andy Newman had gone to the top of the pop charts as the songwriter of Three Dog Night's 1970 hit "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)," but as a performer he came up just short of the chart peak, courtesy of a controversial song called "Short People."

Debuting in the Billboard Top 40 on Dec. 10, 1977, "Short People" was New Orleans born singer/composer/pianist Randy Newman's sole Top 40 hit and the lead track from his third studio album, Little Criminals. First charting on Oct. 22, 1977, Little Criminals climbed to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and remained on the chart for 29 weeks. Newman's only Top 10 album, it was certified as a gold seller by the R.I.A.A. on January 24, 1978.

Born on November 28, 1943, Newman came from a musical heritage. His uncles, Alfred and Lionel Newman, composed for 20th Century Fox Pictures, and before long Randy was making some musical moves of his own. Starting with 1961's "Golden Gridiron Boy," which was produced by a notable singer from days past, crooner Pat Boone, Newman developed a reputation for his songwriting. A meeting with producer Lenny Waronker helped Newman get signed with Reprise Records, where he released his debut album in 1968. Waronker sensed that there was something special about the songwriter's approach to his music, as he told Billboard magazine in 1998, "Many of his songs were written from another person's point of view instead of first person, and to tackle the subject matter that he did and play the characters he did, who were more often than not bad guys, was so innovative."

While Three Dog Night topped the charts with Newman's "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)," Newman didn't reach the singles chart until 1978, when a track from his album Little Criminals started making some waves on the radio. "Short People," a sardonic song about the vertically impaired, was condemned by many people, who thought Newman was serious in his assessment that short people had no reason to live. Newman remembered, "There were people who were generally angry and still are. I underestimated people's sensitivity to it. It's so clear to me the guy is nuts that I just didn't think anyone would really take it seriously."

"I would never write a song just to make fun of someone or something," Newman told the Chicago Tribune. "At least I hope I wouldn't. Every song I've written that some people might see as making fun, I've never considered nasty. What I'm making fun of is people's callousness and insensitivity, and often that callousness is exaggerated to the people where it's funny."

Featuring background vocals by rocker J. D. Souther and Eagles Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmidt, "Short People" entered the charts at #87 and within 12 weeks had attained the rather lofty position of #2 on the pop charts. The song proved to be an anomaly, as his subsequent hits failed to reach the Top 40. A 1983 collaboration with singer/songwriter Paul Simon, "The Blues," performed the best, climbing to #51. Later that year, Newman's "I Love L.A." was used to promote the Summer Olympics and bubbled under at #110. His last chart single was 1988's #60 hit "It's Money That Matters."

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.

 

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