Richard Perry
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Richard Perry is one of the most successful producers in music history who's career has spanned over 42 years. He has produced albums that have resulted in sales of over 100 million copies. He has worked with such legendary artists as The Beatles (on two Ringo Starr solo albums), Rod Stewart, The Pointer Sisters, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, Martha Reeves, Art Garfunkel, The Temptations, DeBarge, Neil Diamond, Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson, Manhattan Transfer, Leo Sayer, Tiny Tim, Fats Domino, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Burton Cummings, Randy Travis, Donna Summer, Jeffrey Osborne, and Captain Beefheart.
Born and raised in Brooklyn New York, Perry moved to Los Angeles in 1967. He became a staff producer with Warner Brothers Records, producing memorable albums with Tiny Tim, Fats Domino, and Ella Fitzgerald among others. On October 30, 1968, he conducted the National Concert Orchestra in Royal Albert Hall for a Tiny Tim concert performance that is considered one of the greatest events in British pop, a recording of which was released by Rhino Records in 2000.
[edit] 1970's
After leaving Warner Bros. in 1970, he produced Barbra Streisand's Stoney End LP, widely regarded as a turning point in her career. During the 70's, Perry's album projects yielded more #1 and top 10 singles than any other producer; among them are Carly Simon's "You're So Vain", "Nobody Does It Better" (for the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me") and "Mockingbird" (her duet with James Taylor), Harry Nilsson's "Without You", "Coconut" and "Jump Into The Fire", Ringo Starr's "Photograph" and "You're Sixteen", and Leo Sayer's "When I Need You" and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (which won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for 1977).
Perry also came closest to organizing a Beatles reunion in 1973 when he helped bring together all four members' talents on the Ringo album, which became one of the best selling solo albums by any of the Beatles. On one track, "I'm The Greatest", written especially for the album by John Lennon, John, George and Ringo all played together. Perry was then asked by McCartney to be Music Supervisor for his first BBC television special. He then encouraged McCartney to write something for the album, which resulted in the song "Six O'Clock".
In 1973, Perry was named Producer of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine and in 1977 by Billboard magazine.
In 1975, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award from his alma mater, the University of Michigan, the second highest honor bestowed by the University.
In 1978, Perry founded his own record company, Planet Records, which was the home of the Pointer Sisters for a decade. The nine albums they did together contained numerous hit singles, beginning with "Fire" and "He's So Shy," which both went gold.
[edit] 1980's
In the 80's Perry and the Pointers continued to have major hits with Slow Hand", "Should I Do It?", "Automatic", "Jump (For My Love)", "I'm So Excited" (which became an anthem for sporting events all over America), "Neutron Dance" (for the film "Beverly Hills Cop") , and "Dare Me". He also produced the #1 international hit by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, "To All The Girls I've Loved Before", which won Academy of Country Music's Record Of The Year. Billboard magazine once again named Perry Producer Of The Year.
In 1985, he produced the hit single "Rhythm Of The Night" by DeBarge, giving him an almost unprecedented 6 top 10 singles in 12 months. That year he became one of the very few producers to have #1 records on the Pop, Urban, Country and Dance charts in his career.
In 1988, he completed a special project, Rock, Rhythm, and Blues. It consisted of classic rock 'n' roll songs from the fifties, each one performed by a different contemporary artist. Included were Elton John, Chaka Khan, Christine McVie, The Pointer Sisters, Michael McDonald, Rick James, El DeBarge, Manhattan Transfer, and Randy Travis. The Randy Travis track, "It's Just A Matter Of Time", was not only a Grammy nominated #1 country hit, but when Radio & Records, the bible of the industry, conducted a SoundScan survey of the top 750 country records of all time, it was listed at #4. He also directed the music videos for the Travis track as well as for Rick James and El DeBarge.
[edit] 1990's
In 1991, Perry began his professional relationship with Rod Stewart by producing the top ten hit "The Motown Song" featuring background vocals by The Temptations.
1992 brought Perry into the studio to do an album with an artist he had longed to work with for many years - Ray Charles. Released in 1993, the album, My World, produced the first top 10 solo single hit Charles had had in over 25 years, "A Song For You", the classic Leon Russell composition. In addition, it earned Charles the 1994 Grammy Award for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.
In 1995, Perry created an album for The Temptations. It contained ten of the most memorable love songs recorded with modern R&B arrangements and enhanced by The Temptations exquisite vocal interpretations. This album, For Lovers Only, was released in September 1995 and re-released in 2002. Perry's favorite track, the Cole Porter classic, "Night And Day", was the featured song in the Mel Gibson - Helen Hunt film, "What Women Want".
[edit] 2000...present
In 2000 Perry and Rod Stewart came up with the idea to do an album of timeless standards from the 30's and 40's. Entitled The Great American Songbook, it created new interest in this genre of American Music and revitalized the music industry. Volume one was released in October 2002 on J Records. In December of that year Perry conducted the orchestra as Stewart performed the entire album for an A & E "In Concert" special. The Great American Songbook Volume 2 was released in October of 2003 and debuted on the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #2. Together both albums have sold over ten million copies worldwide.
Perry has successfully used that genre again with Carly Simon and Art Garfunkel. In 2005 the Perry/Simon standards collaboration Moonlight Serenade debuted at #7 on the Billboard Album Chart giving Simon her first top ten album in 27 years. She also gave an unprecedented concert on board the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton England which became a PBS special and a DVD release entitled Moonlight Serenade On The Queen Mary 2. Once again Perry conducted the orchestra.
His Art Garfunkel standards album Some Enchanted Evening was released on Atco Records on January 31, 2007 and has been universally praised and is considered by Garfunkel to be some of the finest work of his solo career.
[edit] Career Highlights
Perry has had albums in the top ten every decade since the 1960's. Twenty-eight of Perry's albums have earned gold status; 15 have gone platinum. He's earned 13 gold singles along with 6 Grammy nominations for himself as well as many others for his artists. Perry also came closest to organizing a Beatles reunion in 1973 when he helped bring together all four members' talents on the Ringo album, which became one of the best selling solo albums by any of the Beatles. On one track, "I'm The Greatest", written especially for the album by John Lennon, John, George and Ringo all played together. Perry was then asked by McCartney to be Music Supervisor for his first BBC television special. He then encouraged McCartney to write something for the album, which resulted in the song "Six O'Clock".
Perry is one of only 8 producers whose work is featured in the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' Franklin Mint Series of the greatest recordings of the 20th century. He was also the subject of a one hour BBC television documentary and, in 2006, a four part radio special for BBC2.
Perry is one of the only record producer's to direct his own music videos. These videos have been recognized for several awards including a Grammy nomination as Director for Best Music Video (short form) as well as the Pointer Sisters' American Music Awards for Best Black Video Group in 1984 and 1985.
