposed the stupidity of hating someone for their genetics: "They got little baby legs, they stand so low/You got to pick 'em up just to say hello."

    The insidiously catchy song became a surprise smash for the cult-favorite singer, blocked from the No. 1 spot only by Debby Boone's 'You Light Up My Life.' At the height of the song's popularity, it was expelled from oversensitive radio playlists, and Newman received threats about it. The legislature in the state of Maryland considered a bill that would have banned all airplay for the song. (It didn't pass.)

    Twenty-five years later, when Newman re-recorded his greatest hits for 'The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol.1,' his biggest commercial payoff by far was nowhere to be found. It had been reduced, he lamented in one interview, to nothing more than "a novelty record, like the Chipmunks."

    He'll be hearing from the Chipmunks' lawyers shortly.
    • Filed under: Twisted Tales
    • Share & Bookmark :
      Print |  Email More

    Reader Comments(1 of 1)

    vote downvote upReportNeutral

    tomatah1at 9-12-2008

    I love Newman's stuff since I was a young girl. His humor and musicality really impacted me. Currently I'm a Producer Engineer in Mexico and everything that comes out of the studio has a little touch of Newman (and Nilsson.) Unfortunately the only Randy Newman song I've covered was a live recording from the 1960s Music Festival when I had double pneumonia and not exactly singing my best. Even with my croaks "Feels Like Home" has good ratings on YouTube. He'the one person in the world I've always wanted to meet. My Mom first heard and introduced me to "He Gives Us All His Love" in the film "Cold Turkey." I was hooked and over the years wore the grooves off every album he gifted his fans. Many years later my son and I saw Newman at the Paramount Theater in Austin. It was our first visit to the historical theater and my son's first live concert Both of us fell out of our chairs laughing when Newman previewed his "Faust." Brilliant. Later I was hired as House Manager for that amazingly beautiful theater in the Texas capital. Best "day job" I ever had!

    www.mexmosancarlos.com
    www.gatorlegs.com

    Reply

    Add your comments

    • New Users
    • Returning Users
    • AOL/AIM Screenname

    If you are posting a comment for the first time, please enter your name and email address in the fields above. Your name will be displayed with your comment. Your email address will never be displayed.

    Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Off-topic, promotional or otherwise inappropriateinappropriate comments will be removed.

    When you enter your name and email address for the first time, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, as well as a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

    Follow US

    Facebook
    Twitter
    RSS
    • Contact Us
    • Send News Tips
    • Advertise with Us

    Shop Now

    Listen to Full CDs

    • Hot Chip, 'One Life Stand'
    • Sade, 'Soldier of Love'Massive Attack, 'Heligoland'
    • Return of the Wu & Friends
    • Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
    • All Spinner Full CDs

    Relevant Posts

    • Randy Newman Leads Oscar Nominees for Best Song (7 days ago - 4 Comments)
    • Peter Gabriel Adds Second London 'Scratch My Back' Concert (34 days ago - 0 Comments)

    Billboard

    • 1: Break, Three Days Grace
    • 2: Uprising, Muse
    • 3: Your Decision, Alice In Chains
    • 4: If You Only Knew, Shinedown
    • 5: (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Weezer
    • See All Top 100 Rock Albums at

    Hottest Artists on Tour: Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift, Pink, Black Eyed Peas, Kid Cudi,

    Also on AOL

    Quick Links

    • Celebrity Tattoos
    • Celebrities Without Makeup
    • Slipknot Masks
    • Christmas Music
    • 50s Music
    • 60s Music
    • 90s Music
    • 70s Music
    • 80s Music
    • Best Songs Of 2008
    • Horrorcore
    • Michael Jackson Songs

    Also on AOL Music

    • Concert Tickets
    • Country Music
    • Grammys
    • Hip Hop Music
    • Lyrics
    • Metal Music
    • Music News
    • Music Videos
    • New Music Releases
    • Online Radio
    • PopEater

    Blogs on AOL

    • Autoblog
    • Be Red
    • BloggingStocks
    • Cinematical
    • DownloadSquad
    • Engadget
    • Fanhouse
    • Joystiq
    • StyleList
    • TMZ

    More on AOL

    • African-American Culture
    • AOL Video
    • Breaking News
    • CityGuide
    • Food
    • Love
    • Media Player
    • Musica Latina
    • Pixcetera
    • Singles
    • Wallet Pop

    More on AOL

    • Television
    • Movies
    • Money
    • Mapquest
    • Horoscopes
    • Health
    • AOL Latino
    • Games
    • SHOUTcast

    Help Links

    • Advertise With Us
    • Mail
    • Notify AOL
    • Privacy Policy
    • Search
    • Terms of Service
    • Trademarks
    • Follow Spinner on Twitter
    • The Interface
    • Free Mp3
    • Full CDs
    • RSS
    • Terms of Use

    Spinner.com © 2009 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.