MacArthur Park The inspiration for MacArthur Park was the relationship and breakup between Webb and Susan Horton (who later married David Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt). MacArthur Park (Los Angeles) was where the two occasionally met for lunch and spent their most enjoyable times together.[5] At that time (mid-1965), Horton worked for a life insurance company whose offices were located just across the street from the park[citation needed]. Webb 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 Webb composition.[4] 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. Buddy Greco has closed every show with this number for the past forty years. The song begins as a poem about love, then moves into a lovers lament. When asked by interviewer Terry Gross what was going through his mind when he wrote the lyric, Webb replied that the lyric was meant to be symbolic and referred to the end of a love affair. The song was first recorded by Richard Harris, after Harris first met Webb at a fundraiser in East Los Angeles, California in late 1967. Webb had been invited to provide the musical backdrop at the piano. Out of the blue, Harris (who had just starred, and performed several musical numbers in the film Camelot) suggested to him that he wanted to release a record. It is speculated that Harris, who had played Arthur in Camelot saw in the lyric several metaphorical connections to the legendary Camelot (MacArthur Park is melting, and It took so long to make it, and Ill never have that recipe again,) and wanted to capitalize on Americas romantic notion that the Once and future king of Camelot had been alive again in the John F. Kennedy White House in the 60s. Webb didnt take it seriously until he later received a telegram from Harris, requesting that he come to London to begin the project. After exhaustively listening to all of Webbs compositions, Harris selected MacArthur Park for his pop music debut.[4] The Harris recording of MacArthur Park comprises four sections or movements: A mid-tempo arrangement, called In the Park in the original session notes,[6] built around piano and harpsichord, with horns and orchestra coming in, accompanying the songs main verses and choruses At about two and a half minutes in, this shifts to a slow tempo and quiet arrangement paired with an alternate lyric, After the Loves of My Life[6] At about five minutes in, a sudden switch to an up-tempo instrumental section, Allegro,[6] led by drums and percussion and punctuated by horn riffs, building up to an orchestral climax At about six and a half minutes in, a reprise of the first sections arrangement accompanying the final choruses and another climax. The recording was made on December 21, 1967, at Armin Steiners Sound Recorders in Hollywood, with further work done on December 29 and 30.[6] 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 1960s and 1970s. Personnel used included Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass guitar, and Mike Deasy on guitar,[6] along with Webb himself on harpsichord. Throughout the recording, Harris can be heard using an incorrect possessive form, MacArthurs Park. Webb has said he tried correcting Harris during retakes, but gave up when Harris simply could not (or would not) sing the correct words.[citation needed] (The version recorded by Donna Summer retains this error.) The recording appeared on Harriss album A Tramp Shining in 1968 and was released as a single. It was an unusual choice at its more than seven minute length and multi-part structure. Harris topped the music charts in Europe and Australia. Harriss version was released in April 1968[7] (WABC first played it on Tuesday 9 April 1968[8]) and on the Hot 100 bowed at #79 on 11 May 1968 and peaked at #2 on 22 June 1968. The song peaked at No. 10 in Billboards Easy Listening survey and was No. 8 for the year on WABCs overall 1968 chart.[9] In 2006, a musical, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert debuted, including MacArthur Park. It was performed by the character Tick and a passel of dancing cupcakes, giving a literal interpretation of the lyrics someone left the cake out in the rain. MacArthur Park received the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) in 1969.[10] MacArthur Parks unusual metaphors and sentimentality have made it a frequent target of parody and ridicule over the years. Speaking about the controversy in a 2007 interview, songwriter Jimmy Webb said, 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. But people have very strong reactions to the song. Theres been a lot of intellectual venom.[4] In 1992, humorist Dave Barry conducted a poll among his readers of the worst songs ever, as recorded in Dave Barrys Book of Bad Songs. Barrys readers selected Harriss version of MacArthur Park as the worst song ever recorded, both in terms of Worst Lyrics and Worst Overall Song.[11] In the book, he acknowledges the results are biased because he had arbitrarily limited the survey to songs that were very popular and at least 10 years old, as well as excluding certain songs, including ones that were intentionally terrible. The survey also likely reflects the demographics of his readership: the large number of middle-aged readers resulted in a disproportionate number of Oldies being selected.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 06:48:55 +0000
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