Tim Rice

Tim Rice, born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 10 November 1944, became one of the defining English lyricists of postwar musical theatre through long partnerships rather than a single house style. After attending Lancing College, he worked briefly as an articled clerk for a London law firm, then met composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1965. Their first completed stage work, The Likes of Us, was written in 1965 but was not professionally staged until 2005 at the Sydmonton Festival. Rice and Lloyd Webber reached a wide audience with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, first presented as a 15-minute school cantata in 1968. Its Biblical tale of Joseph, his jealous brothers, and his rise in Egypt was expanded repeatedly before its West End success. They followed it with Jesus Christ Superstar, first issued as a 1970 concept album. Rice’s lyrics retell the final days of Jesus largely through Judas’s conflicted perspective; “Superstar” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” became major recordings. In 1976, Evita brought Rice and Lloyd Webber to a subject drawn from Argentina’s political history: Eva Perón’s ascent from poverty to the presidency alongside Juan Perón, and her death in 1952. The score’s “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” became its signature song. Rice won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Evita, while the original cast recording won a Grammy Award. With Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, Rice wrote Chess, whose 1984 concept album preceded a London production. The musical turns a Cold War chess championship into a contest of personal allegiance and international pressure. “One Night in Bangkok” was a global pop hit, and “I Know Him So Well” became a UK number-one single for Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson. Rice later wrote lyrics with Elton John for Disney’s animated films Aladdin and The Lion King. “A Whole New World,” from Aladdin, earned Rice and composer Alan Menken the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1993. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” from The Lion King, won the same Oscar in 1995 for Rice and John. His television credit on Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert brought him a Primetime Emmy in 2018, completing competitive EGOT status. He was knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to music and charity. His output moves memorably between historical biography, biblical reinterpretation, Cold War satire, and animated-film romance, making words central.