John Peel Wiki

Changes to the look of John Peel Wiki will take place in the near future due to a new skin being rolled out over Oct/Nov across Wikia. Please see the Wikia Staff Blog for further details. On this site, the changes will affect the navigation from the left menu, as well as introduce a fixed page width with narrower content space. Please be patient while adjustments are made for the switch to the new system.

UPDATE: As the change is now in force for some users, I have switched the navigation to the simplified one for the new system. Please check Navigation in the Help section if you can't find things. I also initially made small adjustments to the front page layout, but have now reverted to the old look until all users are on the new system.

COUNTDOWN: Just a reminder for people still using Monaco that the final switch to the new skin is due on Nov. 3. After that, it will no longer be offered as an option. Sorry. Nothing to do with me.

Steve W

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John Peel Wiki
in: Artists, Covered

Randy Newman

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Short People - Randy Newman

Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his distinctive voice,mordant (and often satirical) pop songs, and for film scores (....) Many artists, including Bette Midler, Alan Price, Van Dyke Parks, Dave Van Ronk, Judy Collins, Cass Elliot, Art Garfunkel, the Everly Brothers, Claudine Longet, Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone, Lynn Anderson, Wilson Pickett, Pat Boone and Peggy Lee, have covered his songs......

Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer (...) Newman has received twenty Academy Award nominations in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories and has won twice in the latter category. He has also won three Emmys, six Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, and as a Disney Legend in 2007. Newman was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2013. (Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links to Peel[]

Before making a name for himself as a performer with a series of solo albums in the 1970s, Randy Newman established his initial reputation as a successful pop songwriter, whose songs were particularly appreciated by British artists. Among them were Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield and Alan Price, all of whom recorded his material. Price's group, the Alan Price Set, had a UK Top 10 hit in April 1967 with Newman's song "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear". Future Peel producer John Walters was a member of the Alan Price Set at this time and played trumpet on the session. Price's 1967 album, A Price On His Head, featured eight Newman songs.

Randy_Newman_-_Sail_Away_(Live_in_London)

Randy Newman - Sail Away (Live in London)

When Randy Newman emerged as a singer-songwriter in the early 1970s, it was as one of a number of artists associated with the then fashionable Reprise Records, and he collaborated with Peel favourites from the label, like Ry Cooder. His albums of the 1970s were well-reviewed by critics and received airplay on Peel's programmes as well as other Sounds Of The Seventies programmes and album-oriented Radio One shows. It was an indication of how highly he was regarded that some of the tracks from his sole Peel session, in 1974, were chosen for the final Top Gear show in September 1975. Many artists of the era covered his songs, including Cooder, Joe Cocker, Frankie Miller and Jess Roden. But after 1980 Newman increasingly turned his attention to composing film music, so new songs from him, and Peel airplay, became infrequent.

Festive Fifty Entries[]

  • None

Sessions[]

One session.

1. Recorded: 1974-06-03. First broadcast: 03 June 1974. Three songs repeated on 25 September 1975.

  • Leave Your Hat On / Louisiana / I Think It's Gonna Rain Today / Political Science / Birmingham / Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear/Albanian Wedding Day (& My Old Kentucky Home, first broadcast Rock On 1974-06-74)

Other Shows Played[]

Covered[]

(The list below was compiled only from the Cover Versions page of this site. Please add more information if known.)

Artist | Track | First Known Play

External Links[]

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