You talk about poetic…you’d have to do a story just on that! When he was telling me this story, I looked at him and said to myself, ‘But you’re just 20 years-old! How do you come up with this stuff?’ It sounds like a guy who’s been in the world awhile. There’s another song that he did (on Up, Up and Away) called “Rosecrans Blvd”. So many people come up to us and ask us about “Requiem: 820 Latham” and say, “What is he saying?” We explain it to them and they say, “Oh I got it”. One of those times when people are home and it’s just the nighttime. How did he come up with that?ĭavis: It was like 12:30 or one o’clock in the morning. He talks about, “When I came to you there in that cold telephone-pole-horror of the night”. McCoo: Even today they still bring tears to our eyes. When you start reciting those lyrics…ĭavis: …They’re so meaningful that they bring tears to your eyes. I recite those lyrics to people when the subject of Jimmy Webb comes up and I always ask people if they are familiar with “Requiem: 820 Latham”. McCoo: “Requiem: 820 Latham” is one of my most favorite songs that Jimmy wrote. You almost have to go to the dictionary to find out what the words mean! If you listen to the lyrics of his songs, they are so deep. It was just amazing to talk to a young guy with that much depth.
I got a chance to sit down with him and learn his songs and the meaning and the experience of them so I could interpret them.
McCoo: It’s a love story about him and a young woman and them falling in love all the way through to the break-up, which is pretty obvious from the lyrics.ĭavis: Jimmy is probably one of the best songwriters I ever worked with. recently recalled the experience of working with Jimmy Webb on a pop music masterpiece (note: additional artist tributes to Jimmy Webb will appear in PopMatters’ forthcoming interview with Jimmy Webb about his new album, Just Across the River):ĭavis: It was Jimmy’s idea for The Magic Garden to be a whole piece. 5th Dimension co-founders Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
The Magic Garden captures the songwriter and the group at a moment when all of the right elements conspired to deliver a seminal album. Of course, the 5th Dimension would record many more of Jimmy Webb’s compositions throughout its career, and Webb’s collaborations with a number of legendary artists created one of the most respected song catalogs in popular music. That same year, Glen Campbell was awarded two trophies for his recording of Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”. “Carpet Man” and “Paper Cup” climbed into the Top 40 in early-1968 while a cover of “Worst That Could Happen” by New York-based group Brooklyn Bridge became a Top 5 gold single the following year (The hit prompted the 5th Dimension’s record label to re-release and re-title The Magic Garden with the title of the hit song) As “Carpet Man” commenced its run on the charts, the Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon-produced title track of Up, Up and Away earned an astounding six Grammys at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards. The real-life fortunes of both Jimmy Webb and the 5th Dimension dramatically contrasted with those of the protagonist in The Magic Garden. Did radio listeners realize that they were singing along to one man’s torment about the dissolution of a love affair? Even the singles extracted from the album had a brilliantly deceptive optimistic quality. The melodies and rhythms had to be accessible for AM radio play, yet a palpable undercurrent of anguish and melancholy resided beneath the sitars and harpsichords. In fact, upon close inspection of the lyrics, the mini-opuses of The Magic Garden sounded like someone took a spear and tore that beautiful balloon to shreds. Unlike its predecessor, this musical journey was not a ride in a beautiful balloon. The Magic Garden is the young songwriter’s first album-length score. Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson sing the words with their distinct, precise harmonies. In between arranging and conducting the sessions for the new album, Webb discusses his lyrics with the group. It’s an ambitious follow-up to the group’s debut, Up, Up and Away (1967), which featured five compositions by Jimmy Webb, including the Top 10 title track. The 5th Dimension are recording The Magic Garden with producer Bones Howe. 1967: It’s “The Summer of Love” but things aren’t so lovely in Hollywood.
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