Randall Stuart “Randy” Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an Academy Award–winning American singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, singer and pianist who is notable for his mordant (and often satirical) pop songs and for his many film scores.Newman is noted for his practice of writing lyrics from the perspective of a “character” far removed from Newman’s own biography, often using the literary device of an unreliable narrator. For example, the 1972 song "Sail Away" is written as a sl