If you’re reading this, chances are you know a lot of great songs by Randy Newman. The language and directness of his music is so accessible and compelling, you can hardly forget hearing one of his songs, for better or for worse. One of the first singer-songwriters to appear in the 1960s, his unique style is essentially dramatic story-telling, often in the third person, and spans an incredible emotional range from biting satire to naive idealism. Listening to Newman one can learn a great deal about composition, poetry, acting, film-scoring, politics and history, with a big helping of humor.

The 1981 movie Ragtime signified an important breakthrough for Newman the film composer, whose artistic focus has always been the sounds and stories of America. Set in early twentieth century New York City, the movie weaves together historic themes of social injustice, tragedy, freedom and the American dream - an ideal canvass for Newman’s bitter-sweet score and heart-wrenching songs. It proved to be a powerful match, and the movie’s commercial success garnered its composer with Oscar nominations and a springboard to a high caliber Hollywood film-scoring career. This is the movie’s main theme, played by the composer himself:

This miniature is a beautiful example for some of Newman’s greatest musical tools: A simple and clear melody, an effective and compact orchestration on the piano, original and free use of a blues harmonic pallet and a strong forward-motion rhythm. This theme is also presented on the score as a song, called “One More Hour,” which adds Newman’s dramatic story-telling layer to the music:

One more hour / one more day / one more midnight / fade away // One more sad song / play for me / one more sad song / play for me / won’t you play for me.