Richard James Page (born May 16, 1953) is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer and bassist of 1980s band Mr. Mister. The band's hits include " Broken Wings" and "

Kyrie ', a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of ('' Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, , "Lord, have mercy" derives from a Biblical phrase. Greek , ...

". Page has also sung in other bands, been a solo artist, written songs for other artists, and worked as a background singer for other artists.

Early life

Page graduated from Central High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. His mother worked as the Assistant Director of the Phoenix Boys Choir, while his father was a musical director at a Phoenix church. During high school, Page performed in school musicals such as ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' Page cited that his musical influences at this stage included

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

. Immediately following his high school graduation, he moved to Hollywood.

Career

In Los Angeles, Page and Steve George, a friend from Phoenix, "knocked around the LA music scene, eventually working with topflight acts like

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

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, and

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

". Page turned down an offer to be the lead singer for the bands

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and Toto. Page's first major band, Pages, was formed with Steve George in the late 1970s. After producing three Pages albums, Page and George formed Mr. Mister along with Steve Farris and

Pat Mastelotto Lee Patrick Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters an ...

. Page was on vocals/bass, George handled keyboards, Farris played guitar, and Mastelotto was on drums. Page is best known for his work with Mr. Mister. The band's first album was '' I Wear the Face'' (1984). Page has said that in this album the band was "just getting together and figuring out" how they wanted to sound. As frontman for Mr. Mister, Page scored two consecutive ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones with the singles " Broken Wings" and "

", both of which Page composed in collaboration with his cousin, John Lang. In 1985, both songs appeared on Mr. Mister's breakthrough second album, '' Welcome to the Real World'', which reached number 1 on the album charts. The group was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Band in 1986. The band scored another hit with " Is It Love" (1986), which reached number 8 in the charts. Mr. Mister's third album, ''Go On...'' was released in 1987. In an interview, Page said that the band "tried many new and different sounds and ideas" and that it included some of the band's best songwriting. Before breaking up on September 25, 1990, the group recorded a fourth album, ''

Pull Pull may refer to: Sports *In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who usually hits the ball to the side of the field from which he bats * Pull shot, a batting stroke in cricket * A phase of a swim stroke * A throw-off in the sport of ultimate ...

'', in 1989. The album was not released until 2010. Page has described ''Pull'' as the group's "most experimental album". Many of Page's songs for Mr. Mister, and many of his solo numbers, were co-written with Steve George and John Lang. Page has also been a solo artist, and he has worked as a background singer for other artists and bands. He has written songs for popular artists such as

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, and

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, among others. Page also co-wrote one

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hit “I’ll Remember”” in 1994. Page released his first solo album, '' Shelter Me'', in 1996. It featured the singles "The Best Thing" and "My Oxygen", written by

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. Based on a recommendation by his friend, songwriter

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approached Page to join his 11th All-Starr Band and, in the summer of 2010, they embarked on a 32-date U.S. tour; in 2011 they embarked on a 40-date Europe tour. Page also toured with Ringo's 12th All-Starr Band in the summer of 2012, 2013, and 2017.

Personal life

Page and his wife, Linda, have four children.

Discography

Solo albums

*'' Shelter Me'' (1996) *''Peculiar Life'' (2010) *''Songs from the Sketchbook'' (2012) *''Goin' South'' (2015)

Live albums

*''Solo Acoustic'' (2011) (DVD/CD)

Extended plays

*'' Acoustic'' (1996) *''5 Songs for Christmas'' (2010)

with Pages

*'' Pages'' (1978) *'' Future Street'' (1979) *'' Pages'' (1981)

with Mr. Mister

* '' I Wear the Face'' (1984) * '' Welcome to the Real World'' (1985) * '' Go On...'' (1987) * ''

'' (2010)

with 3rd Matinee

*'' Meanwhile'' (1994)

Notable album appearances

*1979: '' Keep the Fire'' –

(background vocals) *1980: '' Hi Infidelity'' –

(background vocals) *1981: '' Runaway'' –

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago (band), Chicago from 1 ...

; on "Satisfaction" and "Gotta Get Back to Love" (background vocals) *1981: '' Breakin' Away'' –

(background vocals) *1981: '' Sometimes Late at Night'' –

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(background vocals) *1982: '' Friends in Love'' –

(background vocals) *1982: ''

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'' –

(background vocals) *1982: '' Three Lock Box'' –

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(background vocals) *1983: '' Caught in the Game'' –

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(background vocals) *1983: '' Shout at the Devil'' –

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(background vocals) *1983: '' A Christmas Album'' –

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(background vocals) *1983: '' Bent Out of Shape'' –

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(backing vocals) " Street of Dreams" *1984: '' Primitive'' –

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*1984: '' Isolation'' – Toto (background vocals) *1984: '' Stay Hungry'' –

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(background vocals) *1984: " High Crime" –

(background vocals) *1984: '' Straight Ahead'' – Amy Grant (background vocals); on "It's Not a Song" *1985: '' Finder of Lost Loves'' – Dionne Warwick (background vocals) *1985: '' Vox Humana'' – Kenny Loggins (background vocals and accompanying vocals) *1985: '' Rhythm of the Night'' –

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; on " Who's Holding Donna Now" (background vocals) *1985: '' Unguarded'' – Amy Grant; on "I Love You" and "Sharayah" (background vocals) *1986: '' Something to Talk About'' –

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; on " Now and Forever (You and Me)" (background vocals) *1986: '' The Collection'' –

; on " Stay for Awhile" (background vocals) *1986: ''

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'' –

; on "Who's Gonna Love You Tonight" *1986: '' Can't Hold Back'' –

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; on "One Chance" (background vocals) *1987: '' Reservations for Two'' – Dionne Warwick; on " No One in the World" (background vocals) *1988: '' Back to Avalon'' – Kenny Loggins (background vocals) *1988: ''Shadow and Light'' – Joe Zawinul; (lead vocal on "The Immigrants") *1988: '' Rock of Life'' – Rick Springfield; (Background vocals on "One Reason") *1989: '' Slip of the Tongue'' –

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; on " Now You're Gone" (background vocals) *1990: ''Conserve Our World'' –

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(background vocals) *1991: '' Love Hurts'' –

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; accompanying vocals on "One Small Step" *1992: '' Kingdom of Desire'' – Toto; on "2 Hearts" and "Kingdom of Desire" (background vocals) *1995: ''

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'' –

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(background vocals) *1999: ''

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'' – Toto; on "Mindfields" (background vocals) *2000: ''Birdland'' – Masanori & LA Allstars (lead vocal on "Green Flower Street") *2001: '' Until the End of Time'' –

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

(accompanying vocals on " Until the End of Time") *2002: ''Familiar to Me'' – Joe Zawinul; (lead vocal on "Faces and Places") *2003: '' Closer'' –

(background vocals) *2005: '' The Day After Yesterday''; duet with

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on his cover of " Broken Wings"

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Richard 1953 births Living people Songwriters from Iowa American male singers American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Singers from Arizona People from Keokuk, Iowa Musicians from Los Angeles Songwriters from Arizona Singers from Iowa Mr. Mister members Guitarists from Arizona Guitarists from Iowa 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band members