Songwriting Royalty Comes to Edmonds: Randy Newman April 18

Enjoy an evening with award-winning singer-songwriter Randy Newman as he shares his humorous observations on life through music in support of his new album “The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2”, Monday April 18, 2011 at 7:30 pm at the Edmonds Center for the Arts. Tickets are available online or by phone 425-275-9595. Ticket prices are $50-$55.

Randy Newman has long been one of the most musically and lyrically ambitious singer-songwriters in the world of popular music. He was a working songwriter at the age of 17 and released his debut album at the age of 25. While his initial record sales were modest, his reputation among critics, fellow artists, and musicians was huge, and he enjoyed great success as a songwriter. Harry Nilsson popularized his work in the US with his still much-admired Nilsson Sings Newman, Three Dog Night had a pop hit with “Mama Told Me (Not To Come)”, and Joe Cocker scored with the hilariously lascivious “You Can Leave Your Hat On.” 

Newman’s own Top 40 success came with the most unlikely track, “Short People,” from 1977’s Little Criminals. Not everyone got the joke—in fact, the Maryland legislature tried to make it a crime to play “Short People” on the radio. Other pop hits were in a similarly tongue-in-cheek vein, such as “I Love L.A.” from 1983’s Trouble In Paradise.

Randy Newman to play in Edmonds

However, it is his foray into film composing that has garnered Randy the most attention of late. He has earned twenty Oscar nominations, winning in 2002 for Best Original Song from Monsters Inc and in 2011 for Best Original Song from Toy Story 3. Among his other notable scores are The Natural, Parenthood, Awakenings, Avalon and Pleasantville, as well as his impressive range of critically acclaimed, commercially blockbuster family films, including Toy Story 1 and 2. James and The Giant Peach, A Bug’s Life and Cars. Newman is also a five-time Grammy Award winner, and a recipient of the Recording Academy’s prestigious Governors’ Award. He has also garnered three Emmys, two of them for his contributions to the television show Monk. In 2010 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. May 2011 marks the release of The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2, which takes a fresh look at Randy’s classic and more recent work with new solo recordings of his celebrated songs.

Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA), is a non-profit performing arts facility located in picturesque downtown Edmonds, Washington. Located in the historic original Edmonds High School building, ECA was remodeled and opened in October 2006 to be a cultural resource for the Puget Sound region through performing arts presentations, community partnerships and education outreach programs.