From Juilliard to A&R Recording
The only thing worse than the Big Apple’s pungent aroma is the cost of living. Like many college students, Brian struggled to make ends meet, so between his studies at Juilliard and his gig at Trude Hellers, he picked up extra roles and bit parts he usually found on the school’s bulletin board. 90% of the time, he was just another face among the crowd, but every once in a while, he would pick up a bit part, like a drunk taxi driver, a psychotic drug dealer, or even a typical belligerent NYC cop. For example, when the movie Fame was being produced, Brian played one of the many extras in the street-dancer scene, and in Raging Bull, he was one of the fight spectators. You get the idea. A quick buck for a bit part…
I played a corpse once when some dork overturned the gurney I was on. Of course, everybody laughed, especially when I hopped up and chased the dipshit off set, forgetting that the tiny towel I was holding really didn’t hide much. – BGW
But playing the daily happy hour gig at Trude Hellers wine bar was Brian’s domain. There, he rehearsed his assignments, practiced jazz and show tunes, and built a strong rapport with the regulars. One such regular was Phil Ramone, the legendary producer and co-founder of A&R Recording Studios, renowned for his work with Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and Barbra Streisand, among others. Little did Brian know that one of his teachers had tipped Phil off and that Phil was actually there, scouting Brian. So, it was no surprise that one afternoon, after his performance, Phil called Brian over to sit with him. Phil immediately went into detail, outlining what Brian would do at the studio. Eventually, he asked Brian if he would be interested in an apprenticeship. Star-struck and flattered, Brian, of course, said yes.
Phil mainly worked out of the West 48th Street Studio, and that’s where Brian started, getting coffee, pulling cables, and moving microphones. It wasn’t long before Phil saw that Brian was much more than just a cable jockey, so he asked the chief engineer of the 7th Avenue Studio, Donald Hahn, to put him on the sound desk. At first, Brian produced mainly demos, then quickly graduated to producing full-length albums for artists like Peter Tosh, Dayton, and Judy Collins. While working with Collins, Brian got to compose, which thoroughly impressed her and sent her twittering to Phil. So, when the studio got the gig to create the soundtrack for the 1981 blockbuster Arthur, Brian was strategically placed in the sound booth with renowned composer Burt Bacharach and co-producer Michael Omartian so he could watch what would unfold.
At first, Bacharach wasn’t impressed with the young upstart associate producer, but Brian’s dynamic with Liza Minnelli at the piano quickly won him over. Pretty soon, the trio were working long days and sometimes nights, hammering out the soundtrack for the film, with Brian running from the piano into the sound booth to hit record whenever they had something viable.
When it came time to lay down the final soundtrack, Omartian took over production, and Brian took over Bacharach’s piano duties, which included taking a pile of scribbles and notes and creating the score for each instrument. This was a first for Brian. He had never performed in a studio with an orchestra, and he only had a theoretical understanding of how to create score sheets, but he was the quickest scribe around, making him the obvious choice.
It took a little over a week to record the soundtrack, and Brian essentially lived in Studio A1. After hours and nights, he would sit at the piano, work out the score sheets for the next day, grab some snooze time in the recording booth, then get ready for the recording session. When Omartian didn’t like something or an instrument didn’t fit his idea of how it should sound, Brian would pull out a pencil, re-score the part on the spot, and then go back to recording.
Omartain didn’t believe in overdubbing, and although Brian was already practicing daily for school and had even played a few live gigs for other artists, he wasn’t a one-take wonder yet. Sometimes retakes were necessary, and Brian felt oddly vindicated when one of the more experienced musicians made a faux pas. Still, the actual recording sessions were mostly flawless, and the more experienced musicians would often congratulate Brian on his work at the end of each session.
Now it was time to get to work on the theme song. Since Brian did such a good job filling in for him while recording the soundtrack, Bacharach insisted that Brian be included in the recording session. Phil was just as impressed with his young prodigy as Burt was, so he gladly turned over the reins but stayed in the background just in case. The Arthur theme song was recorded in two parts. The larger production took place in front of cameras in Studio A1 with session musicians, and the footage was used in the official music video. Post-production was completed in Studio A2, with much of the work handled by Christopher Cross and Brian.
Courtesy of https://www.discogs.com
Arthur’s Theme, Be All That You Can Be, immediately topped the Billboard charts and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 54th Academy Awards. The song was also named the year’s Best Original Song at the 39th Golden Globe Awards. Although Brian didn’t receive much official credit, he was listed as one of the composers on the film’s soundtrack and received associate producer credit for the theme song. More importantly, some really important folks in the industry took notice. Especially his boss…
In late 1983, Phil asked Brian to serve as associate producer for Billy Joel’s Innocent Man. Joel was Phil’s pet project, and earning Phil’s trust to represent him in the studio was huge for Brian. He was already down to half-days at school, so every day after class, he b-lined it straight to the studio, watched, and reported. That became standard practice for the remainder of Brian’s time at A&R Recording.
After Arthur, Bacherach began asking Brian to help on more and more projects, including the notable Pan American Airlines jingle, You Can’t Beat The Experience. It was Burt who approached Phil and told him that Brian’s skills were exceptional and that he should be given more work composing. But Phil needed a grunt, not an artist, so as a graduation present, he helped Brian broker a deal at Capitol Records. Brian hated the idea of leaving A&R Recording. He was a fixture at both studios and was treated with almost as much respect as the man himself. But the move to Capitol Records was an opportunity he simply could not pass up…
Phil was a trial-by-fire kind of mentor, and once you earned his trust, there was no end to the doors he would open for you. And that’s how he treated me for the rest of his life. As an equal. – BGW.
From Juilliard to A&R Recording
The only thing worse than the Big Apple’s pungent aroma is the cost of living. Like many college students, Brian struggled to make ends meet, so between his studies at Juilliard and his gig at Trude Hellers, he picked up extra roles and bit parts he usually found on the school’s bulletin board. 90% of the time, he was just another face among the crowd, but every once in a while, he would pick up a bit part, like a drunk taxi driver, a psychotic drug dealer, or even a typical belligerent NYC cop. For example, when the movie Fame was being produced, Brian played one of the many extras in the street-dancer scene, and in Raging Bull, he was one of the fight spectators. You get the idea. A quick buck for a bit part…
I played a corpse once when some dork overturned the gurney I was on. Of course, everybody laughed, especially when I hopped up and chased the dipshit off set, forgetting that the tiny towel I was holding really didn’t hide much. – BGW
But playing the daily happy hour gig at Trude Hellers wine bar was Brian’s domain. There, he rehearsed his assignments, practiced jazz and show tunes, and built a strong rapport with the regulars. One such regular was Phil Ramone, the legendary producer and co-founder of A&R Recording Studios, renowned for his work with Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and Barbra Streisand, among others. Little did Brian know that one of his teachers had tipped Phil off and that Phil was actually there, scouting Brian. So, it was no surprise that one afternoon, after his performance, Phil called Brian over to sit with him. Phil immediately went into detail, outlining what Brian would do at the studio. Eventually, he asked Brian if he would be interested in an apprenticeship. Star-struck and flattered, Brian, of course, said yes.
Phil mainly worked out of the West 48th Street Studio, and that’s where Brian started, getting coffee, pulling cables, and moving microphones. It wasn’t long before Phil saw that Brian was much more than just a cable jockey, so he asked the chief engineer of the 7th Avenue Studio, Donald Hahn, to put him on the sound desk. At first, Brian produced mainly demos, then quickly graduated to producing full-length albums for artists like Peter Tosh, Dayton, and Judy Collins. While working with Collins, Brian got to compose, which thoroughly impressed her and sent her twittering to Phil. So, when the studio got the gig to create the soundtrack for the 1981 blockbuster Arthur, Brian was strategically placed in the sound booth with renowned composer Burt Bacharach and co-producer Michael Omartian so he could watch what would unfold.
At first, Bacharach wasn’t impressed with the young upstart associate producer, but Brian’s dynamic with Liza Minnelli at the piano quickly won him over. Pretty soon, the trio were working long days and sometimes nights, hammering out the soundtrack for the film, with Brian running from the piano into the sound booth to hit record whenever they had something viable.
When it came time to lay down the final soundtrack, Omartian took over production, and Brian took over Bacharach’s piano duties, which included taking a pile of scribbles and notes and creating the score for each instrument. This was a first for Brian. He had never performed in a studio with an orchestra, and he only had a theoretical understanding of how to create score sheets, but he was the quickest scribe around, making him the obvious choice.
It took a little over a week to record the soundtrack, and Brian essentially lived in Studio A1. After hours and nights, he would sit at the piano, work out the score sheets for the next day, grab some snooze time in the recording booth, then get ready for the recording session. When Omartian didn’t like something or an instrument didn’t fit his idea of how it should sound, Brian would pull out a pencil, re-score the part on the spot, and then go back to recording.
Omartain didn’t believe in overdubbing, and although Brian was already practicing daily for school and had even played a few live gigs for other artists, he wasn’t a one-take wonder yet. Sometimes retakes were necessary, and Brian felt oddly vindicated when one of the more experienced musicians made a faux pas. Still, the actual recording sessions were mostly flawless, and the more experienced musicians would often congratulate Brian on his work at the end of each session.
Now it was time to get to work on the theme song. Since Brian did such a good job filling in for him while recording the soundtrack, Bacharach insisted that Brian be included in the recording session. Phil was just as impressed with his young prodigy as Burt was, so he gladly turned over the reins but stayed in the background just in case. The Arthur theme song was recorded in two parts. The larger production took place in front of cameras in Studio A1 with session musicians, and the footage was used in the official music video. Post-production was completed in Studio A2, with much of the work handled by Christopher Cross and Brian.
Courtesy of https://www.discogs.com
Arthur’s Theme, Be All That You Can Be, immediately topped the Billboard charts and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 54th Academy Awards. The song was also named the year’s Best Original Song at the 39th Golden Globe Awards. Although Brian didn’t receive much official credit, he was listed as one of the composers on the film’s soundtrack and received associate producer credit for the theme song. More importantly, some really important folks in the industry took notice. Especially his boss…
In late 1983, Phil asked Brian to serve as associate producer for Billy Joel’s Innocent Man. Joel was Phil’s pet project, and earning Phil’s trust to represent him in the studio was huge for Brian. He was already down to half-days at school, so every day after class, he b-lined it straight to the studio, watched, and reported. That became standard practice for the remainder of Brian’s time at A&R Recording.
After Arthur, Bacherach began asking Brian to help on more and more projects, including the notable Pan American Airlines jingle, You Can’t Beat The Experience. It was Burt who approached Phil and told him that Brian’s skills were exceptional and that he should be given more work composing. But Phil needed a grunt, not an artist, so as a graduation present, he helped Brian broker a deal at Capitol Records. Brian hated the idea of leaving A&R Recording. He was a fixture at both studios and was treated with almost as much respect as the man himself. But the move to Capitol Records was an opportunity he simply could not pass up…
Phil was a trial-by-fire kind of mentor, and once you earned his trust, there was no end to the doors he would open for you. And that’s how he treated me for the rest of his life. As an equal. – BGW.