Born on November 28: Randy Newman tells stories and makes movies

With his distinctive voice, he has often been described as a whiny singer. But his unconventional humor and gently biting descriptions often bring a smile to one's face.



Since he has always opted for a caustic analysis of his contemporaries (and himself, for that matter), the Los Angeles-born singer (b. 1943) will certainly take no offense to this description of his voice!

And while there is no doubt about his attachment to the West Coast and its main megalopolis, which he sings about in “I Love L.A.,” it should be noted that it's on an album titled “Trouble In Paradise” in 1983. His sunny postcard is too pretty to be entirely believable, especially compared to his description of New York (“all the people are dressed like monkeys”) or Chicago (“a little bit too rugged”). The lyrics never elicit outright laughter, but at least a wry smile or even a jeering chuckle.



In this day and age, it's uncertain whether the offbeat humor of “Short People” on 1977's aptly named “Little Criminals” still resonates today. Especially from the height of his personal 5-foot-10. In “All men are brothers,” he repeats, among other compliments, “Short people got no reason to live". This was clearly a figurative description of narrow-minded, lowbrow people, even at the time the song was censored by some radio stations.



On the same album, he amused himself in the same vein with “You Can't Fool The Fat Man” and “Texas Girl At The Funeral of Her Father". Not to mention “In Germany Before The War,” “Sigmund Freud's Impersonification Of Albert Einstein” and the not-to-be-missed “Baltimore” (featuring the guitar of Glen Frey of the Eagles), which evoke his other career as a film composer and help make “Little Criminals” a timeless masterpiece.



In addition to his eleven studio albums, Randy Newman has not shied away from the 7th art. Mostly as a composer of soundtracks, from Milos Forman's “Ragtime” (1981) to Penny Marshall's “Awakenings” (1990) to Pixar's animated film “A Bug's Life” (1998). He has even dared to make a few sneaky appearances as a pianist or as himself (in the series “Ally McBeal,” for example). Only the most die-hard fans remember this, but it was worth mentioning....




(Stéphane Soupart ) Transl.: MH - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)


Photo: Randy Newman on the set of “Generation 80” in Brussels (Belgium) on Feb. 13, 1983.