Two Hall of Fame songwriters share the stage and their most famous compositions at the Tower Theatre on Sunday, May 11 at 7:30pm. Karla Bonoff has written hits for Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd, Lynn Anderson and most notably Linda Ronstadt. Jimmy Webb—the only artist to receive Grammys for music, lyrics, and orchestration— composed career-making classics for Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, The Fifth Dimension and Joe Cocker. This night of stories and songs is a perfect way to cap-off Mother’s Day.

 

Bonoff wrote three songs for Linda Ronstadt’s Hasten Down the Wind album in 1976: Someone to Lay Down Beside Me, If He’s Ever Near and Lose Again. Karla and J.D. Souther wrote songs for the movie About Last Night, and she sang the Tom Snow/ Dean Pitchford song Somebody’s Eyes in Footloose. In 1990, her career came full circle, writing three songs on Ronstadt’s album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. All My Life, a duet by Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, won the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. People magazine ranked Bonoff’s All My Life as one of the all-time Top 5 most popular wedding songs.

 

Whatever your preferred genre of music, chances are there’s a Jimmy Webb song on your playlist. The man who confounded generations of radio listeners with the brilliance of a lyric about a cake left out in the rain (MacArthur Park), remains a trailblazer among 50 years after his first hit. At 67, Webb looks back on his days as a Midwestern teen navigating fame and fortune in Los Angeles. Webb performs evergreen songs discovered anew by the man who first brought them to life on the piano, and recorded by an impressive range of artists: Glen Campbell (By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Galveston, Wichita Lineman), Linda Ronstadt (Adios), Joe Cocker (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), Richard Harris (MacArthur Park), Art Garfunkel (All I Know), Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra (Didn’t We).

 

“These are the songs that helped us survive the ‘70s,” said Ray Solley, executive director of the Tower Theatre Foundation. “To hear Karla perform All My Life, and Jimmy reprise Up, Up and Away is more than a concert; it’s a master class you can sing along with.”

 

Bend Surgery Center is the title sponsor of the CenterStage Series. Showcase sponsor is Mt. View Heating, with supporting sponsors Deschutes Brewery and Central Oregon Radiology. The featured on-tap beer pairing for the performance is Twilight Summer Ale.

 

What:        Jimmy Webb and Karla Bonoff
When:        Sunday, May 11 – 7:30 pm
Where:        Tower Theatre – 835 NW Wall Street – Bend, Oregon
Tickets:    $30 / $35 / $40
Plus $1 Historic Theatre Restoration Fee
Reserved seating
541-317-0700 or TowerTheatre.org

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