Rice, Tim (1944-…), is a British writer of song lyrics. He gained international fame for his work with British composers Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John.
Rice and Lloyd Webber created three musicals that became worldwide hits. They are Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968, revised 1973 and 1991), Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), and Evita (1978). The team also won an Academy Award for their song “You Must Love Me” from the 1996 motion-picture version of Evita. In addition, Rice won Academy Awards for the songs “A Whole New World” (with Alan Menken) from the animated motion picture Aladdin (1992) and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (with Elton John) from The Lion King (1994), another animated film. Rice also collaborated with Elton John on the Broadway musical Aida (2000). Rice and John won the Grammy Award in 2001 for best musical show album for a collection of musical pieces from the play. Like the play, the album was titled Aida.
Rice wrote the lyrics for the musical drama Chess (1986), with music by the Swedish composers Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of the pop group ABBA. Rice has also provided lyrics for songs written by other composers, including John Barry, Marvin Hamlisch, Paul McCartney, and Lalo Schifrin.
Timothy Miles Bindon Rice was born Nov. 10, 1944, in Buckinghamshire, England. He began his career as a record producer trainee in 1966. He served as a host of several music programs on television and wrote a 15-part history of Western popular music for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Rice has authored or edited books on the sport of cricket and coauthored several books on popular music. In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him, and he became known as Sir Tim Rice. His autobiography, Oh, What a Circus, was published in 1999.
