Prolific pop producer goes for a Grammy dozen
Phil Ramone reflects on the artists and his work
Pop producer Phil Ramone has worked with a long list of entertainers: Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Elton John, Sinead O'Connor, Rod Stewart, Ray Charles. A member of the board of trustees at Boston's Berklee College of Music, Ramone is a nine-time Grammy winner who is up for another three trophies at tonight's awards -- two for his production on Charles's "Genius Loves Company" and one for the musical show album "The Boy From Oz."
Ramone already picked up a pre-show Grammy this week for technical merit -- a lifetime award based on his working on the first CD ever pressed (Billy Joel's "52nd Steet") and the first DVD ever produced ("West Side Story"), and for his pioneering of Surround Sound during Grammy broadcasts starting three years ago.
Ramone is the son of a chemist, Adolfo (who unsuccessfully tried to steer him into a lab career), and a ragtime piano player, Minnie. Long identified as a New Yorker, Ramone now lives in the Westchester County town of Bedford, where his neighbors include Richard Gere and Glenn Close. He sat down recently at his home to discuss his long and winding career:
Q: Can you describe your involvement with Berklee?
A: I've been a fan of the school and was given an honorary doctoral degree some years ago [1987]. I always felt it was a school that saw the future of musicians and had a real eye out for what was important, because many people trained as musicians don't necessarily succeed as musicians. But the whole culture of engineering and production is well taught there. . . . I've always been successful in hiring assistants who came out of Berklee. And also it has a great history of wonderful musicians that have come out of there, from Arif Mardin to Quincy Jones. And now that I'm on the board, I feel very close to the planning of the next decade.
Q: Everyone knows what a Grammy does to boost an artist's career. What does it mean to a record producer?
A: The first Grammy I ever won was for engineering back in 1964, for "The Girl From Ipanema." The Grammy show wasn't even on television in those days. It was still a dinner event in hotels on both coasts. They didn't have that many voters, and the engineering awards would usually go to somebody from RCA, Decca, or Columbia -- not to some indie guy working in a studio, like me. So it was a big night for us -- and it set a pace. . . . I then established myself as a producer and won for a Broadway show called "Promises, Promises." Then I moved into Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" and on to Billy Joel. I finally won producer of the year in 1982. It was a long haul, but you really appreciate the Grammys. They've had huge meaning for me.
Q: You worked on Ray Charles's Grammy-nominated "Genius Loves Company." What was that like?
A: Ray was always about a feel for tempo. I said to him during this album that one of my mentors was Count Basie and that I liked the way he picked tempos. Ray said, "He was the king. He knew where the song sat." Then I saw Ray do it, and by the third song I said, "Man, you understand [tempos] so much better than anyone else does now." We did a song like "Fever," which has been done too fast or not fast enough by other people . . . but Ray understood it.
Q: You've got a lot of stars on Ray's record, including Elton John.
A: We did a tribute to Elton at the NAMM Convention [the National Association of Music Merchants] a year prior to the start of this album, and Ray performed "Sorry Is the Hardest Word." Elton said, "Wouldn't it be great if he ever recorded it?" And I called him and said, "Well, guess what? Ray would love to do a duet with you, and the song he is talking about is 'Sorry Is the Hardest Word.' " Elton said, "Oh, I can't believe it." And the amazing thing is that every artist on the album showed up way earlier than I scheduled them. They wanted to check out the room and get ready for the session.
Q: You also produced the music for the recent Bobby Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea," starring Kevin Spacey, who performed Darin's songs. What was Spacey like?
A: It was a fun project. Kevin kept working on [his voice] for about two years, and then he shot the movie a year ago in December and January. You get the feeling that we used real players on the screen, not just actors. And I said to him, "It would be so great if you could also do this in person." So he agreed to do seven or eight concerts [before the film's release]. And they were quite amazing. By the end of the third or fourth show, he really got the hang of it -- and when he got to Boston, he was smoking.
Q: You're known for the rapport you have with artists. A good example is Billy Joel. How did you first team up with him?
A: It started at a lunch when he was basically interviewing me. I knew other people were up for the gig to be his producer. I didn't realize [Beatles producer] George Martin was one of them. I met George later and said, "I got to thank you for doing this other act named America while I got to do Billy."
Q: What was Martin's reaction? Was he angry?
A: No, he's had the most amazing career. The Beatles gave him a few hits, so I guess he didn't mind.
Q: You obviously love Billy Joel. You named one of your sons B.J., right?
A: Yes, and my other son is named Simon.
Q: After Paul Simon, of course. How does he fit into the spectrum of what you've done?
A: Paul is known as this very, very humorless, serious human being . . . but under the exterior is this very funny guy. He once did "Saturday Night Live" and came out in a turkey costume singing "Still Crazy After All These Years." He wasn't just the Simon who wrote "Bridge Over Troubled Water." . . . And in the studio, he'd work on a rhythm for maybe a day or two, and then by day three we might have cut it twice and maybe done a third version. He taught me that you can't just settle for things.
Q: You recorded Frank Sinatra's "Duets" record in 1993 with Bono, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, and others. How was Sinatra at that time?
A: For the previous 10 years, he hadn't made a record. The last one was with Quincy Jones and myself at the board, called "LA Is My Lady." I think Sinatra was just happy performing and felt there was very little else to record. . . . But I'd say, "You've got grandchildren and a generation of my children, and they know who you are but they can't find your latest record." . . . It was a compliment when he finally acquiesced and we did the first take of "Fly Me to the Moon." The band was on top of it, and that famous Sinatra smile came over him for a second. But instead of any compliment, he said, "OK, what's next?" And I had this big menu book with over 30 songs in it. We started to roll -- and we did nine songs in one night.
Q: What's the key to dealing with an artist in the studio?
A: It's the balance and the counterbalance with an artist that makes a better record. All the managers and publicity people and everyone else have to take a side street while you go to work. You have to have good patterns and discipline. I just ask the artists not to do other things during that period. If you want to give me five concentrated days, then you can go sailing or party after that. But I want those five days when we're pretty much living in the studio. We come to work at a decent hour and leave at a very indecent hour. I won't even say how late that might be. 