- Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone is a
violinist ,composer ,recording engineer , and innovativerecord producer born in 1941.As a young child in
South Africa , Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten. In the late 1940s he trained as a classical violinist atThe Juilliard School , where one of his classmates wasPhil Woods .In 1959 he established an independent recording studio
A&R Recording . There he quickly gained a reputation as a sound engineer and music producer, in particular for his use of innovative technology. Among those whose music he has produced areBurt Bacharach ,Laura Branigan ,Karen Carpenter ,Ray Charles ,Peter Cincotti ,Chicago ,Natalie Cole ,Bob Dylan ,Gloria Estefan ,Aretha Franklin ,Billy Joel ,Elton John ,Fito Páez ,Quincy Jones ,B. B. King ,Diane Schuur ,Julian Lennon , Madonna,Richard Marx ,Paul McCartney ,George Michael ,Sinéad O'Connor ,Luciano Pavarotti ,Andre Previn ,Carly Simon ,Paul Simon ,Frank Sinatra ,Rod Stewart ,James Taylor ,Olivia Newton-John ,Liza Minnelli ,Barry Manilow ,Clay Aiken ,Peter Paul and Mary , andMelissa Errico .Most recently, Ramone has worked with
Anne Murray , who released an all-duets album in 2008 in the US, and withShelby Lynne , whose album paying tribute to the lateDusty Springfield was released Jan. 29, 2008.Beginning in March, Ramone will be producing the first full-album release by Montreal teen jazz artist
Nikki Yanofsky , which is due to be released to coincide with the Montreal International Jazz festival in July 2008.He is also credited with recording
Marilyn Monroe 's rendition of "Happy Birthday to You " to PresidentJohn F. Kennedy .Among the technical innovations he introduced at A&R are four-track recorders, optical
surround sound for movies, and digital recording techniques. His studio was the first to release music commercially oncompact disc ; Billy Joel's "52nd Street" was the first album to be broadly released on the medium.Ramone has been awarded honorary degrees by
Five Towns College andBerklee College of Music . He is also on Berklee'sBoard of Trustees .His book, "Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music", written with Chuck Granata, was released on October 9 2007.
On July 8, 2008 Columbia records released "
The Stranger 30th Anniversary " which features interviews with Ramone. This box set includes a remasterd version of the 1977 album, "The Stranger" by Ramone.Awards
Ramone has won nine
Grammy award s:
* 1965 - Best Engineered Recording (non classical), for "Getz/Gilberto "
* 1970 - Best Musical Show Album for producing "Promises, Promises "
* 1976 - Album of the Year for producing "Still Crazy After All These Years "
* 1979 - Record of the Year for producing "Just the Way You Are "
* 1980 - Album of the Year for producing "52nd Street"
* 1981 - Producer of the Year (non classical)
* 1984 - Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special, for "Flashdance "
* 1995 - Best Musical Show Album for producing "Passion"
* 2003 - Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, for producing "Playin' With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues"He also won an
Emmy Award in 1973 as sound mixer for "Duke Ellington...We Love You Madly", a tribute toDuke Ellington broadcast onCBS .Ramone is not related to the punk group
The Ramones .External links
* [http://www.philramone.com/ Phil Ramone online]
* [http://www.myspace.com/pramone Phil Ramone myspace]
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