Song: MacArthur Park
Artist: Donna Summer
Original artist: Richard Harris
It’s hard to imagine two versions of the same song that differ more than Donna
Summer’s and Richard Harris’s interpretations of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park”. The
former is a uptempo disco rendition, the latter is almost like the spoken text from an
audio book.
Webb is the writer of many hit songs. Among them is the first single I ever bought
“Witchita Lineman” by Glen Campbell. Other notables include “Up, Up and Away”, “By
the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Galveston” (see below).
https://youtu.be/ZTbTHlTmDX8?si=V4nMUeB9immv6Zv4
“MacArthur Park” has lyrics based on the real-life experiences of Webb. Old men did
play checkers by the trees in the park and someone really did leave a cake out in the
rain. Webb says the song plus “Phoenix” are based on a failed love affair with a lady
named Susie Horton. Horton worked for a company whose offices faced MacArthur
Park and she and Webb met there regularly.
Donna Summer’s version of the song enjoyed great success in the UK, reaching the top
of the charts in 1978 some 11 years after Harris’s rendition had attained No 4.
The track featured prominently on Harris’s “A Tramp Shining”, an LP which I admit to
once owning. Harris was definitely more an actor than a singer, but he featured
prominently on the soundtrack of the film “Camelot”. “Tramp” was Harris’s first solo
album and it was nominated for a Grammy in 1968.
