The year ended with the sad news of American lyricist Norman Gimbel passing away at the age of 91. He was best known for writing the English version of the Portuguese bossa nova hit ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, and Roberta Flack’s iconic ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’, he was also associated with singers Andy Williams, Jim Croce, Dean Martin, Olivia Newton John and Barry Manilow, besides many television shows.
Obituaries were carried in mainline newspapers and music websites. Yet, one couldn’t escape the fact that many music lovers had been totally unaware of his contribution. After all, Gimbel belonged to that small community of standalone lyricists, who penned memorable songs but never got the recognition they deserved.
Penned for posterity
In popular international music, many songs are written, composed and performed by the same person. Most Beatles songs were created by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with George Harrison chipping in at times. The Rolling Stones hits were mainly created by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, whereas the ABBA beauties were the brainchild of Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. In many groups, the members contributed equally. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison wrote their own songs. There are thousands of examples.
There are exceptions, of course, of cover versions where musicians render songs written by others. Eric Clapton, for instance, had huge hits for the works of J.J. Cale, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. Even Elvis Presley did a version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Proud Mary’. Many blues singers have reworked pieces by Willie Dixon. The difference, however, was that these songs had already been performed by the original creators.
The other kind of exception comprised the singer-writer team. Paul Simon wrote extensively for Simon & Garfunkel. Elton John’s songs were written by Bernie Taupin, and Robert Hunter often wrote for the Grateful Dead. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musicals were adorned by the words of Tim Rice.
Behind the scenes
Gimbel, like his peers, wrote songs specifically for musicians, without getting into the composition and performance aspects. Yet, he remained lesser-known. Many would actually be surprised to discover his role in ‘Killing Me Softly’, a major radio hit of its time.
Let’s mention a few other members of this standalone lyricist community. The trendsetter was W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert & Sullivan, who wrote many comic operas in the late 19th century. Much later, Hal David was behind ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’, ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ and ‘Alfie’. Ira Gershwin wrote many songs for his brother, composer George Gershwin – except the latter’s most famous hit ‘Summertime’, penned by DuBose Heyward.
Oscar Hammerstein II is idolised for ‘The Sound of Music’. Lorenz Hart, who wrote many Broadway classics, is best-known for ‘The Lady is a Tramp’ and ‘My Funny Valentine’. Other popular names were Carl Sigman, Dorothy Fields, Yip Harburg, Gus Kahn, Arthur Freed and Alan Jay Lerner. Among the late 20th century lyricists, there was Diane Warren, who wrote for Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Enrique Iglesias and Toni Braxton.
The international music system remains different from Hindi film music, where the lyricist has his own role (and yet gets overshadowed). The Western wordsmiths may be fewer in number but have played a phenomenal role, considering their songs are sung even today.
