''Little Criminals'' is a 1977

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

. Like most of Newman's work, the album eschews traditional pop-music themes ("I'll Be Home" is the only love song on the album) in favor of musical story-telling, often featuring quirky characters and cynical views. The first song on the album – "

Short People "Short People" is a song by Randy Newman from his 1977 album, '' Little Criminals''. The verses and chorus are lyrically constructed as a prejudiced attack on short people. In contrast, the bridge states that "short people are just the same as ...

" – became a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

in its own right. The album itself peaked at #9 on the US ''Billboard'' 200

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

, Newman's highest-charting album to date. Some of the instrumental work and backing vocals on the album are performed by members of the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

. In particular,

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don ...

played guitar on two tracks,

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

played guitar on three tracks, and

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

and Tim Schmit sang background vocals on one track each. Frey and

J. D. Souther John David "J. D." Souther (born November 2, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Souther is probably best known for his songwriting abilities, especi ...

, who had earlier been the duo

Longbranch Pennywhistle Longbranch Pennywhistle was a country rock/folk music group featuring Glenn Frey and John David Souther. They originally performed as "John David & Glenn," but when they added bass player David Jackson, they were encouraged to come up with a new na ...

, sang background vocals on three tracks. Newman wrote, conducted and played

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

on all tracks.

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s were programmed by

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...

. In September 1977 the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' published the following interview with Newman talking sardonically about his then new release: "There's one song about a child murderer," Newman deadpans. "That's fairly optimistic. Maybe. There's one called 'Jolly Coppers on Parade' which isn't an absolutely anti-police song. Maybe it's even a fascist song. I didn't notice at the time. There's also one about me as a cowboy called 'Rider in the Rain'. I think it's ridiculous. The Eagles are on there. That's what's good about it. There's also this song 'Short People'. It's purely a joke. I like other ones on the album better but the audiences go for that one." It placed 8th in the 1977

Pazz & Jop Critics Poll Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

, and in 2000 it was voted number 468 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''. The song "Baltimore" was covered by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

The Tamlins The Tamlins are a Jamaican reggae vocal group formed in the late 1960s, known for their hits such as "Baltimore", and their work with artists such as Peter Tosh. History The group originally comprised Carlton Smith, Junior Moore and Winston Mor ...

, David Gray,

Billy Mackenzie William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...

Lianne La Havas Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 1989), known professionally as Lianne La Havas ( ), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for who ...

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

Mink Stole Nancy Paine Stoll (born August 25, 1947), known professionally as Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, and has appeared in all of his feature films to date (a distinc ...

, Portuguese band Coldfinger and Nedric Nedo. "In Germany Before the War" was covered by British band

Diesel Park West Diesel Park West are an English alternative rock band from Leicester, England. Formed in 1980, they have released nine official albums, plus six singles that have appeared in the UK Singles Chart. Current line-up *John Butler (vocals, guitar) ...

on their covers album "God Only Knows" in 1992. The song "I'll Be Home", meanwhile, had been written by Newman years previously, and was originally recorded in 1970 by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

on his album ''

Nilsson Sings Newman ''Nilsson Sings Newman'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released in February 1970 on RCA Victor. It features songs written by Randy Newman. Recorded over six weeks in late 1969, the album showcases Nilsson ...

'' and by

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...

on his 1972 album ''

Painted Head ''Painted Head'' is an album by folk artist Tim Hardin, recorded in England and released in 1972. It was Hardin's last release on Columbia Records. Background Hardin had moved to England in February, 1972 after the release of his album '' Bird on ...

''. The album's cover artwork is a photographic portrait of Randy Newman by celebrity photographer and graphic artist

Bob Seidemann Robert Emett (Bob) Seidemann (December 28, 1941 – November 27, 2017 ) was an American graphic artist and photographer. Biography Seidemann was born in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in Queens. He graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviat ...

. It features Newman standing on the West 7th Street overpass above the

I-110 Interstate 110 may refer to: *Interstate 110 (California), a north–south freeway running through Los Angeles, California *Interstate 110 (Florida), a spur route in Pensacola, Florida *Interstate 110 (Louisiana), a spur route in Baton Rouge, Loui ...

freeway in the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Randy Newman - vocals, keyboards and synthesizer *

- additional synthesizer and synthesizer programming # "Short People" – 2:54 #*

J.D. Souther John David "J. D." Souther (born November 2, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles (band), Eagles. Souther is probably best known for his songwriting ab ...

, Tim Schmit - backing vocals #*

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...

- bass #*

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percu ...

- congas #*

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

- drums #*

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy N ...

- guitar # "You Can't Fool The Fatman" – 2:44 #*

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...

- bass #* Milt Holland - congas #*

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

- drums # "Little Criminals" – 3:04 #* Willie Weeks - bass #* Andy Newmark,

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

- drums #* Glenn Frey - guitar #*

- guitar, slide guitar #* Milt Holland - percussion # "Texas Girl at the Funeral of Her Father" – 2:40 #* Ralph Grierson - piano # "Jolly Coppers on Parade" – 3:46 #* Klaus Voormann - bass #* Milt Holland - congas #* Jim Keltner - drums, temple blocks #* Waddy Wachtel - guitar # "In Germany Before the War" – 3:39 #* No contributions are specified # "

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

's Impersonation of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

in America" – 3:02 #* Willie Weeks - bass #* Jim Keltner - drums # "Baltimore" – 4:02 #* Glenn Frey, J.D. Souther - backing vocals #* Willie Weeks - bass #* Andy Newmark, Rick Marotta - drums #* Glenn Frey - guitar #* Milt Holland - percussion # "I'll Be Home" – 2:47 #* Klaus Voormann - bass #* Jim Keltner - drums #* Waddy Wachtel - guitar # "Rider in the Rain" – 3:54 #*

, Glenn Frey, J.D. Souther - backing vocals #* Willie Weeks - bass #* Rick Marotta - drums #* Waddy Wachtel - guitar # "Kathleen (Catholicism Made Easier)" – 3:35 #* Willie Weeks - bass #* Rick Marotta - drums #* Joe Walsh - guitar #*

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

- mandolin # "Old Man on the Farm" – 2:14 #* Randy Newman - piano ;Technical *Lee Herschberg, Loyd Clifft - engineer *Mike Salisbury - cover design *

- cover photography at 1013 7th Street, Los Angeles, California

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

References

{{Authority control 1977 albums Randy Newman albums Albums produced by Russ Titelman Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Warner Records albums Albums arranged by Randy Newman Albums conducted by Randy Newman