Richard J. Campbell (born December 7, 1958) is an American musician best known for his work as a bass guitarist and vocalist for

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

in the 1980s, and more recently with

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who came to prominence in 1967 as a founding member of the rock band Traffic. While with Traffic, he wrote and sang lead vocals on two of the b ...

, and

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Campbell was born in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Van Nuys City Hall, Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley ...

, and moved with his family to

Paradise, California Paradise is an incorporated town in Butte County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 4,764, a decline of over 80% from the 26,218 ...

in 1966, where Campbell began playing piano age 7. He took up trumpet in grammar school, then switched to bass guitar in high school and began performing around northern California with his band "Music Company" which featured Scott Dugdale (original music composer for Astronomy: Observations and Theories) on drums and Steve Williams on keyboards. Later, Glynnis Talken, Campbell's future wife, joined the band for a television telethon performance for KHSL TV in Chico, California. After two years studying music at

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico (Chico State) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing ...

(CSU Chico) Campbell transferred to CSU Northridge to complete his studies and to be closer to the music industry.

Career

Richard composed and recorded soundtracks for industrial and

educational film An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods. History Determining which films should count as the first educational fil ...

s for

Coronet Films Coronet Films (also known as Coronet Instructional Media Inc.) was an American producer and distributor of documentary shorts shown in public schools, mostly in the 16mm format, from the 1940s through the 1980s (when the videocassette recorder r ...

and worked as a tech in several recording studios in Los Angeles. In 1983, Campbell became musical director for CBS Records group "The Pinups" produced by Peter Hauke, co-managed by the Holland-Dozier-Holland Group, and featuring Glynnis Talken, whom he married in September of that year. Campbell then began touring as bass guitarist and vocalist for

in the mid-1980s including an appearance at the

Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. Marking the forthcoming 70th birthday (18 July 1988) of the ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, along with various television and live concert performances, until 1989, when Campbell was hired to tour with rock group

. Campbell toured with Three Dog Night until 1996, with sporadic performances as bassist and vocalist for the

Band and

The Edgar Winter Group Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their pop ...

. After a seven-week stint as a tour manager for the

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

All Starr Band in 1997, Campbell joined up with

Chuck Negron Charles Negron II (born June 8, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Three Dog Night. Early life Chuck Negron was born on June 8, 1942, in Manhattan, New York City, to ...

, former lead vocalist with

, and toured and recorded with Negron through the rest of the nineties. Campbell appears on the CD "Chuck Negron Live in Concert", holding down multiple job titles including bass guitar, vocalist and

ProTools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

engineer. In 2000 Campbell began touring full-time with The Dave Mason Band, contributing bass guitar, vocals, and tour management to the live album " Dave Mason: Live at Sunrise". In 2003, Campbell was hired to fill the bass guitar and vocalist slot for

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

group

. Campbell appears with America on the "America Live at the Sydney Opera House" DVD released by Roadshow Entertainment, America Live at the Ventura Theatre and PBS's

Soundstage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

which aired in summer of 2005. Rich Campbell also appears on America's double CD set ''Here & Now'' (America album) release on Sony subsidiary

Burgundy Records Burgundy Records was an American record label and subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. History In January 2006, the Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group (SMG) announced the launch of its new record label, Burgundy Records. The new Sony BMG im ...

and debuting in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top 200 Album chart at #52 in January 2007. Campbell contributed bass guitar, vocals, and art direction to America Live in Concert: Wildwood Springs, and makes a cameo appearance on Jeff Larson's CD "Heart of the Valley" in 2009. In November 2014, Campbell performed with the band America on Infinity Hall Live Season 04, Episode 01, which first aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in June 2015. He is credited with vocals, bass, keyboards and tour management. Campbell also appears in America's Live at the London Palladium concert, released in 2019 on America Records. Richard Campbell is a member of the

American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) trade union, labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in N ...

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

, and a voting member of

NARAS National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

, and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Film music composition

*''The Plasma Membrane'' by Coronet (Firm); Bill Walker Productions. VHS video : NTSC color broadcast system, Language: English, Publisher: St. Louis, Mo. : Coronet/MTI Film & Video; ochester, N.Y.: Dist. by

Ward's Natural Science Ward's Science is a supplier of science education materials for K-12 and college-level studies in Rochester, New York. It was founded by Henry Augustus Ward in 1862 as Ward's Natural Science and was renamed in 2012. Current areas of focus inclu ...

Establishment, Inc., 1988. *''Cell Biology : the Living Cell'' by Coronet/MTI Film and Video. VHS video:Partial animation, Language: English, Publisher: Columbus, OH : Coronet/MTI Film & Video, ©1988. *''Your Active Body : Bones and Movement'' by Mel Waskin; Ellen Bowen; Bob Gronowski; Matt Newman; Joel Marks; Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet (Firm); Coronet/MTI Film and Video.; VHS video : Partial animation : Elementary and junior high school, Language: English, Publisher: Northbrook, Ill. : Coronet/MTI Film and Video, ©1988. *''Light'' by Eric R Russell; Sabrina Plisco-Morris; Judy Berlin; Kenneth J Kligerman; Glynnis Campbell; Richard Campbell; Barr Films.; VHS video : Elementary and junior high school, Language: English, Publisher: Irwindale, CA : Barr Films, ©1986. *''Wonder World of Science'' by Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet/MTI Film and Video.; Animation of Arizona. Video : Partial animation : Primary school, Language: English, Publisher: Northbrook, IL : Coronet, 1989. *''Does It Ever Rain in the Desert?'' by Coronet (Firm); Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet/MTI Film and Video.; VHS video : Beta : Primary school : U-matic, Language: English, Publisher: Deerfield, IL : Coronet/MTI Film & Video, 1987. *''Global Winds'' by Mel Waskin; Coronet (Firm); Bill Walker Productions.; VHS video, Language: English, Publisher: Deerfield, Ill. : Coronet, 1985. *''What's the Brightest Star in the Sky?'' by Mel Waskin; Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet (Firm); Coronet/MTI Film and Video.; VHS video : Partial animation : Primary school, Language: English, Publisher: Northbrook, IL : Coronet/MTI Film & Video, ©1993. *''Atmospheric Science : The Earth'', ''Atmospheric Science : The Earth's Atmosphere''; ''Atmospheric Science : Winds and Air Currents''by Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet (Firm); BioMedia Associates.; Video : Partial animation : Preschool, Language: English, Publisher: Northbrook, IL : Coronet/MTI Film & Video,

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I o ...

*''Where Do Lost Balloons Go?'' by Coronet (Firm); Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet/MTI Film and Video.; VHS video : Beta : Partial animation : Primary school : U-matic, Language: English, Publisher: Deerfield, IL : Coronet/MTI Film & Video, 1986. *''Why Doesn't Grass Grow On the Moon?'' by Bill Walker Productions.; Coronet/MTI Film and Video.; VHS video : Beta : Partial animation : Primary school : U-matic, Language: English, Publisher: Deerfield, IL : Coronet Film & Video, 1986.

Notes

External links

Rich Campbell Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Richard American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists California State University, Chico alumni America (band) members Living people Three Dog Night members 1958 births People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles People from Paradise, California 20th-century American bass guitarists Missing middle or first names 20th-century American male musicians