Randy Newman

Randall Stuart Newman was born on November 28, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, to a family of Hollywood film‑score composers. Growing up amid the creative circles of his uncles Alfred, Lionel, and Emil Newman, he studied music at UCLA, leaving after one semester but later completing his degree in 2021. At 17, he began writing songs, quickly landing UK hits for Cilla Black and Gene Pitney. His first solo effort, the 1968 album Randy Newman, was released by Warner Bros. Records after his involvement in the studio’s creative circle; although it did not reach the Billboard Top 200, it established his songwriting reputation. Newman’s early career featured singles such as "Golden Gridiron Boy" (1962) and "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1967), the latter recorded by Three Dog Night in 1970. His own releases-Good Old Boys (1974), Little Criminals (1977), and Harps and Angels (2008)-each entered the United States top 40, with Little Criminals peaking at number 9. The song "Short People" (1977) became one of his recognised compositions, while "I Love L.A." (1983) and "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995) reinforced his presence in popular music. Transitioning to film scoring in the 1990s, Newman delivered scores for Disney/Pixar titles such as Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Cars (2006), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters University (2013), Cars 3 (2017), Toy Story 4 (2019), and Toy Story 5 (2026). His score for Ragtime (1981) and The Natural (1984) earned Academy Award nominations; he won Oscars for Best Original Song twice, for "If I Didn't Have You" (2002) from Monsters, Inc. and "We Belong Together" (2011) from Toy Story 3. Additional accolades include three Emmys, seven Grammys, a Recording Academy Governors Award (2003), a Disney Legend award (2007), and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2002) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2013). Newman continued to record and tour, releasing songbook collections (The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1 in 2003, Vol. 2 in 2011, Vol. 3 in 2016) and the contemplative Dark Matter (2017). His work remains influential in both popular music and cinematic scoring, with ongoing releases such as Toy Story 5 affirming his legacy.