And the Hello and welcome once again to So Dijaker on songwriting. This is Brian here with Simon and joining

us for episode 219 is a world-renowned English lyricist not to mention one of the

most revered figures in musical theatre. He's perhaps best known for his highly successful partnership

with composer Andrew Lloyd Weber and in 2018 along with his erstwhile partner he became

an egot that is one of only 16 individuals in history to have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

Aside from his lyrical contributions to several of the most beloved, not to mention profitable stage shows in history, He's put words in the mouths of such

artists as Elvis Presley, Madonna, Elton John, Elaine Page, Rita Coolidge, Randy Newman,

Placido Domingo and Bobby V. We are honored to welcome the great Sir Tim Rice to the show.

An eager, eh, blime. Must be hard not to let that go to his head.

Yeah, I imagine such an accolade could cause one to become rather

egot Istical. These are the jokes folks. Tim was born in 1944 in Amisham, Buckinghamshire in the southeast of England.

Though an avid pop music fan from an early age, he initially trained as a solicitor,

but left the legal profession to become an A&R man at EMI records, working on the fame producer Nore Parramore and later becoming his personal assistant.

In 1965, distinguished publisher Desmond Elliot put him in touch with a young Oxford history undergrad with musical leanings named Andrew Lloyd Weber.

The two struck up a fruitful creative partnership almost immediately.

The first musical they wrote together, the likes of us, failed to get off the ground,

but it was a different story with their next effort, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,

originally commissioned by and performed at the Coller Court School in Barnes, London in 1968, the show would gradually evolve into an international theatrical phenomenon.

In the interim, Tim quit his job to concentrate on his burgeoning music career, and he and Andrew set to work on another biblically themed project, Jesus Christ Superstar.

However, lacking the support to mount a theatrical production, they opted to instead record it as an album.

released on the MCA label in late 1970 and featuring performances from the likes of Murray

Head, Avon Ellerman and Deep Purple's Ian Gillen, backed by members of Joe Cocker's Greece band, this triumphant rock opera became the best-selling album of 1971,

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