Singer-songwriter, pianist, composer and arranger Randy Newman has made quite a name for himself. He wrote a vast number of hits for other people, climbing the charts himself as well with songs such as Short People (1977) and The Blues (with Paul Simon, 1983). Since the 1980s, Newman has mostly dedicated himself to writing film scores and creating soundtracks for movies such as Awakenings, Meet The Parents and Disney movies including Toy Story (parts 1, 2, and 3), A Bug’s Life, Cars, and Monsters, Inc., winning an Oscar for the latter. Newman was born into a musical family; two of his uncles were well-known soundtrack composers. At seventeen he already worked as a professional songwriter for a publishing company in California.
