{"id":1676,"date":"2011-07-17T15:25:46","date_gmt":"2011-07-17T20:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.lunarpages.net\/?p=1676"},"modified":"2012-02-22T13:03:35","modified_gmt":"2012-02-22T18:03:35","slug":"jerry-ragovoy-1930-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=1676","title":{"rendered":"Jerry Ragovoy 1930 – 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jerry Ragovoy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Howard Tate – Get It While You Can (1)
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Lorraine Ellison – Stay With Me (2)
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Lorraine Ellison – Try (Just A Little Bit Harder (3) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Erma Franklin – Piece Of My Heart (4) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Garnett Mimms and the Enchanters – Cry Baby(5)<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Irma Thomas – Time Is On My Side(6) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – The Olympics – Good Lovin(7) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Terry Reid – Stay With Me Baby (8) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

1 – Written\/produced\/arranged by Jerry Ragovoy<\/em><\/p>\n

2 – Written by Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss, produced by Ragovoy
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

3 – Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Chip Taylor, produced by Ragovoy<\/em><\/p>\n

4 – Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns<\/em><\/p>\n

5 – Written by Ragovoy and Berns as Meade and Russell<\/em><\/p>\n

6 – Written by Jerry Ragavoy with additional lyrics by Jimmy Norman<\/em><\/p>\n

7 – Produced by Jerry Ragovoy<\/em><\/p>\n

8 – Ragovoy\/Weiss<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Greetings all.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope everyone is well.<\/p>\n

I come to you this day with a heavy heart, since the news came down last week that one of the greatest soul songwriters and producers of the classic era, the mighty Jerry Ragovoy<\/strong> had passed away at the age of 80.<\/p>\n

His name was probably familiar to label scanning record nerds (like myself<\/em>) and soulies, but largely unknown to the general public.<\/p>\n

The same cannot \u2013 thankfully<\/em> \u2013 be said of the music he made as a songwriter, producer and arranger.<\/p>\n

Ragovoy got his start working as a music buyer for an appliance and record store in his native Philadelphia. He eventually found work as an arranger and writer for Chancellor Records, before moving to New York and hooking up with Bert Berns<\/strong> with whom he wrote his first big soul hit, Garnett Mimms and the Enchanters<\/strong> \u2018Cry Baby\u2019 in 1963.<\/p>\n

Through the 60s, under his own name and psuedonyms like \u2018Norman Meade\u2019<\/strong> and \u2018Norman Margulies\u2019<\/strong> – it\u2019s been said that he thought the record he worked on would lose airplay if he was listed as producer and songwriter \u2013 he wrote or co-wrote a string of genuine soul classics for the likes of Howard Tate<\/strong>, Erma Franklin<\/strong> and Lorraine Ellison<\/strong>, and had his songs covered by the James Gang, Terry Reid<\/strong> and most famously, Janis Joplin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t exaggerate when I say that many records from the Ragovoy canon hold a special place of honor in my record box and my heart.<\/p>\n

The most important of these is Howard Tate\u2019s<\/strong> \u2018Get It While You Can\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the greatest soul ballads of the 1960s by any measure, it\u2019s the finest thing that Ragovoy and Tate created during their time working together, and epic in every sense. Co-written by Ragovoy and Mort Shuman<\/strong>, \u2018Get It While You Can\u2019 is a slow building show-stopper with a brilliant lyric, delivered with both intensity and nuance by Tate (and piano by Ragovoy himself). It is a record of singular power that never fails to bring me to tears.<\/p>\n

It would be a gross understatement to say that Ragovoy had a special talent for grand soul ballads. If the best songs he wrote were spread over the catalogs of a few different songwriters they would be hailed as masters.<\/p>\n

How surprising must it be for some people to discover that the same man wrote or co-wrote \u2018Time Is On My Side\u2019, \u2018Cry Baby\u2019, \u2018Piece of My Heart\u2019, \u2018Stay With Me\u2019 and \u2018Get It While You Can\u2019, and then even more shocking when you realize that he also produced the landmark versions of many of them?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the famous story of the creation of Lorraine Ellison\u2019s<\/strong> \u2018Stay With Me\u2019 (co-written by Ragovoy and George David Weiss) in a block of abandoned Frank Sinatra studio\/orchestra time, one of the greatest soul ballad performances ever, put together on incredibly short notice.<\/p>\n

It is also a testament to the power of Ragovoy\u2019s songs that they translated so well in the rock world.<\/p>\n

The first Jerry Ragovoy song I remember associating with his name was the James Gang\u2019s<\/strong> 1969 version of \u2018Stop\u2019 <\/a>(originally recorded by Howard Tate), long a teenage favorite of mine which I only discovered was a cover years later when a friend played Tate\u2019s version at a party.<\/p>\n

The only rock take on one of Ragovoy\u2019s tunes I bring you today has become one of my favorite recordings in any genre, Terry Reid\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> 1969 recording of \u2018Stay With Me (Baby)\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n

Though he is not well known in the US, Reid had a brief heyday on the the underground FM airwaves of the late 60s and early 70s. he was possessed of a voice reminiscent of a somewhat more refined version of Steve Marriott<\/strong> and in the midst of an era filled with overkill, his recording of \u2018Stay With Me Baby\u2019 is a revelation. The instrumentation is fairly spare and restrained, giving Ragovoy\u2019s melody full attention and is, at least in my opinion, every bit as majestic in its own way as Ellison\u2019s version (whose 1968 original recording of \u2018Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)\u2019, another tune covered by Joplin, is also included).<\/p>\n

For those that haven\u2019t heard Erma Franklin\u2019s<\/strong> original (1967) version of \u2018Piece of My Heart\u2019, it too should prove to be an eye-opening experience. Franklin\u2019s approach to the song, cross-breeding lamentation and defiance and delivered in her deeply soulful voice employs a dynamic range and casual power that Joplin\u00a0 – at least to my ears – never really achieved.<\/p>\n

Also worth hearing is a great example of Ragovoy\u2019s work as a producer, the Olympics<\/strong> 1965 recording of \u2018Good Lovin\u2019<\/a> (arranged, as was Franklin\u2019s \u2018Piece of My Heart\u2019 by Gary Sherman<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Ragovoy continued to write and produce into the 70s and went on to open and run the famous Hit Factory<\/strong> recording studio from 1969 to 1975 when it was sold.<\/p>\n

If the sounds herein interest you, make an effort to pick up the outstanding Ace Records comp \u2018The Jerry Ragovoy Story<\/strong>\u2019 which covers his best work as a songwriter and producer from the early 50s into the 70s.<\/a><\/p>\n

He was a master, and will be missed.<\/p>\n

Peace<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

____________________________________________________<\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

PS\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong> – Don’t forget, Monday, 7\/18<\/strong> I will be sitting in for DJ Perry Lane<\/strong> and spinning at Spindletop @ Botanica (47 E. Houston St, NYC).<\/strong> I will be joined by M-Fasis and Joe Cristando, so come on by for some hot music and some cold drinks…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jerry Ragovoy Listen\/Download – Howard Tate – Get It While You Can (1) Listen\/Download – Lorraine Ellison – Stay With Me (2) Listen\/Download – Lorraine Ellison – Try (Just A Little Bit Harder (3) Listen\/Download – Erma Franklin – Piece Of My Heart (4) Listen\/Download – Garnett Mimms and the Enchanters – Cry Baby(5) Listen\/Download […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[37,58,20,14,69,74,64,12,18],"tags":[166,86,164],"class_list":["post-1676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blue-eyed-soul","category-cover-songs","category-dj-gigs","category-funky16corners","category-original-versions","category-philly-soul","category-rb","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-funky16corners","tag-jerry-ragovoy","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-r2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1676"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1688,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions\/1688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}