Jimmy Webb Sets Release of 13 Found Songs on Sun Records

On the eve of his 80th birthday, Songwriters Hall of Famer Jimmy Webb has turned to a private archive: the piano bench. The result is Yours for the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb, a 13-track collection of previously unreleased material spanning his six-decade career, due Oct. 23 via Sun Records.

The first shared recording, “Winter Clothes (Original Demo),” is an early take of a song Webb wrote with Frank Sinatra in mind nearly 50 years ago. A newly recorded version featuring Graham Nash also appears on the album. Webb described the material as songs that remained “in the piano bench” for decades—some intended for singers who never recorded them, others simply never released.

Longtime producer Fred Mollin, who safeguarded the compositions, helped shape the record with Nashville musicians. Webb characterizes the album as rock and roll with touches of jazz and country, a deliberate move away from a conventional Nashville sound. Across 11 newly produced tracks and two original demos, guests include Michael McDonald, Amy Grant, Marc Cohn, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Justin Currie.

Webb frames the project as an older writer reconsidering his younger self. “A younger Jimmy Webb wrote these songs, decades ago,” he says. “He was in a rush. He was hard on himself and his works. He was moving fast and leaving songs behind.” The album reaches back toward songs made for specific voices, now finally given a setting.