R.I.P. Legendary Producer Phil Ramone Dead At 79

Phil Ramone

Phil Ramone, a prolific record producer and engineer who worked with some of the biggest music stars of the last 50 years died on Saturday in Manhattan.

He was 79.  Though it was widely reported that he was 72, public records and his family confirm that he was born Jan. 5, 1934.

According to a story at nytimes.com, Ramone was reported to have been admitted to a Manhattan hospital in late February for treatment of an aortic aneurysm.

In his 2007 memoir, “Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music,” written with Charles L. Granata, Mr. Ramone defined the role of record producer as roughly equivalent to that of a film director, creating and managing an environment in which to coax the best work out of his performers.

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In 1959, Ramone established an independent recording studio A & R Recording (the initials were derived from the last initials of Ramone and his then-business partner Jack Arnold). Later the partnership consisted of Brooks Arthur owning half and Ramone, Don Frey, and Arthur Downs Ward (1922–2002) owning the other half.

In the studio 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 are Clay Aiken, Burt Bacharach, The Band, Bono, Laura Branigan, Ray Charles, Karen Carpenter, Chicago, Peter Cincotti, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Sheena Easton, Melissa Errico, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Patricia Kaas, B. B. King, Julian Lennon, Shelby Lynne, Madonna, Barry Manilow, Richard Marx, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Liza Minnelli, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Sinéad O'Connor, Fito Páez, Luciano Pavarotti, Peter Paul and Mary, Andre Previn, Diane Schuur, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, The Guess Who, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.

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His early work in producing and engineering was with jazz artists, working on John Coltrane records and acting as engineer for the landmark Getz/Gilberto album in 1964, for which he won his first Grammy. He transitioned during the 1960s to working with folk-rock, pop-rock, and R&B acts such as Peter, Paul, and Mary, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan, first primarily as an engineer, and later as a producer.

He won his first production Grammy for his work on 1975's Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon. His breakthrough album became Billy Joel's 1977 album The Stranger and began a fruitful collaboration that would lead to Ramone producing a string of hit Joel albums throughout the rest of the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1993, he produced Duets, Frank Sinatra's comeback album, a commercial hit that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Album Chart. During the rest of the 1990s, Ramone moved from production work to his primary role as an industry executive, serving as chairman of The Recording Academy.