TIM RICE
LYRICIST FOR EVITA
The incredible lyrics of the hit musical Evita were written by Mr. Tim
Rice, born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1944.
Tim first encountered the entertainment industry when he was the lead singer
for a music group entitled the Aardvarks from 1961-1963. His first
published song was That's My Story in 1965.
During this same year, Rice met Andrew
Lloyd Webber, and together they produced four musicals: The Likes Of
Us, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar,
and Evita. Although the first was never performed, the latter three
have become sensational theatre shows produced throughout the world. The
two have also worked together on numbers that have not appeared in shows,
including a song recorded by Elvis Presley in 1976 called It's Easy For
You. They also worked on Cricket, a 30-minute comic musical, which
enjoyed its world premiere at Windsor Castle in 1986 with the presence of the
Royal Family.
In
1983, Rice wrote Blondel, a stage musical perfect for children of all
ages. With Stephen Oliver providing the music, Blondel, a tale of a
medieval minstrel, enjoyed a year's run in London. Since then, it has been
reproduced by both schools and professional companies around the world. In
1986, Rice collaborated with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (of
Abba) in the widely popular and successful record Chess. In
addition, Tim Rice has won an Academy Award for his work on Disney's
Aladdin, and teamed up with Elton John in another Disney animated
classic, The Lion King.
Rice has also teamed up with other distinguished composers such as Mike Batt
(including David Essex's A Winter's Tale), Marvin Hamlisch (for Bing
Crosby, Jack Lemmon, Lauren Bacall, and George Burns), John Barry (title song
All Time High for the James Bond film, Octopussy), Paul Jones,
Vangelis, Paul McCartney, Rick Wakeman, Francis Lai, and the late Freddie
Mercury (songs for his album with opera diva Montserrat Caballe). Forming
their own record label EP Records in 1981, Tim Rice and Elaine
Page have released many albums by Paige that have become best-selling hits.
This pair has also, with Robert Fox, co-produced the 1989 West End revival of
Cole Porter's classic musical, Anything Goes.
In addition to his numerous musical accomplishments, Mr. Rice is the founder
and director of Pavilion Books, one of England's most renowned new
publishing houses. He is also a co-author of the Guiness Book of Hit
Singles, the authority of the British music industry. Rice also
regularly broadcasts for the BBC as well as several independent radio
and television networks. In 1985, he was declared England's Rock Brain of
the Universe by Radio One. Rice went on to pen a 15-part history
of Western pop music in 1986 for the BBC World Service.
Among the lyricist's future projects is another teaming with Elton John on
Disney's feature-length animated version of Aida, which is currently
in development.
The incredible lyrics of the hit musical Evita were written by Mr. Tim
Rice, born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1944.
Tim first encountered the entertainment industry when he was the lead singer
for a music group entitled the Aardvarks from 1961-1963. His first
published song was That's My Story in 1965.
During this same year, Rice met Andrew
Lloyd Webber, and together they produced four musicals: The Likes Of
Us, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar,
and Evita. Although the first was never performed, the latter three
have become sensational theatre shows produced throughout the world. The
two have also worked together on numbers that have not appeared in shows,
including a song recorded by Elvis Presley in 1976 called It's Easy For
You. They also worked on Cricket, a 30-minute comic musical, which
enjoyed its world premiere at Windsor Castle in 1986 with the presence of the
Royal Family.
Rice has also teamed up with other distinguished composers such as Mike Batt
(including David Essex's A Winter's Tale), Marvin Hamlisch (for Bing
Crosby, Jack Lemmon, Lauren Bacall, and George Burns), John Barry (title song
All Time High for the James Bond film, Octopussy), Paul Jones,
Vangelis, Paul McCartney, Rick Wakeman, Francis Lai, and the late Freddie
Mercury (songs for his album with opera diva Montserrat Caballe). Forming
their own record label EP Records in 1981, Tim Rice and Elaine
Page have released many albums by Paige that have become best-selling hits.
This pair has also, with Robert Fox, co-produced the 1989 West End revival of
Cole Porter's classic musical, Anything Goes.