My interview with American songwriter Jimmy Webb starts with a warning: “I can talk forever, which many people have discovered to their chagrin,” says the 68-year-old musician.

It’s true, Jimmy certainly can talk – but he has lots to say, having had a 50-year career working with some of the most famous and well-respected artists in music history.

Oklahoma-born Jimmy is the man behind some of the most enduring songs of our time – MacArthur Park, Galveston and Wichita Lineman – and has penned classics for the likes of Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand and Johnny Cash. But how much do we know about the acclaimed songwriter?

In his new show, coming to St Albans, Jimmy will share the stories behind his songs, packing in a host of nostalgic tunes and remembering highlights from his extraordinary career – including an invitation for a backstage meeting at an Elvis Presley concert in Las Vegas.

“That was like, really a shocker. It was like: ‘There’s Elvis Presley,’ I could reach out and touch him,” explains Jimmy, who worked with the legendary singer.

High-profile colleagues aside, the dad-of-six has spent a lifetime perfecting his craft, which has earned him a place in the hallowed Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Academy of Songwriters.

The son of an Oklahoma preacher, Jimmy knew aged 12 that he wanted to write music.

And fewer than ten years later, in 1967, he had two Grammy awards under his belt for his song Up, Up and Away, recorded by The Fifth Dimension.

Remembering his early career, Jimmy says: “We used to sell records out of the trunks of our cars. I can literally remember taking a record out of the trunk of my car and walking into a radio station and handing it to the DJ.”

It was during his fledgling years as a songwriter in Los Angeles that he first had the chance to visit England to work with Irish actor Richard Harris, who recorded one of Jimmy’s most famous songs, MacArthur Park in 1968.

“I absolutely fell in love with the place – not to mention a couple of English girls who I fell in love with as well,” confesses Jimmy, who is now happily married to Laura Savini, host and producer on the US television organisation PBS.

“London was my alter-ego. I went to a Beatles session which was, you know, trippy, I came to just love it and I can’t even remember how many times I’ve been there – it used to be like I would commute.”

A great admirer of the song writing talent of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Jimmy also cites Joni Mitchell as a great influence on his career.

When I ask the platinum-selling songwriter who he has enjoyed working with, he says: “I spent many, many happy hours with Mr Sinatra.

“He loved to listen to songs, he would sit in an armchair with maybe one or two cigarettes and two fingers of Jack Daniels, which was his favourite drink, and listen to songs, and occasionally he would say: ‘That one, I think I’d like to try that one’. For me as a teenager from Oklahoma it was like – is this really happening?”

Jimmy credits tenacity as the key to his successful career, which has earned him Grammy awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration, and says he feels lucky to have touched so many people’s lives with his songs.

“One thing that I could say, is even as a young guy in my teens – which is really where all this started – that I never really shied away from the emotional side of being a man,” he muses. “I’ve never been afraid to be romantic.”

Aside from his upcoming tour, Jimmy is preparing to record a new album – his eleventh solo effort. And half a century since he started out, the lyricist is still coming up with fresh ideas. “I think I have some of the best ideas I’ve ever had,” says Jimmy.

Jimmy Webb, Alban Arena, Civic Centre, St Albans, Wednesday, April 15, 7.30pm. Details: 01727 844488, alban-arena.co.uk