Music Producer Richard Perry, Friend of The Beatles, Passes Away at 82

Richard Perry, a renowned record producer celebrated for his ability to blend both classic and modern musical styles, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82. His illustrious career included hits like Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” Rod Stewart’s “The Great American Songbook” series, and an album by Ringo Starr that prominently featured all four Beatles.

Perry, who received the Grammy Trustee Award in 2015, died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Los Angeles, according to friend Daphna Kastner.

“He made the most of his time here,” Kastner stated, describing Perry as a “father friend” who was also the godfather to her son. “He was generous, fun, sweet, and contributed to making the world a better place. The world feels a little less sweet without him, but perhaps it’s a bit sweeter in heaven.”

Once a drummer, oboist, and doo-wop singer, Perry had a unique ability to navigate various musical genres as a producer, becoming one of the few to score No. 1 hits across pop, R&B, dance, and country charts. He was involved in iconic tracks such as Harry Nilsson’s “Without You,” The Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited,” Tiny Tim’s novelty hit “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” and the lounge standard “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” by Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias. Known as a “musician’s producer,” Perry fostered an environment where artists were treated as collaborators rather than merely vehicles for his artistic vision. Singers sought him out whether they wanted to modernize their sound (Barbra Streisand), recapture past glory (Rod Stewart), rejuvenate their careers (Fats Domino), or fulfill their early potential (Leo Sayer).

“Richard had an incredible talent for pairing the right song with the right artist,” Streisand noted in her 2023 memoir, “My Name is Barbra.”

Perry’s life was marked by notable friendships and fortunate circumstances. He was present for concerts by Little Richard and Chuck Berry in the 1950s, attended Otis Redding’s unforgettable performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and participated in a recording session for the Rolling Stones’ classic album “Let It Bleed.” On any given week, he might dine with Paul and Linda McCartney one night and Mick and Bianca Jagger the next. His romantic interests included Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda, and he was briefly married to actress Rebecca Broussard.

In the 1970s, Perry played a significant role in nearly bringing the Beatles back together.

Having produced a track on Ringo Starr’s debut solo album, “Sentimental Journey,” Perry grew closer to Starr through shared friends like Nilsson. The resulting album, “Ringo,” released in 1973, showcased Starr as a major solo artist, featuring contributions from notable artists such as Nilsson, Billy Preston, Steve Cropper, Martha Reeves, and all five members of The Band, eventually climbing to No. 2 on Billboard and selling over 1 million copies. Among its hit singles were “Photograph,” a collaboration between Starr and George Harrison, and a remake of the classic “You’re Sixteen.”

For Perry and others, the standout track was an original that didn’t achieve commercial success. John Lennon’s “I’m the Greatest” served as a tongue-in-cheek anthem for the self-effacing Starr, bringing three Beatles into the studio just three years after their breakup. Starr was on drums and lead vocals, Lennon played keyboards and provided backing vocals, and Klaus Voormann, a longtime friend of The Beatles, played bass. Harrison arrived shortly after they started working on the track, having been invited by his assistant.

“As I looked around the room, I recognized that I was at the very heart of the spiritual and musical journey I had longed for,” Perry wrote in his 2021 memoir, “Cloud Nine.” “By the conclusion of each session, a small group of friends would gather, quietly thrilled to be part of it.”

Although McCartney was absent during the recording of “I’m the Greatest,” he collaborated on and arranged the ballad “Six O’Clock,” which featured him and Linda McCartney on backing vocals.

Perry had previously made waves in pop history as the producer of “You’re So Vain,” a track he considered as close to perfection as he ever achieved.

His post-1970s work saw hits such as The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” and DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night,” along with album productions for Simon, Ray Charles, and Art Garfunkel. However, his most notable success came with Stewart’s “The Great American Songbook” albums, which emerged following Stewart’s struggles with writer’s block and troubled personal life. In the early 2000s, after Stewart’s marriage to Rachel Hunter ended, Perry was a source of support for him. They eventually agreed that an album of standards could be the solution, leading to songs like “The Very Thought of You,” “Angel Eyes,” and “Where or When.”

“We sat together at a back table in our favorite restaurant, jotting down ideas on a napkin,” Perry recounted in his memoir. Stewart sang his thoughts softly, and Perry recalled, “As I listened to him, it was clear we were onto something special.”

Perry was born into a musical family in New York City; his parents, Mark and Sylvia Perry, co-founded Peripole Music, a trailblazing manufacturer of children’s musical instruments. Encouraged by his family, he learned to play drums and oboe and was part of a doo-wop group, the Escorts, that released several singles. A music and theater major at the University of Michigan, he initially aspired to conquer Broadway. However, in the mid-1960s, he made the pivotal choice to start a production company with Gary Katz, who later collaborated with Steely Dan, among others.

By the end of the decade, Perry had become a prominent figure in the industry, working on Captain Beefheart’s acclaimed album “Safe As Milk” and debut recordings for Tiny Tim and Ella Fitzgerald, which showcased the latter’s renditions of songs by the Beatles, Smokey Robinson, and Randy Newman. In the early 1970s, he would produce Streisand’s highly successful “Stoney End” album, marking her departure from musical theater to explore a variety of pop and rock songs, ranging from the titular track by Laura Nyro to Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind.”

“I was drawn to Richard from the moment we met. Tall and lanky, with dark curly hair and a warm smile, he was blessed with a big heart,” Streisand wrote in her memoir. “When we first met, he brought along numerous songs, and we listened to them together. Any initial reservations I had about our collaboration quickly faded as I thought, ‘This could be fun and musically freeing.’”