How do you know when you've written a good song?
How about if that song has been recorded by Reba McEntire, Burl Ives, Stevie Wonder, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to name a few. Oh and there's an 18-plus-minute version by Isaac Hayes . And if that is not enough, Frank Sinatra, the chairman of the board himself, calls it, “the greatest torch song of all time”
The song in question is 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' and it came into the world direct from the heart and mind of one man, Jimmy Webb.
And 'Phoenix' is by no means his only accomplishment. Huge hits in the 1960s and 70s such as Wichita Lineman, MacArthur Park, and Galveston were also penned by Webb. In addition to his numerous platinum selling records, he is also the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration.
Webb joined us on BPR ahead of two appearances at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, Wednesday, November 14 and Thursday, November 15 , as part of their Shapiro Celebrity Lecture series.
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