Award-winning film composer, arranger, pianist with distinctive vocal style
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Randy Newman
Inductee
Inducted
Wrote "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
Randy Newman, a brilliant songwriter and satirist, is one of the most musically adept and stylistically diverse singer/songwriters in the industry. Born into a family of musicians, he is both a gif
Newman began writing professionally at an early age and by 17 was a staff writer working for publishing companies such as Metric Music and January Music. He had early success with "Just One Mile," "I Don't Want to Hear it Anymore," "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and "Simon Smith And His Dancing Bear." He is probably best known for his pop ablums which he began making for Warner Bros. In 1968 with Randy Newman, an impressive debut. Its 1970 follow-up 12 Songs was a collection of demos including Newman’s version of “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” a #1 hit for Three Dog Night in the 1990’s. His next album, Randy Newman was a September 1970 performance at New York's Bitter End and his first charting album.
His next release was 1972's Sail Away, considered by many to be one of his best works. In 1974, he released Good Old Boys, which was his first top-40 album; his next release, 1977's Little Criminals, entered the top ten and went gold. In 1979 he released Born Again. 1983’s “I Love LA” garnered much exposure along with a proclamation and key to the city of Los Angeles.
His growing involvement in film scoring in the late 80's made his pop albums more infrequent as Newman’s focus shifted. 1988’s Land of Dreams, notable for being his first “autobiographical” project, came five years after its predecessor. In 1995, Newman released a “musical adaptation” of Goethe’s Faust featuring a variety of well-known artists including James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt and Elton John.
Randy Newman has won countless awards in addition to his 2002 Oscar. He’s received three Grammy Awards, an Emmy for the song “He’s Guilty” from Cop Rock, the first Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement from ASCAP in 1996, a Golden Satellite Award in January 2000 for "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2, an Annie Award from the International Animated Film Society for his work on Toy Story 2, The Century Award from Billboard Magazine in December 2000, and the Frederick Lowe Achievement Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2001.
