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Near the Beginning Lyrics by Albert Brooks

A Star is Bought

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[Instrumental Intro]
[Charlie Van Dyke]
Top 40 radio – for years, it's dominated America's ears the way an overbearing mother dominates her child: with tight playlists, frequent contests, and a large male staff. Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz.
[Peter Tork]
Albert came to us and asked, "Uh, how do get a Top 40 hit?"
[Micky Dolenz]
Heh, we both laughed.
[Tork]
Yeah. [both laugh] Yeah, right, I said, "Look, Albert, you can't really sing."
[Dolenz]
"You can't play guitar."
[Tork]
"You know, you've got no Top 40 skills. Why don't you try to make one of those gimmick records?"
[Dolenz]
"One of those, uh, flying saucer things where they use piecеs of all the big hits and then write somе dumb story around them?"
[David Braun]
Well, Albert waltzed into my office one day—
[Van Dyke]
Superstar lawyer David Braun.
[Braun]
—and then he gave me this idea that he had for building this story around gold records. I hated to be the one to prick that balloon. But I had to point out to him that the problem was enormous: he had to get releases from the artists, permission from the record companies, mechanical—uh—licenses from the publishers. And even after he got all those things, it would cost him a fortune in royalties! And I said, "Albert, for what this thing's gonna cost ya, you might as well go out and make your own—"
[Albert Brooks]
"—gold records!" And he thought he was joking, but that's exactly what I did. And I'll tell you something, the—the whole "outer space" concept is so freaky, it's so far out, I really don't think Top 40 stations are even gonna realize these aren't so-called "real hits". And, uh, whatever royalties this thing does earn—[huff]—at least the checks are gonna be coming to a "Mr. A. Brooks" and not some schmuck I don't even know!
Credits
Albert Brooks

Albert Brooks

About “Near the Beginning” by Albert Brooks

Read the complete lyrics to "Near the Beginning" by Albert Brooks from the album "A Star is Bought". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Comedy, Non-Music.

"Near the Beginning" is performed by Albert Brooks. from the album "A Star is Bought" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Near the Beginning", explore more songs by Albert Brooks using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Near the Beginning" is credited to Albert Brooks. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Near the Beginning" appears on "A Star is Bought".

Visit the Albert Brooks artist page at /artist/albert-brooks for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.