Jimmy Webb To Be Saluted As Poet And Prophet

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will feature Grammy-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb in the next installment of the series Poets and Prophets.

Hosted by museum editor Michael Gray, the event will take place on Saturday, April 29, at 2 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater.

Webb’s interview will include stories behind the hit songs including “Galveston,” “Wichita Lineman,” “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” “MacArthur Park,” “Highwayman” and more. The discussion will be illustrated with vintage photos, film footage, and recordings. Webb will also offer a short performance.

Following the program, Webb will sign a commemorative Hatch Show Print poster and copies of his new memoir, The Cake and the Rain, available for purchase in the Museum Store.

A member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Oklahoma native Webb was a chief source of material for Glen Campbell, who recorded Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” fifty years ago. Campbell reached No. 1 with “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston,” and charted with Webb’s “Honey Come Back,” “Where’s the Playground Susie,” “Still Within the Sound of My Voice” and others.

Waylon Jennings earned his first Grammy with Webb’s “MacArthur Park,” in 1969. In 1986, Webb won a Grammy, Country Song of the Year, for “Highwayman,” a No. 1 hit for Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson as the Highwaymen.

On Wednesday, May 3, Webb will be honored at Carnegie Hall during A Celebration of the Music of Jimmy Webb: The Cake and the Rain. Featured performers include Dwight Yoakam, Art Garfunkel, Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis, Jr., and more.

Poets and Prophets is included with museum admission and free to museum members. Seating is limited, and passes are required for admittance. Museum members can reserve program passes in advance by phone (615-416-2050) or via e-mail (reservations@countrymusichalloffame.org). The program will be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming.