The Randy Newman song inspired by a Don Henley remark
He might have written the sentimental ode to friendship that is the Toy Story theme song, but Randy Newman has much more to his oeuvre than many give him credit for. Even Eagles member Don Henley has influenced one of his best songs.
Newman is one of the most accomplished songwriters of his generation and is adept at incisive social commentaries. For instance, he was once faced with a death threat for writing the track ‘Short People’. Instead of being an offensive number about dwarfism, as many perceived at the time of release, the song is actually subtly written from the absurd perspective of an ignorant, prejudiced person.
This is not the first time Newman has taken this path. His classic song ‘Rednecks’ is one of the most accomplished musical exposés of America’s historical and violent issue with racism. There’s clearly much more to Newman than ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’.
One of Newman’s most lauded songs is ‘I Love L.A.’, a number taken from 1983’s aptly named Trouble in Paradise. Notably, following the release of 1979’s Born Again, Newman openly procrastinated writing the follow-up and spent much of the following four years relaxing with family at home. The Los Angeles native would also joke in the media that he would regularly kick back by the pool during this period, with the gardener forced to water around him because he wouldn’t move.
When he decided it was time to stop being lazy, Newman rented a studio in Los Angeles in 1983 with no telephones for distraction. He penned the song ‘Something to Sing About’ while hunkering down there, wherein the arrogant narrator boasts about suburban wealth. However, the album’s producer, Lenny Waronker, hated it and didn’t want it on the record. Regardless, Newman thought he was onto something with the general subject matter, with its message of arrogance in the ‘City of Angels’ forming what would become ‘I Love L.A.’.
This metamorphosis would occur after Newman’s conversation with Eagles drummer and songwriter Don Henley when on an aeroplane. Famously, Henley is also acutely aware of the ridiculous aspects of wealthy culture in Los Angeles, with it an essential aspect of his band’s 1976 masterpiece, Hotel California. Henley also knows just how masterful of a songwriter his friend Randy Newman is.
Newman explained how it happened to Rolling Stone in 2017: “I wrote ‘I Love L.A.’ because Don Henley said to me, ‘Everybody’s writing L.A. songs, people not from here. You’re from here. Why don’t you write one?’ There is an aggressive ignorance to the song – ignorant and proud of it. There’s nothing wrong with the Beach Boys and open-top cars. But the guy talks about the bum [‘Look at that bum over there, man/He’s down on his knees’] and is still shouting ‘We love it’.”
Newman continued: “My cousin, Tim Newman, did the video [a tour of L.A. beaches and hot spots with Newman driving a Buick convertible]. He did the ones for … what the hell’s the name of those blues guys with the long beards? [Long pause] ZZ Top! This was a cheerful shoot. Those people [singing the chorus] are pretty happy.”
Listen to ‘I Love L.A.’ below.
