“I have been given your address by Desmond Elliott of Arlington Books, who I believe has also told you of my existence. Mr. Elliott has also told me that you ‘were looking for a “with-it” writer’ of lyrics for your songs, and as I have been writing pop songs for a short while now and particularly enjoy writing the lyrics I wondered if you consider it worth your while meeting me. I may fall short of your requirements, but anyway it would be interesting to meet up—I hope!”—Aspiring lyricist Tim Rice to future composing partner Andrew Lloyd-Webber, letter of April 21, 1965, quoted in Stephen Citron, Sondheim & Lloyd Webber: The New Musical (2001)
You’d expect that the young-man-in-a-hurry Lloyd-Webber, not laid-back Rice, would have written that letter, or even followed up a few days later, when no reply came, by showing up on the doorstep of the letter’s recipient. This time, though, it was the other way around.
The pair would go on to collaborate on Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Evita—and, separately, with others, go on to create the likes of The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Sunset Boulevard, and The Lion King. Divorces and knighthoods came for the two of them, to boot.
Now you know which one of the two partners to thank for all of this to come—or, if you’re not a fan (I prefer the accent on Broadway to fall on songs rather than falling chandeliers, thank you very much), the one to blame.
You’d expect that the young-man-in-a-hurry Lloyd-Webber, not laid-back Rice, would have written that letter, or even followed up a few days later, when no reply came, by showing up on the doorstep of the letter’s recipient. This time, though, it was the other way around.
The pair would go on to collaborate on Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Evita—and, separately, with others, go on to create the likes of The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Sunset Boulevard, and The Lion King. Divorces and knighthoods came for the two of them, to boot.
Now you know which one of the two partners to thank for all of this to come—or, if you’re not a fan (I prefer the accent on Broadway to fall on songs rather than falling chandeliers, thank you very much), the one to blame.
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