Originally posted with the title Phil Ramone Biography to the Newville Avenue Mailing List on August 21 1998.
The album entitled Phil Ramone's Greatest Hits is one you won't find in any record store. But such a release could create a music history all its own, because it would feature such favorite chart-busters as: Still Crazy After All These Years, Evergreen, Too Late for Goodbyes, Maniac, Crazy For You, and Uptown Girl. And that's just side one.
Although Ramone is acknowledged as one of the top producers in the recording industry, his genius embraces all aspects of the entertainment business. He is as at home on a movie set as he is in a recording studio, as conversant with futuristic techno-wizards as he is with creative artists. A music producer extraordinaire, Phil Ramone has been making the music that America sings to since he first exploded on the pop scene in 1963. In subsequent years, it has been Ramone's genius that has masterminded the sounds we now associate with such music greats as Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Gloria Estefan, and dozens of others.
Revered by his peers as the Pope of Pop, Ramone's musical talent spans every facet of the industry. As a producer, he's "bi-lingual," an invaluable flexibility that allows him to relate equally well to both the technical side and to the creative. On the technical side, he's famous for pushing the envelope to the max. He is responsible for innovations that have changed the very face of the recording industry. It was Ramone, for example, who was responsible for the:
Today, Ramone is lending his technical genius to Entertainment Digital Network (EDNet), a company that has developed a state-of-the-art process that uses fiber optics and phone lines to create one-on-one studio intimacy for the simultaneous recording of musical elements from opposite ends of the globe. He is also a special consultant to George Lucas' Skywalker Sound.
Ramone's career has embraced virtually every aspect of the music industry. He was born with the gift. A true child prodigy, he began playing the violin at age three and by age 10, played at a Command Performance for the King and Queen of England. As a student at the prestigious Julliard School of Music, the teenaged Phil put in grueling days studying and practicing classical violin while, at the same time, attending regular high school classes, and squeezing in time to work as a drugstore delivery boy to earn extra money. "I did most of my sleeping on the subway up to 125th Street, where Julliard was in those days," he recalls, wryly.
The classics were rewarding, but the young Ramone needed more. He kept on playing...he was fascinated by the process of sound -- by the way music sounded, by the way it sounded in recordings. By the age of 18, he had worked as a performer and writer, traveling and playing clubs. While learning to make records he plunged into the techno-world of sound engineering. Several talented recording engineers became his new mentors, allowing the curious teenager access to the world behind the scenes of pop recordings.
"I was lucky," he laughs. "I got a job sweeping up at a studio that made demo tapes for singers and songwriters and I ended up learning how to make records quick."
By 1961, he had his own independent studio, A&R Recording, in New York. The rest, as they say, is history.
Whether his job is as a producer who must understand the intricacies of engineering, or as an engineer who is able to cross-over into creative producing, Ramone's unique battery of skills makes him invaluable to the artists he works with. Many of those relationships are long-term: he's been working with Quincy Jones since the mid-'60s when, in 1965, they collaborated on the score of the movie The Pawnbroker. His association with Paul Simon began back in 1973; and with Billy Joel in 1977. He has produced award-winning albums for such legends as Streisand and Sinatra, as well as Liza Minnelli, Elton John and Paul McCartney.
He is also the moving force behind a group of relative newcomers, some of this generation's own mega-stars like Gloria Estefan, and Sinead O'Connor. Many others have reaped the benefits of his talents. By combining his engineer's genius with his producer's empathy, Ramone helped Julian Lennon find his own musical identity. And his skills have helped shape the sexy sounds of the latest new singing heartthrob, Jon Secada.
It's impossible to think of an area in the entertainment business today that has not benefitted from Ramone's contributions. His broadstroke career has made him one of the masons for the cornerstones of music that exist in our culture.
Although one of the top producers in the music business, Phil Ramone's talents extend far beyond the recording studio. From Grammy-winning albums to TV specials, from feature films to Marilyn Monroe's show-stopping Happy Birthday Mr. President Special, Phil Ramone continues as a guiding force in the entertainment industry.
Below are selected career highlights.
(Some of the artists he has worked with)
| CAUGHT ON
FILM: Internet Marketing Guru Spills His Guts About How
to Shovel Money off the Internet! View video footage of a private meeting you were NEVER supposed to hear about -- where millionaire marketing guru Corey Rudl reveals his most successful stealth marketing strategies to a handful of his top clients! You'll discover the exact secrets he's using to generate over $20,821 in online sales EVERY DAY! |
Return to Other Musicians
Last changed: Mon Oct 22 22:25:33 EDT 2007