Beetlejuice and cake in the rain: The wild story behind MacArthur Park

• In 1967, the American songwriter Jimmy Webb received a call from record producer Bones Howe requesting a song for the American pop group The Association. Envisaging “a kind of climactic tour de force”, Howe asked for a majestic marriage of pop and classical music comprising “different movements and tempos” and a melody that would prove irresistible to Top 40 radio. As if that wasn’t enough, the track, which could be up to 10 minutes long, should also feature harmonic vocal parts for the band’s s