New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "America's Songwriter" Jimmy Webb will be honored with a special tribute show at Carnegie Hall on May 3rd. Presented by City Winery, the event will celebrate Webb's singular legacy and his timeless hit songs, including "Wichita Lineman," "MacArthur Park," "Galveston," "Didn't We," and "All I Know."
A Celebration of the
Music of Jimmy Webb: The Cake and the Rain features a stellar initial lineup of artists, many of whom have personal ties to the songwriter: Ashley Campbell (daughter of Glen Campbell), Art Garfunkel, Amy Grant, Toby Keith, Judy Collins, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. of the Fifth Dimension, Johnny Rivers and
Dwight Yoakam are all confirmed to perform with more artists to be announced soon. Webb himself will be performing at the event, as well. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association and the I'll Be Me Foundation in honor of Jimmy's dear friend Glen Campbell.
The tribute event coincides with two milestones: Jimmy's new memoir,The Cake and The Rain, set for publication on April 18 through St. Martin's Press, and the upcoming 50th Anniversary of "Wichita Lineman". The Cake and the Rain is written as powerfully as his lyrics and provides a snapshot of Webb's unlikely rise in the 60s, whipsawed from the proverbial humble beginnings into a moneyed and manic international world of beautiful women, drugs, cars and planes.
Jimmy Webb's songs have topped the charts in multiple genres with a stunning array of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell,
Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Barbra Streisand, The Supremes, Donna Summer, Richard Harris, Nina Simone, and many more. His numerous accolades include the prestigious Ivor Novello International Award (2012) and the Academy of Country Music's Poet Award (2016). He received his first gold record at the age of 18 and was the youngest inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His diverse songwriting style was especially apparent in 2016 when he premiered his classical piece "Nocturne for Lefty" and had his music featured prominently on Kanye West's Grammy-nominated "
Famous". From the first crossover country pop hit with
Glenn Campbell, to a number one disco hit with Donna Summer, to a Grammy-nominated rap song, Webb remains the only writer to receive Grammys across writing, music, and orchestration.
Webb's first book, Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting, is considered a "bible" among professional musicians and college students. He has time and again paved the way for songwriters in the ever-changing media landscape, and spearheaded an ongoing effort to preserve the rights of songwriters as the former Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and long-time Board Member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
Webb has released ten solo albums since the 1970s, while continuing to write for other artists. 2010's 'Just Across the River' features duets on some of his biggest songs with friends Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson,
Linda Ronstadt, JD Souther, and
Glen Campbell plus Lucinda Williams,
Michael McDonald and Mark Knopfler. A follow up featuring Brian Wilson, Art Garfunkel,
David Crosby, Graham Nash, Lyle Lovett, Carly Simon, Keith Urban, and more was released in Fall 2013.
A Celebration of the
Music of Jimmy Webb: The Cake and the Rain, will be presented by City Winery, whose founder by Michael Dorf, is known for his annual "Music Of" tribute series at Carnegie Hall, which has successfully raised over $1.3 million for music education programs in New York City. In the past, the "Music Of" series has honored
David Byrne, Paul Simon, Prince, Neil Young, and many others with legendary lineups that have included Ed Sheeran, D'Angelo, The Roots, and Elvis Costello. Dorf is uniquely suited to create the impressive and eclectic rosters he assembles each year as a founder of two seminal NYC music venues: the Knitting Factory, which he started in 1987 and sold in 2002, and City Winery, the venue he founded in 2008 in NYC, that now has locations in Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta and Boston. For nearly thirty years, Dorf has programmed for stages across the globe.
