After transcribing other people's music for a small music publisher in Hollywood, Webb was signed to a songwriting contract with Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Motown Records. The first commercial recording of a Jimmy Webb song was "My Christmas Tree" by The Supremes, which appeared on their 1965 "Merry Christmas" album. The following year, Webb met singer and producer Johnny Rivers, who signed him to a publishing deal and recorded his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" on his 1966 album "Changes". In 1967, Rivers released "Rewind", an album featuring seven Jimmy Webb songs, including "Do What You Gotta Do" and "Tunesmith", a song also recorded that year by Vikki Carr for her album "It Must Be Him". That same year, Rivers turned to Webb for material for a new group Rivers was producing called the 5th Dimension. Webb contributed five songs to their debut album, "Up, Up and Away", including the title track, which was released as a single in May 1967 and reached the Top Ten. The group's follow-up album, "The Magic Garden", was also released in 1967 and featured eleven additional Webb songs, including "Worst That Could Happen".