Multiple Grammy Award-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb has topped the charts from pop to country to disco numerous times with interpretations by some of the industry’s greatest. On July 13, Jimmy will visit the Lobero Theatre to perform his many hits, including songs from his Glenn Campbell songbook, plus many collaborations with various artists spanning his impressive 50-year history in the music industry. Tickets are available at www.lobero.com or the box office.

Since Webb’s Grammys sweep in 1968 when his own “Up, Up and Away” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” vied for Song of the Year (and “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 an icon in popular music – and continues to challenge his artistic boundaries with projects like a classical nocturne. His most famous songs are touchstones for a generation yet remain timeless – “MacArthur Park,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Worst That Could Happen.”

Now in his touring show, An Evening with Jimmy Webb (July 13, 2023 at 8 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara) and his literary memoir, “The Cake and the Rain” (St. Martin’s Press; now in paperback and audiobook), Webb brings fans of his music a unique connection to their favorite songs, revealing the stories behind his hits as far back as his first songwriting job at Motown through a career trajectory that took a teen preacher’s son from a farm town in Oklahoma to the top of his longed-for profession, with pitfalls and blessings in equal measure between.

In concert, the man who gave the world what has been called “the first existential country song” (“The Highwayman”) and confounded generations of radio listeners with the brilliance of a lyric about a cake left out in the rain, enhances his virtuoso performance of iconic tunes with riveting tales of the inspiration behind some of pop music’s biggest songs and singers, and a humorous tour into the days and nights of a songwriting prodigy, a lesson in pop culture, an insider perspective on the musical giants of the Sixties, the Rat Pack heyday, the London Mods, Laurel Canyon and more, told by a charming yarn spinner who hasn’t lost sight of his roots despite decades of international fame.

More than a concert, An Evening with Jimmy Webb in performance is a master class you can sing along with. As Webb performs five decades of music on this tour, the songs and stories resonate with his longtime fans as well as new devotees, introduced to the music through covers by modern chart toppers including Five for Fighting (“All I Know”), Rumer (who stormed the UK in 2012 with her take on “P.F. Sloan”) or any number of reinterpretations of “Wichita Lineman” by R.E.M., Urge Overkill, Keith Urban, Homer Simpson, and more. Songs made famous as recorded by an impressive and ever widening range of artists are discovered anew with revelations by the man who first brought them to life on the piano.

A close read of Webb’s memoir reveals gems like the genesis of songs like “P.F. Sloan,” and “MacArthur Park” as the details are woven into the stories he tells of his days in London and Los Angeles, navigating a world that fueled his lyrics and nearly broke him on more than one occasion. His songwriting style expanded in the longer format of a memoir, Webb gives the reader access to pivotal moments during the music scene of the 1960s and ’70s – riding Mr. Sinatra’s private elevator for a one-on-one meeting, elbow to elbow with Elvis, an urgent request from John Lennon, the first meeting that sparked his decades-long partnership with Glen Campbell, and more.

Jimmy Webb’s numerous accolades include the prestigious Ivor Novella International Award (2012) and the Academy of Country Music’s Poet Award (2016). Webb was named in the top 50 of Rolling Stone’s 2015 “Greatest Songwriters of All Time.” He received his first gold record at the age of 18, and was the youngest inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (which he later chaired). He is the only artist to ever receive GRAMMY® Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. Webb’s first book, “Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting,” is considered a “bible” among professional musicians. He has time and again paved the way for songwriters in the ever-changing media landscape, pioneering commercial use of pop songs (“Up, Up and Away” as the centerpiece of the 1970 Trans World Airlines campaign) and spearheading the ongoing effort to preserve the rights of songwriters and their intellectual property rights on the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Webb has released a dozen solo albums since the 1970s, while continuing to write for other artists. His CDs Just Across the River (2010) and Still Within the Sound of My Voice (2013) feature duets on some of his biggest songs with friends Billy Joel, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Lucinda Williams, Mark Knopfler, Brian Wilson, Art Garfunkel, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban, and more.

In 2016, Webb premiered his first classical piece, “Nocturne for Piano and Orchestra (Nocturne for “Lefty”)” with Orchestra Kentucky. His brilliantly written memoir, The Cake and the Rain (St. Martin’s Press) brings Webb’s unique career into focus, written with the same sense of poetry and story as his many hits.

In Webb’s latest release, a CD titled SlipCover (May 2019), he shares his piano arrangements of what he considers the finest compositions of his generation. Featured are songs written by The Rolling Stones, Randy Newman, Billy Joel, and Paul McCartney.

For more, visit www.jimmywebb.com. Memoir available worldwide wherever books are sold.

Tickets for An Evening with Jimmy Webb are on sale now at Lobero.org and at the Lobero Box Office 805-963-0761. $71 Section A, $65 Section B, $55 Section C. (Ticket prices include a per-ticket Lobero Facility Fee; other fees may also apply.)