Jerry Ragovoy (middle) recording with Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters in 1963. Picture: PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Pictures
Jerry Ragovoy, who was born on September 4, 1930, might by no means have achieved family title standing. However his writing credit communicate for him, as do the hundreds of variations of his songs by everybody from the Rolling Stones and the Small Faces to B.B. King and Dusty Springfield.
Three songs stand significantly tall within the songbook of the Philadelphia-born Ragovoy, who started his profession as a music maker of renown within the early Fifties. “Time Is On My Side,” written underneath the title of Norman Meade, turned world well-known within the fingers of the Stones. “Stay With Me Baby” was first lower by Lorraine Ellison and endlessly lined, as was the Erma Franklin unique “Piece Of My Heart.” However these tunes are the mere tip of a soulful iceberg.
Ragovoy’s first manufacturing on disc got here in his early 20s, when he not solely recorded “My Girl Awaits Me” by Philadelphia vocal group the Castelles, however co-founded a label to launch it, Grand, with native retailer Herb Slotkin. Their work, and that of different Grand signings such because the Cherokees and Lee Andrews and the Hearts, represented the start of what turned generally known as the Philadelphia Sound. Non-soul acts on the label included Chris Powell and the Tri-Tones.
Later within the Fifties, Ragovoy labored with one other Philly-based label, Chancellor, recognized nationally as dwelling to pop favourites Fabian and Frankie Avalon. However it was within the 60s that his title actually got here to the fore. His first chart victory as a author was with the vocal group the Majors, whose high 30 pop and R&B hit of late 1962, “A Wonderful Dream,” was from his pen.
Ragovoy went on to kind a writing partnership with the equally achieved Bert Berns, who wrote as Bert Russell, and the primary notable consequence was the basic 1963 soul single “Cry Baby,” by the ever-underrated soul man Garnet Mimms and his group the Enchanters.
1963 was additionally the 12 months of the unique “Time Is On My Side,” recorded by Kai Winding, produced by Creed Taylor and with backing vocals by Dionne Warwick, her sister Dee Dee and Cissy Houston, mom of Whitney. In 1964, the track was lined by the Soul Queen of New Orleans herself, Irma Thomas, in a model heard by the Stones.
Their cowl was a US single, changing into their first Prime 10 hit there with a No.6 peak. It was included on their American album 12 x 5, earlier than showing within the UK on The Rolling Stones No.2. The track was then remade by the Moody Blues, Wilson Pickett, and numerous others.
In 1964, Ragovoy and Berns’ “One Way Love” turned a No. 12 R&B hit for the Drifters, and a number of other extra of their songs have been memorably interpreted by Mimms, together with “It Was Easier To Hurt Her” (one among a number of to be remade by Dusty Springfield) and “I’ll Take Good Care Of You.” One other Mimms unique, “As Long As I Have You,” was just lately revived by Roger Daltrey because the lead track and title observe of his UK Prime 10 solo album.
Ragovoy additionally wrote with Mort Shuman, a union that produced some high quality materials for an additional undervalued soul artist, Howard Tate, reminiscent of “Ain’t Nobody Home” (later lower by each B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt) and “Look At Granny Run Run.” With Shuman’s common writing companion Doc Pomus, Ragovoy wrote the title track for Elvis Presley‘s 1965 film Lady Completely satisfied. “You Better Believe It,” written with British singer, composer and entertainer Kenny Lynch, was lower by the Small Faces for his or her self-titled debut album of 1966.
In the summertime of that 12 months, Philadelphia vocalist Lorraine Ellison taped what’s frequently acknowledged as one of the impassioned soul data ever made, of the Ragovoy-George David Weiss ballad “Stay With Me Baby.” A No. 11 R&B hit, the track was lined the following 12 months by the Walker Brothers and has attracted dozens of readings ever since, together with these by Kiki Dee, Bette Midler, Duffy and Chris Cornell.
As his fame grew as an amazing document man, Ragovoy mixed his writing and manufacturing duties with the position of employees author for the Warner Brothers subsidiary Loma Data. Later, he was East Coast head of A&R for Warner Brothers. He additionally put a few of his earnings into the famend New York studio the Hit Manufacturing unit, and there have been teamings with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and South African singer Miriam Makeba, who had a Prime 10 soul hit (and No. 12 pop) in 1967 with Ragovoy’s “Pata Pata.”
1967 was additionally a banner 12 months in his alliance with Berns, with the creation of one other fervent soul basic, “Piece Of My Heart,” expertly realised by Erma Franklin, Aretha’s older sister. The track hit No.10 R&B within the US and first reached a pop viewers by way of Janis Joplin’s rendition with Massive Brother and Holding Firm in 1968.
Springfield’s model quickly adopted, and Bryan Ferry included it on his solo debut These Silly Issues in 1973. Etta James, Religion Hill, Melissa Etheridge, and Beverley Knight are among the many scores of artists to sort out “Piece Of My Heart” since then, and Steven Tyler redid it for his solo album We’re All Any person From Someplace in 2016.
Ragovoy was much less lively from the Nineteen Seventies onwards, however received a Grammy for Greatest Rating From An Authentic Forged Present Album along with his manufacturing on Don’t Trouble Me, I Can’t Cope. The next 12 months, he was the chief producer and author on Then Got here You, the album by Dionne Warwicke (as she spelt her title on the time), though the hit single collaboration with the Spinners was a Thom Bell manufacturing.
Within the final years of his life, Ragovoy teamed once more with Howard Tate for the spectacular 2003 comeback set Howard Tate Rediscovered. One other reference to Joplin emerged in 2011, when a track he had written for her particularly, “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven,” was carried out for the primary time within the present A Night time With Janis Joplin. She had died earlier than she was capable of document it, however Ragovoy was within the opening evening viewers in Portland to see it come to fruition. He handed away quickly afterwards, on July 13 that 12 months, on the age of 80.
