‘Jimmy Webb: American Songwriter’: 5 Best Moments From the PBS Special: ‘Those Songs Are So Timeless; So Rich’
The PBS special *Jimmy Webb: American Songwriter* celebrates the composer’s career through performances and reflections from fellow musicians. Vince Gill and Lyle Lovett discuss Webb’s distinctive songwriting while performing songs associated with Glen Campbell, whose original recordings Gill described as untouchable.
The programme traces Webb’s success from “Up — Up and Away”, which reached the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 in 1967, through songs including “MacArthur Park”, “Didn’t We” and “All I Know”. Gill sings “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Wichita Lineman”, Lovett performs “Galveston”, and Glen Campbell’s daughter Ashley joins Webb and the others for songs including “Highwayman” and “Adios”.
In short
- PBS celebrates Jimmy Webb’s songwriting career.
- Vince Gill performs two Glen Campbell classics.
- Ashley Campbell joins the special in tribute to her father.
Explained simply
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter whose songs became widely known through recordings by performers such as Glen Campbell. Campbell’s versions of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston” helped make Webb’s work familiar to a broad audience.
Webb’s songwriting career began to gain national attention in the 1960s, including with “Up — Up and Away”. His catalogue also includes “MacArthur Park”, “Didn’t We” and “All I Know”, songs later performed by a range of musicians.
The PBS programme brings together artists including Vince Gill and Lyle Lovett to perform Webb’s songs and reflect on his writing. Ashley Campbell, Glen Campbell’s daughter, also takes part, linking the songwriter’s work with the recordings that helped define its place in popular music.