Tunesmith

From the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards for music, lyrics & orchestration, “perhaps the finest book about songwriting of our time” (Musician).

“An eminently readable master class in songwriting—one that will thrill aspiring composers and lyricists, yet still interest the general reader.” —Albany Times Union

Jimmy Webb has given the American songbook more hits, in more styles, than any other songwriter of his generation. The wunderkind of pop music, Webb became the hottest songwriter around when, starting at the age of twenty-one, he wrote a strig of hits including “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Galveston,” “Up, Up and Away,” and “MacArthur Park.”

Now, Jimmy Webb uses the grace and eloquence that have characterized his lyrics to write Tunesmith, the ultimate book for aspiring songwriters—the first ever with such an insider’s knowledge and experience. In a combination of anecdotes, meditations, humor, and advice, Webb breaks down the entire process of creating a song, including coping with writer’s block, song construction, rhyme schemes, chord progression, and the art of collaboration. He then sheds light on the machinations of marketing yourself, selling a song, and coping with big business, be it in Hollywood, Nashville, or on Broadway. From the legendary American songwriter Time magazine called “our best revealer of the blind spots of the heart,” Tunesmith is the new bible of songwriting.

“Tunesmith may be the most interesting book ever written on songwriting. . . . The sections on writing lyrics are riveting. . . . It’s for anyone who enjoys words.” —New York Daily News

“[A] persuasive and scholarly tome on the art of songwriting. . . . It’s a comprehensive volume that journeys generously from Victor Herbert to rap.” —Variety