Veteran songwriter Jimmy Webb on tour; memoir The Cake and the Rain

Veteran American songwriter Jimmy Webb’s Australian tour is bound to be peppered with anecdotes from his new memoir.

Jimmy Webb’s memoir The Cake and the Rain is a nod to one of his most famous songs.

SPIN DOCTOR: Veteran American songwriter Jimmy Webb is on his way here for a series of solo shows starting at Brisbane’s Powerhouse on June 24.

His visit coincides with the publication of his memoir, appropriately titled The Cake and the Rain, a nod to one of his most famous compositions, MacArthur Park. This first instalment of the 70-year-old’s life story takes us from his childhood in Oklahoma to the bright lights of Los Angeles in 1970, by which time Webb had already established himself as a young-gun songsmith, writing hits such as By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Up, Up and Away, Witchita Lineman and, of course, MacArthur Park, which became a huge international hit for actor Richard Harris in 1968. The Cake and the Rain takes us behind the scenes of Webb’s glamorous lifestyle in the 1960s, including hanging backstage with some of the artists who covered his material, such as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. We can expect some of those stories, or at least the tales behind the songs, during his Australian tour. One curious item at the back of the book is a three-page list, or partial list as it points out, of artists who have covered MacArthur Park, around 150 of them, including the Four Tops, Donna Summer, Waylon Jennings and the wonderfully monikered Majestic Wind Ensemble. There’s also a listing for the Beatles, just between Shirley Bassey and Tony Bennett, which seems a little odd, given the Fabs never recorded the song, although their producer George Martin once told Webb that they let Hey Jude run to more than seven minutes because of MacArthur Park’s similar length. Perhaps someone is having a bit of fun.

While we’re on books, a few other new ones lobbed on the SD desk this week, including a couple from Britain that look worthy of investigation. The first is revered English music journalist David Hepworth’s Uncommon People, an exploration of the myths as well as the realities behind rock stardom, a 20th-century phenomenon that Hepworth suggests has passed. Among his 40 or so topics are pivotal moments in the careers of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Buddy Holly. Also, Rock & Pop on British TV is just that, a trip from the 50s through to the present day by English journalist Jeff Evans, taking in shows such as Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test, both of which were essential stepping stones for budding pop and rock stars back in the day. Last but certainly not least is Australian singer Tex Perkins’ upcoming autobiography, Tex, written with journalist, author and broadcaster Stuart Coupe, which is published on July 25. It’s a warts-and-all tale of the singer’s tenure in bands such as the Cruel Sea, the Beasts of Bourbon and the Ladyboyz. As if that wasn’t going to keep him busy, the singer’s ongoing project with Don Walker and Charlie Owen (Tex, Don and Charlie) has a new album, You Don’t Know Lonely, released on June 30, to be followed by a national tour running through August and September.

Coupe and another Aussie journo, Donald Robertson, were the founders of influential Adelaide rock magazine Roadrunner in 1978. A digital archive of the magazine has just been published by the University of Wollongong, which you can have a look at, for free, here:

ro.uow.edu.au/roadrunner/