December 25th 2024.
Richard Perry, a renowned record producer, known for his ability to produce both classic and contemporary hits, passed away at the age of 82 on Tuesday. He was responsible for numerous successful albums, including Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," Rod Stewart's "The Great American Songbook" series, and a Ringo Starr album that featured all four Beatles. His friend, Daphna Kastner, shared that he suffered from cardiac arrest and passed away at a hospital in Los Angeles. Perry was also a recipient of the Grammys Trustee Award in 2015.
Kastner fondly remembered Perry as someone who made the most out of his time on Earth. She considered him a "father friend" and shared that he was the godfather to her son. "He was generous, fun, sweet, and made the world a better place. The world is a little less sweeter without him here. But it's a little bit sweeter in heaven," she said.
Perry was a musician himself, having played the drums, oboe, and even sang in a doo-wop group. His versatility and wide range of musical styles made him a rare producer who had number one hits on the pop, R&B, dance, and country charts. He was known as a "musician's producer," treating artists as equals and not just vehicles for his own personal taste.
Singers often turned to Perry when they wanted to update their sound, revive their career, or fulfill their early promise. Barbra Streisand, in her 2023 memoir "My Name is Barbra," wrote, "Richard had a knack for matching the right song to the right artist." Perry's life was also filled with famous friends and exciting experiences. He was backstage for performances by Little Richard and Chuck Berry in the 1950s, attended the iconic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and even participated in a recording session for The Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed" album.
Perry's home in West Hollywood was known as a hub for late-night gatherings and parties. His social circle included the likes of Paul and Linda McCartney, Mick and Bianca Jagger, and he even dated Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda. In his autobiography, "Rod," Stewart fondly remembered Perry's home as a place for "full-blown knees-up with drink and music and dancing."
In the 1970s, Perry helped facilitate a near-Beatles reunion. He had produced a track on Ringo Starr's first solo album and grew closer to him through mutual friends like Harry Nilsson. When Starr released his album "Ringo" in 1973, it featured contributions from Nilsson, Billy Preston, Steve Cropper, Martha Reeves, and all five members of The Band. The album was a commercial success, reaching number two on the Billboard charts and selling over a million copies. The hit singles included "Photograph," co-written by Starr and George Harrison, and a remake of the 1950s classic "You're Sixteen."
But for Perry and many others, the most memorable track on the album was a non-hit, custom-made song. John Lennon's "I'm the Greatest" was a humorous anthem for the self-deprecating drummer and brought three Beatles together in the studio just three years after the band's breakup. The track featured Starr on drums and lead vocals, Lennon on keyboards and backing vocals, and their longtime friend Klaus Voormann on bass. Harrison even joined the recording session after his assistant phoned in to ask if he could join.
In his 2021 memoir "Cloud Nine," Perry shared, "As I looked around the room, I realized that I was at the very epicenter of the spiritual and musical quest I had dreamed of for so many years. By the end of each session, a small group of friends had gathered, standing silently along the back wall, just thrilled to be there."
While Paul McCartney was not present for "I'm the Greatest," he did lend his talents to the ballad "Six O'Clock," featuring him and his wife Linda on backing vocals. Perry had helped make pop history the year before with his production of "You're So Vain," which he considered the closest he ever came to producing a perfect record. The song, which featured Voormann's iconic bass runs and Jagger on backing vocals, hit number one on the charts in 1972 and sparked a long-term debate over its intended target.
In his memoir, Perry finally revealed the true inspiration behind the song, saying, "The person that the song is based on is really a composite of several men that Carly dated in the '60s and early '70s, but primarily, it's about my good friend, Warren Beatty."
Perry's work continued to produce hit singles, including The Pointer Sisters' "Neutron Dance" and DeBarge's "Rhythm of the Night." He also worked on albums by the likes of Simon, Ray Charles, and Art Garfunkel. But his greatest success came in the early 2000s when he produced Stewart's "The Great American Songbook" albums. The project was born out of Stewart's writer's block and personal struggles, and Perry played a crucial role in helping him create a successful album. The album featured classic standards such as "The Very Thought of You," "Angel Eyes," and "Where or When."
In his memoir, Perry shared the story of how he and Stewart came up with the idea for the album. "We were at a back table in our favorite restaurant, exchanging ideas and writing them down on a napkin. As I sat there and listened to him sing, it was clear that we both sensed we were onto something," he recalled.
Born in New York City, Perry came from a musical family. His parents founded Peripole Music, a company that manufactured instruments for young people. With their support and encouragement, Perry learned to play multiple instruments and even formed a doo-wop group called The Escorts. He studied music and theater at the University of Michigan, initially dreaming of becoming a Broadway actor. But in the mid-1960s, he made a "life-changing" decision to form a production company with Gary Katz, who went on to work with Steely Dan.
By the end of the decade, Perry was a successful and highly sought-after producer, working on acclaimed albums such as Captain Beefheart's "Safe As Milk" and Ella Fitzgerald's "Ella." In the early 1970s, he produced Streisand's million-selling album "Stoney End," where she showcased her versatility by covering a range of pop and rock songs. Streisand fondly remembered her first meeting with Perry, saying, "I liked Richard from the moment we met. He was tall and lanky, with a mop of dark, curly hair and a big smile, which his big heart," she wrote in her memoir. "Whatever hesitation I may have felt about our collaboration soon vanished, and I thought, 'This could be fun and musically liberating.'"
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