While driving home from the Twin Cities I heard a song I hadn’t heard in a long time, “Wichita Lineman.” Even though I never quite knew what the song was about when I was young, I liked the way it sounded. Glen Campbell’s recording has a haunting feel that transcends its simple story. Afterward the radio announcer mentioned that the song was written by Jimmy Webb.
Most folks don’t realize how many memorable tunes Jimmy Webb wrote that have been part of our generation. His lyrics have been recorded by a litany of superstars from Diana Ross and the Supremes to the Fifth Dimension, Joe Cocker, Johnny Rivers, and Donna Summer. Speaking of Summer, how many of you knew that the San Francisco summer of love hit “MacArthur Park” was written by Jimmy Webb?
Art Garfunkel in his Up Til Now liner notes gives gracious credit to Jimmy Webb for some of the songs he recorded and shared here, including the tender “All I Know” as well as “Skywriter.” And it was Webb who penned nearly all the songs on Art Garfunkel’s Christmas album with Amy…
