In the summer of 1985, Jimmy Webb was burned out from back-to-back tours and recording projects. His doctor told him to take a break, get out of the city, and rest. Jimmy chose a small wooden cabin on Lake Tahoe, where the balcony looked straight out onto deep blue water.
Inside the cabin stood an old upright piano by a wide-open window, letting in the scent of pine and the sound of the lake. In the mornings, Jimmy would sit for hours listening to the water lapping against the shore, the birds in the pines, and the faint resonance of the piano wood when the breeze passed through.
On the seventh day there, as his body began to recover, Jimmy casually played a simple major chord. The sound mingled with the rhythm of the waves, creating something new. He kept playing, letting the melody flow naturally. Within three days, he had completed “Shoreline”—an instrumental piece for piano, leaving enough space for the listener to fill in with their own memories.
Jimmy never officially released “Shoreline.” He played it only for close friends, or on quiet evenings by the lake. He once said:
“That song came from being forced to stop… and realizing music needs space to breathe.”
Ever since, whenever he felt pressured or lost, Jimmy would return to a lakeside spot, find a piano, and begin again with a simple major chord—just like in 1985.