The Crossroad ( MUSIC )

[murrayhill]

Jimmy Webb was a personal and professional
associate of mine. By the time I'd met him, however, he'd lost a bit of his "acuity" and
one morning he appeared as a musical guest on the Today Show. Halfway through his song
he abruptly stopped singing and playing the piano. Rushing in to cover, Bryant Gumbel asked him
what was wrong? Jimmy simply replied "I forgot the rest of the words."
Without losing a beat, B.G. immediately switched over to interview mode and said "Tell me what it was
like to be a sensation in the business when you were 19 yrs old!"
That's why Bryant Gumbel was making 8 million a year from NBC.

Jimmy was still a great composer, however. (see post #55318)