Editing Jimmy Webb (section)

===Singer-songwriter years, 1970–1982===
Webb's career as a singer-songwriter got off to a rough start with the "counterfeit" album ''[[Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb]]'', released by Epic Records in 1968. According to Webb, the album was produced "by a bunch of ruffians from some old demos of mine and tarted up to sound like 'MacArthur Park'".<ref name="uncut-interview"/> Beginning in 1970, Webb released six original albums of his own songs: ''[[Words and Music (Jimmy Webb album)|Words and Music]]'' (1970), ''[[And So: On]]'' (1971), ''[[Letters (Jimmy Webb album)|Letters]]'' (1972), ''[[Land's End (album)|Land's End]]'' (1974), ''[[El Mirage (album)|El Mirage]]'' (1977), and ''[[Angel Heart (Jimmy Webb album)|Angel Heart]]'' (1982). Despite the critical reception that followed each of these projects, Webb has never been as successful as a performer as he has been as a songwriter and arranger. Each album was noted for its inventive music and memorable lyrics.<ref name="shane"/>

Webb's debut album as a performer, ''[[Words and Music (Jimmy Webb album)|Words and Music]]'', was released on Reprise Records in late 1970 to critical acclaim. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' writer Jon Landau called one of the album's cuts, "[[P.F. Sloan (song)|P.F. Sloan]]", a "masterpiece [that] could not be improved upon". The album also features the ambitious song trilogy "Music for an Unmade Movie". Webb's 1971 follow-up album, ''[[And So: On]]'', proved equally appealing to critics. ''Rolling Stone'' declared the album "another impressive step in the conspiracy to recover his identity from the housewives of America and rightfully install him at the forefront of contemporary composers/performers." The album features the songs "Met Her on a Plane", "All My Love's Laughter", and "Marionette".<ref name="allmusic-and-so"/> Also in 1971, [[the Three Degrees]] are featured in the movie ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' giving a rendition of Webb's song "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon", originally recorded in 1969 by [[Thelma Houston]].

Webb's 1972 album ''[[Letters (Jimmy Webb album)|Letters]]'', which features his own rendition of "Galveston", met with similar praise. Music critic Bruce Eder called ''Letters'' the "most surprising, diverse, and possibly the most satisfying of all of Jimmy Webb's early solo LPs" and "arguably the best of Webb's solo albums".<ref name="allmusic-letters"/> In his review of the album, Peter Reilly of ''[[Stereo Review]]'' wrote, "Jimmy Webb is the most important pop music figure to emerge since Bob Dylan."<ref name="shane"/> The album also features the songs "Campo de Encino", an homage to his park-like residence in Encino, California, during the 1970s, "When Can Brown Begin", and "Piano".<ref name="allmusic-letters"/> 
He also produced in 1972 album, "The Supremes Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb." for [[The Supremes]], featuring Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson and Linda Lawrence. The album sold poorly and did not chart successfully.

In 1974, Webb released ''[[Land's End (album)|Land's End]]'' on Asylum Records. Unlike his previous albums, which tended to be underproduced, Webb was able to achieve a more heavily produced pop/rock sound on ''Land's End'', which was recorded in England with the help of an all-star session band that included Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, and Nigel Olsson.<ref name="allmusic-lands"/> The album contains "a thematic consistency in that most of its songs were tales of romantic discord".<ref name="allmusic-lands"/> While Webb continued to improve as a singer, he "still hadn't found an identity as a solo artist".<ref name="allmusic-lands"/> The album features the songs "Ocean in His Eyes", "Just This One Time", and "Crying in My Sleep".

In 1977, Webb released ''[[El Mirage (album)|El Mirage]]'' on Atlantic Records. Produced, arranged, and conducted by [[The Beatles]]' former producer, [[George Martin]], the album was Webb's "most polished effort yet as a performer".<ref name="allmusic-el"/> William Ruhlmann observed, "These were lush tracks full of tasty playing and warm string charts on which Webb's thin tenor was buoyed by numerous background vocalists, the whole an excellent example of the style known as 'West Coast pop'."<ref name="allmusic-el"/> The album contains several strong compositions, including "[[Highwayman (song)|The Highwayman]]", which would later become a number one country hit for [[Waylon Jennings]], [[Willie Nelson]], [[Johnny Cash]], and [[Kris Kristofferson]], who named their super group [[The Highwaymen (country supergroup)|The Highwaymen]] after the song. Their version of "The Highwayman" won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.<ref name="allmusic-el"/> ''El Mirage'' also features the songs "If You See Me Getting Smaller I'm Leaving", a newly arranged version of "P.F. Sloan", and "[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (song)|The Moon is a Harsh Mistress]]", which had already been recorded by [[Joe Cocker]], [[Glen Campbell]], and [[Judy Collins]].<ref name="allmusic-el"/> Despite the positive critical response to the album, ''El Mirage'' did not succeed in redefining Webb as a performer as he had hoped.<ref name="allmusic-el"/>

Webb's final solo album from this period, ''[[Angel Heart (Jimmy Webb album)|Angel Heart]]'', was released in 1982 on Lorimar Records. Like its predecessor, the album drew upon the talents of top Los Angeles session musicians to produce a classic West Coast pop sound, enhanced by guest vocal harmonies by Gerry Beckley, Michael McDonald, Graham Nash, Kenny Loggins, Daryl Hall, and Stephen Bishop.<ref name="allmusic-angel"/> Unlike his previous solo albums, however, ''Angel Heart'' lacked the quality material usually associated with the composer. Apart from "Scissors Cut" and "In Cars", which were previously recorded by [[Art Garfunkel]], the album offered few high points, despite its polished production.<ref name="allmusic-angel"/> A decade would pass before Webb released his next solo album.

Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Webb's songs continued to be recorded by some of the industry's most successful artists. In 1972, Jimmy Webb produced [[The Supremes]]' last album featuring Jean Terrell as lead singer, ''[[The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb]]''. Webb is quoted as saying he had a crush on [[Mary Wilson (singer)|Mary Wilson]] when he wrote and produced "I Keep It Hid" featuring her on lead vocals. In 1977, the initial release of [[Art Garfunkel]]'s ''[[Watermark (Art Garfunkel album)|Watermark]]'' album consisted exclusively of songs by Webb. In 1978, [[Donna Summer]]'s disco version of "MacArthur Park" became a multi-million selling vinyl single that was number one on the American pop music charts for three weeks. In 1980, Thelma Houston recorded "Before There Could Be Me", "Breakwater Cat", "Gone", "Long Lasting Love", and "What Was that Song" on her album ''[[Breakwater Cat]]''. Leah Kunkel recorded "Never Gonna Lose My Dream of Love Again" and "Let's Begin" for her album ''I Run with Trouble''. The latter was performed live in 1980 by the born-again Bob Dylan. [[Tanya Tucker]] recorded "Tennessee Woman" on her album ''[[Dreamlovers (album)|Dreamlovers]]''. And Frank Sinatra did his own cover of "MacArthur Park" on the 1980 album ''[[Trilogy: Past Present Future]]''.

In 1981, Art Garfunkel recorded "Scissors Cut", "In Cars", and "That's All I've Got to Say" for his album ''[[Scissors Cut]]'', and [[Arlo Guthrie]] recorded "Oklahoma Nights" on his album ''Power of Love''. In 1982, [[Linda Ronstadt]] recorded "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" and "Easy for You to Say" on her album ''[[Get Closer (Linda Ronstadt album)|Get Closer]]''. That same year, [[Joe Cocker]] recorded "Just Like Always" on his album ''[[Sheffield Steel]]'', and [[the Everly Brothers]] recorded "She Never Smiles Anymore" on their album ''Living Legends''.

In 1981 Webb moved to New York state, and said, "One day I wondered what happened to the Seventies and all those grandiose schemes."<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/interview-jimmy-webb-230726/|title=Interview: Jimmy Webb|first1=Stephen|last1=Holden|website=Rollingstone.com|date=April 29, 1982|access-date=August 7, 2019}}</ref>