Mac. Arthur Park song WikipediaMac. Arthur Park is a song written and composed by Jimmy Webb. Richard Harris was the first to record the song in 1. If My Friends Could See Me Now, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, is a song from the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity. In the musical the. Billboard Hot 1. 00 chart and number four on the UK Singles Chart. Mac. Arthur Park was subsequently covered by numerous artists, including a hit version in 1. Waylon Jennings. Among the best known renditions is Donna Summers disco arrangement from 1. Billboard Hot 1. 00. 1Mac. Arthur Park has been called the worst song ever written. 2 Its flowery lyrics and metaphors notoriously likening lost love to a cake left out in the rain have been described as bloated and loopy. 1 Webb commented Those lyrics were all very real to me there was nothing psychedelic about it to me. The cake, it was an available object. It was what I saw in the park at the birthday parties. 1Jimmy WebbeditCompositioneditMac. Arthur Park was written and composed by Jimmy Webb in the summer and fall of 1. Webb initially brought the entire cantata to The Association, but the group rejected it. 3 The inspiration for the song was his relationship and breakup with Susie Horton,4 who later married Robert Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt. Mac. Arthur Park, in Los Angeles, was where the two occasionally met for lunch and spent their most enjoyable times together. 5 At that time the middle of 1. Horton worked for a life insurance company whose offices were located just across the street from the park. 1 When asked by interviewer Terry Gross what was going through his mind when he wrote the lyric, Webb replied that it was meant to be symbolic and referred to the end of a love affair. In an interview with Newsday in October 2. Webb explained Everything in the song was visible. Theres nothing in it thats fabricated. The old men playing checkers by the trees, the cake that was left out in the rain, all of the things that are talked about in the song are things I actually saw. And so its a kind of musical collage of this whole love affair that kind of went down in Mac. Arthur Park. Back then, I was kind of like an emotional machine, like whatever was going on inside me would bubble out of the piano and onto paper. 4Webb and Horton remained friends, even after her marriage to another man. The breakup was also the primary influence for By the Time I Get to Phoenix, another song written and composed by Webb. 1 After his relationship breakup, Webb stayed for a while at the residence of Buddy Greco, upon whose piano the piece was composed and originally dedicated. Greco closed all his shows with this number for forty years. The idea to write and compose a classically structured song with several movements that could be played on the radio came from a challenge by music producer Bones Howe, who produced recordings for The Association. 4 The song begins as a poem about love, then moves into a lovers lament. The song consists of four sections or movements A mid tempo introduction and opening section, called In the Park in the original session notes,6 is built around piano and harpsichord, with horns and orchestra added. This arrangement accompanies the songs main verses and choruses. A slow tempo and quiet section follows, called After the Loves of My Life. 6An up tempo instrumental section, called Allegro,6 is led by drums and percussion, punctuated by horn riffs, and builds to an orchestral climax. A mid tempo reprise of the first section, concludes with the final choruses and climax. Richard Harris versioneditBackground and releaseeditMac. Arthur Park was first recorded by Richard Harris, after he met the composer at a fundraiser in East Los Angeles, California in late 1. Webb had been invited to provide the musical backdrop at the piano. Out of the blue, Harris, who had just starred in Camelot, and had performed several musical numbers in the film, suggested to Webb that he wanted to release a record. At first, Webb did not take Harris seriously, but later he received a telegram from Harris, requesting that Webb come to London and make a record. 1 Webb flew to London and played Harris a number of songs for the project, but none seemed to fit for Harriss pop music debut. The last song that Webb played for Harris was Mac. Arthur Park, originally written for The Association, whose members had promptly rejected it because of its length, complex structure, and unorthodox lyrics. Harris selected Mac. Arthur Park for his pop music debut. 1The track was recorded on December 2. Armin Steiners Sound Recorders in Hollywood. String, woodwind, and brass overdubs were recorded over two sessions on December 2. The musicians in the original studio recording included members of the famous Wrecking Crew of Los Angeles based studio musicians who played on many of the hit records of the 1. Personnel used included Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass guitar, and Tommy Tedesco and Mike Deasy on guitars,6 along with Webb himself on harpsichord. The song was included on Harriss album A Tramp Shining in 1. It was released in April 1. WABC on Tuesday April 9, 1. It made its way onto the Hot 1. May 1. 1, 1. 96. 8, peaking at number 2 on June 2. It peaked at number 1. Billboards Easy Listening survey and was number 8 on WABCs overall 1. It topped the music charts in Europe and Australia and also won the 1. Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists. 1. In 1. 99. 2, Miami Herald journalist Dave Barry conducted a poll among his readers who selected Harris recording as the worst song of all time, both in terms of Worst Lyrics and Worst Overall Song. Barry commented Its hard to argue with survey respondents who chose it as the worst. 1. The Harris version was spoofed on the comedy series SCTV in a skit called Mels Rock Pile. Harris was portrayed by comedian Dave Thomas. This version was also parodied by Weird Al Yankovic in his 1. Jurassic Park. Chart historyeditWaylon Jennings versioneditBackground and releaseeditA cover version of Mac. Arthur Park was recorded by country music singer Waylon Jennings on his 1. Country Folk, which included the family group The Kimberlys. This version charted at number 2. Hot Country Songs and number 9. Billboard Hot 1. 00, making its chart debut on August 2. It also won both acts the 1. Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. 2. Donna Summer versioneditBackground and releaseeditIn September 1. American singer Donna Summer released a multi million selling vinyl single disco version of Mac. Arthur Park number one on the American pop music sales charts for three weeks, the track earned Summer her first nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Summer was also nominated for Favorite PopRock Female at the American Music Awards where her album Live and More took the award for Favorite Disco Album. Producer Giorgio Moroder would recall that he and his collaborator Pete Bellotte had been interested in the concept of either remixing a track as yet undecided on which had been a hit in the 1. Moroder I remember that I was driving in. Hollywood Freeway, and I heard the original song i. Mac. Arthur Park by Richard Harris on the radio. I thought Thats it thats the song weve been looking for almost a year. Moroder asked Neil Bogart, president of Casablanca Records, to provide him with a copy of the Richard Harris version of Mac. Arthur Park to serve as basis for Moroders envisioned discofied reinvention Bogart obliged with an 8 track tape containing Harris version, which Moroder had to specially buy an 8 track player to hear. 2. Moroder readily identified Mac. Arthur Park as quote a great song for Donna with all those high notes, it was perfect for her. First, I located a key that she could sing really high, but still with a big voice that took an hour or two. I played a little piano and she sang it with my accompaniment. We found a key and we had Greg Mathieson do the arrangement and then I did something very special that something very special being Moroders recording of his own voice to form a choir heard behind Summer on the songs chorus I recorded about 2. I was able to sing on a 2. I made a loop of those notes, and put that loop in the Solid State Logic desk. I could form eight chords by having C E G right on the group. BOBS MIGHTY MIDI SITE Song Page.
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