Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman could be called a multi-fascinated artist. He is not only renowned as an Academy Award- winning American songwriter but also a brilliant arranger, singer and pianist. He is notable for his mordant pop songs and for his several film scores. His style of writing lyrics from the perspective of a distinct "character" far distant from Newman's own biography makes his style discrete. One of the outstanding examples of this would be, the 1972 song "Sail Away". The song is written as a slave trader's sales pitch to slaves to identify with it. He became a professional songwriter by the early age of seventeen. He made his debut performance with the hit single of 1961's "Golden Gridiron Boy". Gene Pitney, Jerry Butler, The O’Jays and Irma Thomas recorded most of his early songs, among others.

In 1970, Harry Nilsson recorded a full album of Newman compositions titled Nilsson Sings Newman. That album proved a big success, and it led to Newman's 1970 release, 12 Songs, which digressed from the elaborate arrangements of his earlier albums for a more compact sound that featured Newman's piano. Since the 1980s, Newman has worked a major part as a film composer. His film achievements include Ragtime, The Natural, Toy Story, Meet the Parents and Seabiscuit. He also had four other successful Pixar films. A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, and "Cars". He has also achieved the Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award of the recording academy. In addition to these credits he has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

His 1983 album Trouble in Paradise yielded the hit single "I Love L.A.," a song that has been understood as both complimenting and critiquing its topic, Los Angeles. This ambivalence has been aroused by Newman's own remarks on the song. The ABC network and Frank Gari Productions made "I Love L.A." into an exceedingly popular '80s TV promotional run, revising the lyrics and title to "You'll Love It!". The album included some of his most potent material - "Real Emotional Girl" that was a disturbingly frank portrayal of a relationship, sung from the male viewpoint while "Same Girl" stated the love affair between two freaks, and its fate and desperate concluding days.

During a European tour in 2006, Newman presented three new songs, including "Potholes in Memory Lane" a straight blues song that expresses the feel of losing memory when you get older; "Missing You" is a simple love ballad, and the politically disputable "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country". The last was issued as an mp3 single in February 2007. It favorably equates the leaders of the United States to those of old empires. The other latest songs that Newman has been recording include "Easy Street", "Fat and Angry", and a song about the 20th century. Having lot to do for other artists he manages to give some live performances each year, which have always been well received.

Selected Discography • Randy Newman (1968) • 12 Songs (1970) • Randy Newman Live (1971) • Sail Away (1972) • Good Old Boys (1974) • Little Criminals (1977) • Born Again (1979) • Trouble in Paradise (1983) • Land of Dreams (1988) • Bad Love (1999)