THE CAKE AND THE RAIN: A MEMOIR

New York City, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2017. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2017. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 346 pages. The author's memoir. The best music memoir of its kind ever written in our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Jimmy Webb's "The Cake And The Rain: A Memoir". Which title alludes to the lyrics of his celebrated song, "MacArthur Park". A legend among his peers, who have paid tribute to him in song, Jimmy Webb is not forgotten today, but is a bit overlooked. He deserves a much wider contemporary audience than he has received because he is, definitively, one of the greatest American composer/songwriters of our time, the modern-day successor of George Gershwin, the equal of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and far superior to most composers actively working today, who could all learn a thing or two from him. Part of the problem is that he is so extremely prolific, with more than 450 songs to his credit (plus musicals), that it is hard for a beginner to decide where to start. The classics, "Up, Up And Away", "By the Time I Get To Phoenix", and "MacArthur Park", among others, do not outshine the lesser-known greats. "Jimmy Webb's words have been sung to his music by a rich and deep roster of artists, including Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, and Linda Ronstadt. He's the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration, and his career has, so far, lasted fifty years" (Publisher's blurb). "Novelistic, perfectly plotted, and quite possibly the best pop-star autobiography yet written" (The Wall Street Journal). An absolute "must-have" title for Jimmy Webb collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed and inscribed in black pen-marker on the half-title page by the author: "For Patrick, remembering Glen. All the best, Jimmy Webb". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The recipient, who is named, is unmistakably personally known to the author. The moving inscription refers to the late great Glen Campbell, who sang "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", which Frank Sinatra hailed as the greatest torch song ever written. This title is a classic. This is the best such signed and inscribed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A rare signed copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with vintage photographs. One of the greatest composer/songwriters of our time. A fine collectible copy. . ISBN 1250058414.