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Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982. From 1978 to 1983, he ran his own record label, Planet Records, but continued after its sale to RCA as an independent producer. With hit records stretching from the 1960s to the 2000s, Perry's more successful modern releases includes albums by Rod Stewart and Carly Simon.
Biography
Early life and career
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1942, Perry came to his interest in rock music young. In 1955, at the age of 12, he attended the first of Alan Freed's live rock shows at the Paramount Theatre. He began his career in rock music as a local performer during his adolescence. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he shifted into songwriting briefly, collaborating with Kenny Vance, before taking a position with Red Bird Records in 1965. Although Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller sold the label in 1966, Perry was launched on his career as a producer, with early projects including Captain Beefheart's debut Safe as Milk and Fats Domino's Fats Is Back. In 1967, Perry moved to Los Angeles and in 1968 produced God Bless Tiny Tim, the debut album of Reprise Records artist Tiny Tim. The album was Perry's first charting hit, reaching #7 on Billboard magazine's Pop Albums chart.
1970s and 1980s
Perry was well established as a producer by 1970. His credits during the decade include albums by Johnny Mathis, Harry Nilsson, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Diana Ross, Manhattan Transfer and Leo Sayer. Among his notable projects in the period was the 1978 album "Ringo", by former Beatles member Ringo Starr. The album featured work by each of the other Beatles and peaked at #2 on the Pop Albums chart.
According to Allmusic's Bruce Eder, the 1970s found Perry "the most renowned producer in the field of popular music"; Eder goes on to indicate that "his mere involvement with a recording project was enough to engender a mention in the music trade papers and even the popular music press, and the array of gold- and platinum-selling albums with which he was associated made his name synonymous with success." As early as 1973, Village Voice said of Perry that "the rungs on the ladder of success seem so much closer together when Perry is your guide."
In 1978, Perry launched his own label, Planet Records, which he ran for six years until its 1983 sale to RCA, by which point Perry had produced throughout his career at least fifteen gold records (four of which had gone platinum) and a dozen gold singles. Among the label's roster during his tenure were acts such as Billy Thermal, Bates Motel, the Plimsouls, Bill Medley and the Pointer Sisters, whose charting album Energy was the label's debut. After leaving Planet Records, Perry continued producing some of its acts, including the Pointer Sister, as well as producing efforts by such artists as Streisand, Julio Iglesias, Neil Diamond, and Randy Travis. While pursuing these projects, Perry spent the latter part of the 1980s also pulling together a passion project, 1989's Rock, Rhythm & Blues, which featured contemporary artists like Elton John, Rick James, and Chaka Khan performing classic rock songs by musicians of the 1950s and early 1960s.
1990s and beyond
In the 1990s and the 2000s, Perry produced such musicians as Syreeta. He worked with Ray Charles on 1993's My World, which was a minor chart success, reaching #145 on Billboard 200. He is credited with helping to craft Rod Stewart's charting pop standards albums in the "Great American Songbook series, including It Had to Be You: the Great American Songbook. Perry and Stewart produced some demos together which Perry played for record producer and label owner Clive Davis in the summer of 2000. Perry would go on to co-produce the first three records in the series. In 2004, he reunited with Carly Simon, with whom he had worked earlier in his career. The resultant collaboration was 2005's Moonlight Serenade, which reached #7 on the Billboard 200 and was also a top internet download. In 2006, he re-entered the studio with another previous collaborator, Art Garfunkel, receiving both producer and singing credits on 2007's Some Enchanted Evening.
References
- ^ Holden, Stephen (Wednesday, May 3, 1989). "Old Grandpa Who". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Eder, Bruce. "Richard Perry". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- "biography". richardperrymusic.com. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- "God Bless Tiny Tim, Billboard albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ""Ringo", Billboard albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- Adels, Robert (November 8, 1973). "Beatles to Blue Eyes". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2009-0706.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Perry had achieved these figures by February 2, 1982. The Ledger. February 2, 1982. p. 35 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aRgVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SfsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6509,526586&dq=richard-perry. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Arar, Yardena (May 28, 1979). "Pointer Sisters' rollercoaster career is at highest point". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- "My World, Billboard albums". Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ Friedman, Roger (Wednesday, October 27, 2004). "Rod Stewart: No. 1, at Last, From the Get-Go". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Friedman, Roger (Monday, December 20, 2004). "Carly Simon back with original hit producer". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Moonlight Serenade, Billboard albums". Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- Friedman, Roger (Wednesday, March 08, 2006). "Paris Hilton Opens Up on Career, New Album". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Some Enchanted Evening". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-06.