And now for something completely different. I’ll back off the country for a bit here and turn my attention to a New Orleans jazz man… the fabulous Randy Newman.

Any legitimate list of great songwriters would have to have Randy Newman right up near the top not only for his excellence but for his versatility. This is a man who has written chart-topping pop songs for Dusty Springfield and Three Dog Night, music both fun and touching for children’s movies from Toy Story to The Princess and the Frog, biting satire about religion and politics and incredibly heartfelt love songs. Most songwriters would kill to be able to do just one of those things well.

Continue reading →