Randy Newman Biography

Randy Newman was born in Los Angeles in 1943, to a musical family. His uncles – Lionel Newman, Alfred Newman, and Emil Newman - were already successful film composers and by the time Randy was seventeen, he had already established himself as a songwriter also. Newman spent his summers in New Orleans and lived in the city for much of his childhood. He entered UCLA but only attended for a brief time. After he left the university, he signed with Reprise Records.

Randy Newman was released in 1968 and was the start of a steady career for Newman. In the years following, he established a firm reputation as not only a musician in his own right, but as a talented songwriter. After his debut album, Randy Newman released a number of additional albums over the years: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), Randy Newman’s Faust (1995), and Bad Love (1999.)

But while Randy Newman’s studio albums brought him moderate success, it was his reputation for film scoring that brought him his greatest achievements and recognition.  His work in film began with Cold Turkey in 1971, and went on to include a number of highly successful films which featured his music: Ragtime (1981), which earned him two Academy Award nominations, and “You’ve Got a Friend” for Toy Story, which garnered Newman another Oscar nomination.

After Toy Story, Randy Newman scored a number of other Disney or Pixar films, including A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Toy Story 2, The Princess and the Frog, Toy Story 3, Monster’s University, and Cars 3. In addition, Newman scored the films Seabiscuit, Awakenings, Parenthood, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, The Natural, and Pleasantville, which earned him another nomination. In addition to film, Randy Newman composed for the television series Monk, including the Emmy-Award winning “When I’m Gone,” featured in the show’s final episode.

Thus far in his career, Randy Newman has earned twenty Oscar nominations for his compositions, with two wins so far—for “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3 and “If I Didn’t Have You” from Monsters, Inc. He has also won three Emmy awards and two Grammys—for Best Score Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture.

Randy Newman continues to perform and compose regularly. Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. He recently released a new studio album, Dark Matter, in 2017. That same year, he also scored the music for the film The Meyerowitz Stories.