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Master songwriter Randy Newman doesn't want to be known for for his novelty hit "Short People." Date published: 9/18/2003
THE FREE LANCE-STAR It's a bitter irony for Randy Newman. Even though it may seem otherwise, he always has longed to reach the largest number of people possible with his songs, to get radio airplay and to sell lots of records. At the same time, he's considered one of the most literate songwriters ever, and has even been compared to Faulkner. So it cuts him to the quick that the song he is best known for, his biggest hit, is the silly ditty "Short People." The lyrics from the 1978 release are familiar: "They got little hands and little eyes, And they walk around tellin' great big lies, Don't want no short people 'round here." It's not one of his best efforts, he said this week in a telephone interview, and he has come to hate the song. "It was too bad that was my one big hit--a novelty record like The Chipmunks did," Newman said. "It was a hit that did me no good, that did me harm. A bad break." The song became so popular, he said, that he'd watch a ball game on TV "and they'd joke about it at half time. I was losing my sense of humor." Also, some people didn't grasp the satirical nature of the song: It was far from hateful and instead poked fun at prejudice. Newman received threats over the song, and worse, he said, it pegged him as a lightweight songwriter. Like another of his hits, the 1983 "I Love L.A.," "Short People" was irresistibly catchy, but also frothy and frivolous. Neither were included among the 18 tracks on Newman's new best-of solo album, "The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1," to be released Sept. 30. The album spans 30 years of Newman's work. He will play solo at the Birchmere in Alexandria Monday and Tuesday in support of the album. Newman said the songs in the collection were chosen to flow and work together. Certainly "Short People" wouldn't fit with "God's Song [That's Why I Love Mankind]," the opening cut on the album. The lyrics of that song have God saying:
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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