Thanks Blue for the cool video...
and it was a mutual admiration society, as Burt in a 1970 ASCAP magazine interview, said he felt that Jim Webb was a young man with a lot of talent and a bright future also...
I will reprint that part of the interview sometime soon, when I dig out the
magazine.
While I did like Jimmy Webb's songs, I honestly wouldn't put him in the same class as Burt. I don't think a lot of his songs stand up like Burt's have. They sound dated to me. But here's my main point: Jimmy Webb had a short window of time where he wrote many hits. But Burt keeps going on decade after decade continuing to stretch himself creatively and writing great music.
While it is certainly true that Jim's output of hits is not as prodigidous
as Burt's, I certainly, as a songwriter, would put him as rarified talent right next to Burt.
I think Jim is more country, and while his output has been steady, a lot of his material has not been exposed or pushed for artists.....in otherwords he was not as hit concious as Burt.......
There are many great songs on his albums that are virtually unknown...
I'm thinking of a song he did for the songwriter's contest in Rio, in about 1970. He and Bill Medley performed a brilliant song called "Evie"which won the international contest.
Bill also recorded as a single on MGM(it bombed) but what a beautiful song, and a great piano intro...
Hi Steveo,
You're absolutely right..."Evie" is a great "unknown" gem written by Jimmy Webb...although, Johnny Mathis had a huge hit here in Brazil with his recording of "Evie" in 1971.
We can listen to it on YouTube... www.youtube.com/watch?v=087yPqTjTxM
Enjoy it