Everyone is Talking About Jimmy Webb and His Song, “MacArthur Park”
Published
Everyone is Talking About the “MacArthur Park”
Musical Number In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Jimmy Webb’s 1967
Perenial Pop Classic
Meets Another Generation of Fans
“The movie’s centerpiece
is a gonzo operatic tableau
set to the Richard Harris version
of… Jimmy Webb’s ‘MacArthur Park.’” (Time)
Legendary Singer/Songwriter Webb
On Tour This Fall
NEW YORK — Fifty-six years after its first release, Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park” is truly having a moment. The full seven minutes and 21 seconds of the Richard Harris version of the song — the first of nearly 200 covers released — plays a pivotal role in the climactic scene of the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to the 1988 Michael Keaton horror-comedy, Beetlejuice, wh
The meaning of “MacArthur Park” has long been analyzed by fans and critics and is often misunderstood. But the song, which was written by Webb in 1967, released first by Richard Harris in 1968 which garnered a Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocals GRAMMY win for Webb, and rocketed again to new heights with Donna Summer’s No. 1 disco version in 1978, is getting another shot at being understood.
Major press outlets are diving into the song’s history and meaning again in new articles such as “Beetlejuice and Cake in the Rain: The Wild Story Behind MacArthur Park” (The Telegraph), “What is the Song in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?” (The New York Times), and “Oklahoma Songwriter’s Classic 1960s Hit Gets Revived in the New Beetlejuice Movie.” (The Oklahoman).
Webb is enjoying the song’s comeback and is finally feeling understood. “Mr. Juice gets my song. It took a made-up undead demon but finally, someone understands that ‘MacArthur Park’ is a love song. A long love song with lots of chords and strings. And a cake, of course,” says Webb.
“This movie has two exceptional, protracted musical sequences… [‘MacArthur Park’] isn’t just another needle drop. It practically drives the narrative of the entire third act.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
“Meet the New ‘Day-O.’” (The New York Times)
“The musical sequence in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is still one of the best moments in the[LS1] movie.”(
“The movie’s centerpiece is a gonzo operatic tableau set to the Richard Harris version of… Jimmy Webb’s ‘MacArthur Park.’” (Time)
“A truly spectacular climax that makes epic use of a full version of the Richard Harris version of Jimmy Webb’s stripey-legged song ‘MacArthur Park’ (we even get the Donna Summer version on the end credits).” (FilmAuthority.com)
“Almost six decades after bursting onto the scene, this week the [‘MacArthur Park’] provides the soundtrack to the memorable climax of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” (The Telegraph)
“Everybody dances in a bonkers scene set to ‘MacArthur Park.’” (USA Today)
“It’s the kind of wonderful nonsense set piece that has no reason to exist except because it’s funny and because it could.” (NPR’s WBUR Boston)
“Be warned that you may never hear the song ‘MacArthur Park’ in quite the same way ever again.” (The Seattle Times)
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is filled with brilliantly ridiculous moments like… and a ludicrous group lip-sync to Richard Harris’s camp classic ‘MacArthur Park.’” (NME)
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” features a quirky climactic musical sequence set at a macabre wedding and scored to Webb’s pop ballad ‘MacArthur Park.’ It’s another intriguing layer in the musical confection that has towered over Webb’s stellar songwriting career…” (The Oklahoman)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is currently in theaters nationwide, and the soundtrack to the film, featuring the Harris and Summer covers, is out now from Watertower Music and available to stream wherever you enjoy your music.
About Jimmy Webb:
(photographer: Sasa Tkalcan/Helsinki Festival)
Webb has topped the charts over and over from pop to country, blues, jazz, disco to even rap and EDM with interpretations by some of the industry’s greatest including Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer, Josh Groban, Glen Campbell, The Highwaymen, Barbra Streisand, The Fifth Dimension, Guns n’ Roses, and James Taylor. The Webb covers are continuous: being released for Pride Month 2024 is a hot new dance version of “MacArthur Park” by Micah McLaurin and Amber Riley.
“Jimmy Webb delivered some of
his best-known compositions,
and his versions conveyed
their traits and merits,
their lyrical
and musical panache,
craftwork and sophistications.
But his stories put most of them
into a variety of contexts,
some humorous, some historical,
some novel and trivial.
Jimmy Webb has mastered
the convergence of poetry
and music and got the fame
and fortune they deserved
for delivering some of
the most timeless music
of their time.”
–Kansas City Star
Since Webb’s GRAMMY sweep in 1968 when his own “Up, Up and Away” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” both vied for Song of the Year ( “Up” won), to the use of his “Do What You Gotta Do” in Kanye West’s “Famous,” the man often praised as “America’s Songwriter” remains a respected icon in popular music – and continues to challenge his artistic boundaries with projects like a classical nocturne. He is always included in the lists of the greatest songwriters.
Jimmy lives on the North Shore of Long Island, New York, with his wife, a PBS television host and producer, Laura Savini. He has six spectacular grandchildren, five sons, and a daughter.
Jimmy Webb tour dates:
September 22 – Paramount Hudson Valley Theater – Peekskill, NY (Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years)
September 27 – Old Town School of Folk Music – Chicago, IL
September 29 – The Parkway Theater – Minneapolis, MN
October 1 – City Winery St. Louis – St. Louis, MO
October 3 – Knuckleheads – Kansas City, MO
October 10 – The Canyon – Agoura Hills – Agoura Hills, CA
October 13 – The Coach House – San Juan Capistrano, CA
October 16 – Yoshi’s – Oakland, CA
October 30 – The Vogel – Red Bank, NJ
November 7 – Kent Stage – Kent, OH
November 9 – Memorial Hall – Cincinnati, OH
November 19 – The Tin Pan – Richmond, VA
November 22 – BPAC – Pinehurst, NC
December 1 – Dosey Doe – The Woodlands, TX
December 4 – The State Theatre – Austin, TX
December 7 & 8 – Musical Instrument Museum – Phoenix, AZ
December 20 – My Father’s Place – Roslyn, NY
* All shows are “An Evening with Jimmy Webb” except where noted.
For more information, visit www.jimmywebb.com.
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