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Randy Newman music biography continued...

uncles were noted film composers—and he was working as a songwriter by the time he was 17. His self-titled debut album received little attention upon its 1968 release, but over the next few years, his reputation as a songwriter grew as Judy Collins, Dusty Springfield and Peggy Lee recorded his songs, and Three Dog Night took his "Mama Told Me Not to Come" to number one in 1970. Newman began to breakthrough as an artist in his own right with 1974's Good Ole Boys, which contained the hit single, "Rednecks," a sardonic look at southern racism and northeastern bigotry directed at southerners. The album peaked at #36 on the Billboard Top 200. Newman's biggest single would come in 1977 with "Short People," an ironic depiction of bigotry, from the Little Criminals album. Some took the lyrics literally, and the controversy that ensued prompted the track to move up the charts to #4. After 1979's Born again, Newman came back in 1983, with the album Trouble in Paradise, which included the hit single "I Love L.A." The song has been interpreted as both praising and critiquing the city of Los Angeles, again creating controversy amongst listeners, and boosting its position on the charts.



In addition to his career in pop/rock, Newman began composing film scores, starting with Cold Turkey in 1971. He received two Academy Award nominations for his score and his song "One More Hour" for the film Ragtime (1981). His work on The Natural (1984) also earned him nominations in both categories as well as a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. Newman also garnered Academy Award nominations for his work on Parenthood (1989), Avalon (1990), The Paper (1994) and James and the Giant Peach (1996). Newman has continued to thrive as a film composer and songwriter, and finally won an Academy Award for his song "If I Didn't Have You" from the 2001 animated tale Monsters, Inc. (It also won a Grammy Award as well.) Most recently, Newman contributed to the soundtrack for the Disney-Pixar animated film Cars (2006), including the Grammy Awarding song "Our Town." He has also dabbled in pop/rock territory again, releasing 2008's Hearts and Angels and proving himself a musical everyman.