Another member of the BB/HD/DW musical family passed on (-:

[GehVorbei]

RIP Phil Ramone! What a tragic and totally unexpected loss. And thank god you produced those brilliant last tracks for Dionne.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/m ... tra-425444

[grooverider]

An enormous loss, an irreplaceable talent.

[Blair N. Cummings]

Absolutely irreplaceable...as is the era of music during which he lived.

[gillanddon]

I second that GehVorbei .. a second round sadly lost now. RIP Phil Ramone.

[blueonblue]

Very sad to hear this terrible news.....completely unexpected !
Phil Ramone RIP.

"blue"

[ron hertel]

All of us who appreciated his contributions to the recording industry are saddened by his passing. His name resurfaced this past year in the forum when we learned he would be producing tracks for Dionne's latest project "Now" ... Just heard this past week that he had improved and was being released from the hospital. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Thanks for all the great work Phil!

[An Enormous BB Fan]

He really had to be some musical prodigy if he played the violin for the Queen when he was only 10 years old. I was very sad to hear of Phil's passing.

I'll bet he had tons of stories about all those recording sessions with Burt. If only he had written a book about just that!

He said something very interesting. Phil said, “After a few takes, people start intellectualizing what they’re doing, and it loses something." Based on all the takes that Burt did with Cilla, I wonder if Burt continued wanting so many takes when Phil was producing, and, if so, how Phil dealt with it. Seems like there would have been some sort of clash between the two of them if Burt kept wanting many takes. Of course, maybe Cilla was a one-time thing.

Another thing about Phil: Maybe I'm wrong, but wasn't it Phil who taped someone's wallet on the drum that was on "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" That song begins with 4 beats of the drum and I always loved that particular drum sound. How inventive of Phil!

[GehVorbei]

From Dionne's FB page:

"Phil Ramone has been a part of my musical life and a dear friend since the early 60s..........my heart is truly heavy knowing he has made his transition...........my prayers are with his wife and children during their time of sorrow.............working with him just a few months ago was a joy and brought back the good times we shared in the studio so many times.............God has blessed him and thought the need for the best of the best was needed to work the magic as only he could for all of those wonderful singers gathered in that heavenly choir.

Rest in Peace my dear friend

Dionne"

[An Enormous BB Fan]

Did Burt have anything to say publicly about Phil's passing? I read a number of people's thoughts, but I haven't seen anything published by Burt. If anyone sees anything, please post.

[BachtoBacharach]

Phil Ramone was an intergral part of the wonderful sound Bacharach achieved at A & R Studios with the acts he recorded there, mainly BJ Thomas and Dionne Warwick. Phil was a crack engineer and Bacharach, until he met Phil, was always in the control room during the mix. With Phil, who was so adept, who mixed on the fly, Burt was able to relinquish control to him...Bacharach trusted Phil completely. Phil will be missed!

[BachtoBacharach]

Actually Phil didn't engineer "San Jose". That was Ed Smith. Ed duct-taped the microphone directly to the bass drum for that totally unique introduction to "San Jose." "San Jose" was the last recording the team did at Bell Sound.

From Wikipedia:


Do You Know the Way to San Jose" is a popular song written for singer Dionne Warwick by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics).

Introduced on the 1968 RIAA Certified Gold album Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" was issued as the follow-up single to the double-sided hit "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls"/ "I Say a Little Prayer" in April 1968 and became Warwick's third consecutive Top Ten song, punctuating the most successful period of Warwick's recording career.

The song became Warwick's biggest international hit peaking at #8 in the UK, Ireland, and Canada. The tune charted in France, Italy, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and many other countries as well. The flip-side of the single, "Let Me Be Lonely," also penned by Bacharach/David, charted in the Billboard Hot 100 as well and became one of many double-sided hits for Warwick.

The track, featuring Gary Chester on bass drum, was the last Dionne Warwick single to be recorded at New York City's Bell Studios. The tune was engineered by Ed Smith who devised the famous introduction to the tune by directly attaching a mike to the head of Chester's bass drum.

Burt Bacharach wrote the music for the song before Hal David wrote its lyrics, which give narrative voice to a native of the northern California city of San Jose who, having failed to break into the entertainment field in Los Angeles, is set to return to her hometown. David had a special interest in San Jose, having been stationed there while in the navy.

[An Enormous BB Fan]

Thanks for the correction, B2B. DYKTWTSJ is a very special song to me.

[Djalma Junior]

Phil Ramone, great music producer. It is a great loss even.

These last days are sad.