Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting

Jimmy Webb has given the American songbook more hits, in more styles, than any other songwriter of his generation. He is also the only artist to ever receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. The wunderkind of pop music, Webb became the hottest songwriter around when, starting at age twenty-one, he wrote a string of hits recorded by Glen Campbell ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Galveston"), The 5th Dimension ("Up, Up and Away"), and Richard Harris ("MacArthur Park"). The list of artists who have performed or recorded his songs over the years is a spectacular and varied one: Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Bob Dylan, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Roberta Flack, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Liza Minelli, and R.E.M. In addition to his prolific work with individuals, Webb has also made lasting musical contributions to the worlds of motion pictures, television, and theater. Now, Jimmy Webb uses the grace and eloquence that have characterized his lyrics to write Tunesmith, the ultimate book for aspiring songwriters -- the first ever with such an insider's knowledge and experience. With a combination of anecdotes, meditations, humor, and advice, Webb breaks down the entire process of creating a song from beginning to end, including coping with writer's block, song construction, rhyme schemes, chord progression, and the art of collaboration. He then goes beyond the techniques of song crafting and the realms of creativity to shed light on the machinations of marketing yourself, selling a song, and coping with big business, be it in Hollywood, Nashville, or on Broadway. Webb also provides a glimpse into the inner circle of the professional music world. From the legendary American songwriter Time magazine called “our best revealer of the blind spots of the heart", Tunesmith is the new bible of songwriting.