Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb Performing MacArthur Park

[HammondDave]

Check out two of my all time favorite musicians, Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb performing MacArthur Park. Glen's guitar solo is pretty amazing, and so is Jimmy's piano work.

 

Near the end you get to see the three keyboard players in the band. Name those synths. The one in the foreground looks to be a Crumar and it looks like a B3 in the distance.

 

Enjoy!

 

[video:youtube]

[HammondDave]

and then you have THIS... My god!

 

[video:youtube]

[MathOfInsects]

Fun find. I am a complete sucker for this era of televised music since it was my first exposure to what professionally produced music was. The sound of both the production and the audience is so familiar and nostalgic to me. Funny how ambient sound can have an "era."

 

 

I think most (all?) of the piano was the off-stage pianist. Disconcerting to see Webb keep lifting his hands and having the piano continue, and notable for those who think "tracks" are a recent phenomenon.

 

Thanks for posting.

[TommyS]

Absolutely stunning version of Wichita Lineman.

[MathOfInsects]

Wow. Didn't see that slipped in there. Wondrous.

[HammondDave]

Absolutely stunning version of Wichita Lineman.

 

Absolutely! I love the interplay of piano and guitar. And they looked like they were up all night!

[Bobadohshe]

What an insane song (I don't mean good or bad here, just insane) McArthur Park is. Just did some research on it. Interesting how many feel it hasn't stood the test of time. I can't say it has either.

 

I also can FINALLY place a different song that I've known for 25 odd years and not known the origin of.

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

[HammondDave]

I think most (all?) of the piano was the off-stage pianist. Disconcerting to see Webb keep lifting his hands and having the piano continue, and notable for those who think "tracks" are a recent phenomenon.

 

Thanks for posting.

 

There is a second piano, but Jimmy is playing most of the parts.

[HammondDave]

What an insane song (I don't mean good or bad here, just insane) McArthur Park is. Just did some research on it. Interesting how many feel it hasn't stood the test of time. I can't say it has either.

 

I also can FINALLY place a different song that I've known for 25 odd years and not known the origin of.

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

That was hysterical! Thanks!

[MathOfInsects]

There is a second piano, but Jimmy is playing most of the parts.

 

I actually don't know about that. I see that we hear some of what he plays. But from the beginning of the clip, I thought there were prerecorded parts (before I realized there was a second pianist). I know video and audio are off. But this is more about what was played, versus what I saw being played.

 

This is not a knock of any kind; he plays straight-up bad-ass, which is more than evident in a million places. But I think we in the audience mostly heard the studio pianist in this performance. (FWIW YMMV and so on.)

 

 

[Mark Zeger]

Are there songs you heard as a kid and never appreciated the greatness until much later in life? Wichita Lineman is one of those. Its just brilliant on many levels.

[Song80s]

I understand the emphasis on ' performance ' here.

 

Lets expand some, on the song writer and the impetus behind the song:

 

https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/jimmy-webb-discusses-famous-lyrics-in-macarthur-park-1.9477080

[HammondDave]

[video:youtube]

[zxcvbnm098]

Fun find. I am a complete sucker for this era of televised music since it was my first exposure to what professionally produced music was. The sound of both the production and the audience is so familiar and nostalgic to me. Funny how ambient sound can have an "era."

 

 

This. I remember always paying attention to the live performances on TV in those days. It's very evocative to see and hear these as an adult.

 

Man, Glen was a talented hombre. He slays it on vocals and then picks up the guitar and wails.

 

Thanks for posting.

[MathOfInsects]

Are there songs you heard as a kid and never appreciated the greatness until much later in life? Wichita Lineman is one of those. Its just brilliant on many levels.

 

The flip side of this comment is that that was a song that I knew was "older than my time" when I was a kid, but that I loved from the first time I heard it. In some ways it still represents a lot of what I know or like about songwriting.

 

My first exposure to it (that I remember) was Jose Feliciano's version, so I got to know it as a musical composition before I knew those wistful lyrics. When I heard the "real" version...man. Killed me.

 

[video:youtube]

[Theo Verelst]

High Definition version of the song from the one and only Donna Summers, through my post-processing. Probably the only right version of the song for me, good memories, intelligently made Disco. The instrumentally more traditional versions above don't make me very happy.

[AWkeys]

Man, Glen Campbell.... Got to meet Jimmy Webb several years ago. He was an absolute gentleman.

 

I performed MacArthur Park for a few years with a local Jersey Shore guy, Bob Bandiera. Took me quite a while to get all the parts down. I programmed piano, harpsichord, brass and strings on the Nord Stage 2, and it sounded pretty huge for a 6-piece band.

[Doerfler]

The flip side of this comment is that that was a song that I knew was "older than my time" when I was a kid, but that I loved from the first time I heard it.

 

I have fond memories of listening to this song (Wichita Lineman) on AM radio in my dad's station wagon when I was a young kid. Thought it was a great song then and still do today. Don't have any memories of MacArthur Park.

[HammondDave]

What happened to the great American songwriters? Can you imagine anyone today composing a song as good as Wichita Lineman?

[MathOfInsects]

Times change, of course, and any first-person story songs are mostly in the hip-hip realm these days. Glad to see Pulitzer recognizing hip-hop after 40-something years of pushing the edges of lyrical narrative and studio techniques while the legacy forms continued to be prioritized.

 

However, I am eternally convinced that the story of the next few decades of American indie songwriting is St. Vincent, who for my money is quietly making the most interesting non-hip-hop music of our age. Not to mentioned she's a certified badass on electric guitar, a blazing player who is probably marginalized by being female.

 

This is NSFW, but also sly and wondrous. My crush on her--musical and otherwise--is expansive.

 

[video:youtube]

[Song80s]

What happened to the great American songwriters? Can you imagine anyone today composing a song as good as Wichita Lineman?

 

I would argue that 1 great song is written/composed every day.

 

Simply, we are not hearing the majority of the songs.

 

Rephrase the context and the question to "why ? "

 

Make some coffee. Find your favorite chair.

 

Take 10 minutes to read this well researched article:

 

https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-devaluation-of-music-it-s-worse-than-you-think-f4cf5f26a888

 

Starving artists have been affected by more than just piracy and streaming royalties....

[HammondDave]

What happened to the great American songwriters? Can you imagine anyone today composing a song as good as Wichita Lineman?

 

I would argue that 1 great song is written/composed every day.

 

Simply, we are not hearing the majority of the songs.

 

Rephrase the context and the question to "why ? "

 

Make some coffee. Find your favorite chair.

 

Take 10 minutes to read this well researched article:

 

https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-devaluation-of-music-it-s-worse-than-you-think-f4cf5f26a888

 

Starving artists have been affected by more than just piracy and streaming royalties....

 

Excellent article. Very depressing...

 

When I started elementary school it seemed like every teacher played at least an autoharp. There were music breaks throughout the day. When I was in 4th grade I went to an elementary school with a Lowery organ in each classroom. I also took up the Clarinet in the vain hope that I would one day graduate to the sax and play in a band. Little did I know that doodling on one of those Lowerys would lead me to the Hammond. When I entered junior high I took the REQUIRED music history classes where we watched Leonard Bernsteins lectures from the N.Y. Philharmonic. At 15 I played in the school jazz quartet and at night I played in a band and started playing strip clubs.

 

All this while growing up during the two decades (60s and 70s) with arguably the greatest diversity of popular music. The Beatles were changing everything at least once a year. Prog rock had bands like King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, and many others who blended classical and jazz into rock. The Doors brought art-rock into top 40 radio, meanwhile underground radio introduced us to Lee Michaels, Grateful Dead, and other non-commercial acts.

 

Meanwhile, popular music had amazing writers and composers like Carole King, Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach, Paul Williams, Neil Diamond, and many others writing excellent songs. Just listen to The Carpenters or The 5th Dimention.

 

Pianos and organs were in many homes. My parents had a grand piano in the living room, even though before I turned 13 no one played it. (That was the piano that I learned so many songs on).

 

Music was valued back then. It was part of the schools curricula, and a huge part of our lives.

 

Just look at the Wichita Lineman video above. That was from an early morning show. It was not unusual for these shows to have musical acts play. I once saw Vanilla Fudge play at 7am on the Today Show. When was the last time you heard a musical act on Fox and Friends or Morning Joe?

 

I look at where we are now in this low attention span and easily distracted generation. Music is devalued, stolen, and marginalized. Music clubs are closing, the few that are left pay the bands pennies (if at all). This is very sad to the many of us who grew up as artists in those decades.

[Song80s]

What happened to the great American songwriters? Can you imagine anyone today composing a song as good as Wichita Lineman?

 

I would argue that 1 great song is written/composed every day.

 

Simply, we are not hearing the majority of the songs.

 

Rephrase the context and the question to "why ? "

 

Make some coffee. Find your favorite chair.

 

Take 10 minutes to read this well researched article:

 

https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-devaluation-of-music-it-s-worse-than-you-think-f4cf5f26a888

 

Starving artists have been affected by more than just piracy and streaming royalties....

 

Excellent article. Very depressing...

 

When I started elementary school it seemed like every teacher played at least an autoharp. There were music breaks throughout the day, When I was in 4th grade I went to an elementary school with a Lowery organ in each classroom. I also took up the Clarinet in the vain hope that I would one day graduate to the sax and play in a band. Little did I know that doodling on one of those Lowerys would lead me to the Hammond. When I entered junior high I took the REQUIRED music history classes when we watched Leonard Bernsteins lectures from the N.Y. Philharmonic. At 15 I played in the school jazz quartet and at night I played in a band and started playing strip clubs.

 

All this while growing up during the two decades (60s and 70s) with arguably the greatest diversity of popular music. The Beatles were changing everything at least once a year. Prog rock had bands like King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floyd who blended classical and jazz into the mainstream, The Doors brought art-rock into top 40 radio, meanwhile underground radio introduced us to Lee Michaels, Grateful Dead, and prog rock.

 

Pianos and organs were in many homes. My parents had a grand piano in the living room, even though before I turned 13 no one played it. (That was the piano that I learned so many songs on).

 

Music was valued back then. It was part of the schools curricula, and a huge part of our lives.

 

Just look at the Wichita Lineman video above. That was from an early morning show. It was not unusual for these shows to have musical acts play. I once saw Vanilla Fudge play at 7am on the Today Show. When was the last time you heard a musical act on Fox and Friends or Morning Joe?

 

I look at where we are now in this low attention span and easily distracted generation. Music is devalued, stolen, and marginalized. Music clubs are closing, the few that are left pay the bands pennies (if at all). This is very sad to the many of us who grew up as artists in those decades.

 

I know the article is saying we are screwed. I decided to not get on the railroad tracks

and get run over every day since the music business is F'd up. This is no secret.

I emphasize the business side is F'd.

 

Our music is still great. The performance is excellent. I appreciate it all. I believe its best to compartmentalize.

 

I am as vintage(65) as you are and remember perfectly what you state. And agree it won't be repeated.

 

At least we enjoyed that tremendous surge of creativity of the 60's/70's/80's. And we can constantly remind ourselves via recordings, videos, etc.