When Randy Newman wrote a song for Frank Sinatra

A versatile composer, Newman often used the piano as his weapon of choice, accompanying his catchy melodies with a warm southern vocal. His distinctive style is usually associated with Americana due to its breezy flow and links to country, folk and R&B. He also worked extensively on film scores and wrote songs for well-known artists such as Cilla Black, Gene Pitney and the Alan Price Set early in his career.

After making a name for himself with often humorous or energetic lyrics in solo hits such as “Short People” and “I Love LA,” Newman began composing primarily soundtracks. In the 1980s, his presence in Hollywood was strong, but he reached even greater heights in the following decade when he began working for Disney-Pixar, starting with Toy history in 1995. Since then, he has scored nine of the production giant’s most popular films, including A Bug’s Life And Monster Inc.

With such a diverse portfolio, Newman has touched virtually everyone’s heart at some point in their lives. His many famous admirers include Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan. “Randy may not go on stage and blow your mind or knock your socks off,” Dylan told Paul Zollo in 1991. “And he’s not going to wow the people in the front row. He’s not going to do that. But he’s going to write a better song than most people who can. You know, he’s raised it to an art.”

The legendary “Like A Rolling Stone” songwriter went on to say that “there’s nothing better than” Newman’s classics “Louisiana” and “Sail Away,” before explaining that there are “not that many people in Randy’s class.”

In addition to Newman’s compositional and writing skills, Dylan also admires him for his distinctive and deceptive style. “His style is deceptive,” Dylan added. “He’s so relaxed that you kind of forget he’s saying important things. Randy, like me, is somehow connected to another era.”

Indeed, there is a certain quality to the music of Bob Dylan and Randy Newman that recalls a bygone era. Neither of them has much to do with the pop trends of the 21st century. Yet this quality also gives their music a timelessness that makes it universally appealing. Newman’s fans range from the late crooner Frank Sinatra to the hordes of children who belt out “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” after they Toy history.

Speak with Uncut In 2019, Newman recalled once having the rare chance to work with Frank Sinatra. Supposedly, the timeless, laid-back qualities of his music could endear icons from both sides of the counterculture revolution. “I thought it would be hip if he recorded ‘Lonely At The Top,'” Newman said, revealing that he originally wrote the album. Sailing away cut for Sinatra. “It was pure Sinatra, it would fit in with all that ‘leaning on the lamppost, I’m so miserable’ nonsense.”

Unfortunately, the song didn’t go down well with Sinatra, who was skeptical of all artists of the post-Beatles era. “He never told us he hated us, but I got the distinct impression that he didn’t particularly like the next generation, the Beatles and those that followed,” Newman noted. However, in a moment that will long stay in Newman’s memory, Ol’ Blue Eyes requested a particular song. “He asked me to play ‘I Think It’s Gonna Rain (Today),’ and he liked it,” Newman beamed.

Returning to his assessment of Sinatra’s character, Newman recalled that the singer’s slight arrogance seemed a symptom of insecurity. “It was strange how insecure he was, looking at my manuscripts, pretending to read music, talking about minor keys here and major chords there,” he mused. “And he showed us his private plane, which was something.”

Related topics