Richard Barrett (July 14, 1933 – August 3, 2006), also known as Richie Barrett, was an American singer, record producer, and songwriter.

Biography

Barrett was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1933. In the 1950s, he was a record producer, influential in shaping the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

sound. Barrett discovered and promoted

Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

the Chantels The Chantels are a pop music group and are the third African-American girl group to enjoy nationwide success in the United States, preceded by The Teen Queens and The Bobbettes. The group was established in the early 1950s by students attendi ...

Little Anthony & the Imperials Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, the Valentines, and Philadelphia's

the Three Degrees The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group formed circa 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although 12 women have been members over the years, the group has always been a trio. The current line-up consists of Helen Scott, Valerie Ho ...

. He managed the Chantels in the 1950s, and later managed the Three Degrees from the early 1960s until the early 1980s, producing many of their albums, and conducting the orchestra at their live shows. As an artist, he is most famous for co-writing (with

Leiber and Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

) and recording, as Richie Barrett, the song "

Some Other Guy "Some Other Guy" is a rhythm and blues song, written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Richie Barrett. First released as a single by Barrett, it featured an electric piano, then an unusual sound in pop music. Covered shortly afterwards by Live ...

". Barrett sang lead for the Valentines from 1954 to 1957. Ronnie Bright, who later joined

the Cadillacs The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 chart-topper, hit "Speedoo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting Whi ...

and

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...

, sang bass. Barrett co-wrote two songs with Carl Hogan (also from the Valentines). One was "Be Sure My Love," which was recorded by

the Dubs The Dubs are an American doo wop vocal group formed in 1956, best known for their songs "Could This Be Magic", "Don't Ask Me to Be Lonely" and "Chapel of Dreams". Original career, 1956-1958 The original members of the Dubs were: :Richard Bla ...

Gone Records Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral ...

in 1958; and another, "So Much," was recorded by

on End Records in 1958, and also recorded by the Attributes. On the Chantels' single "Maybe" (1958), Barrett played piano, bass, and drums. Barrett produced several of the Chantels' records. Barrett's first single was a cover of

the Fleetwoods The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington, whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band ...

' "

Come Softly to Me "Come Softly to Me" is a popular song recorded by The Fleetwoods, composed of Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis, and Gary Troxel, who also wrote it. The original title was "Come Softly", but was changed en route to its becoming a hit. Bob Reis ...

", with

as backing vocalists. He recorded "Some Other Guy" in 1962, a tune modeled on

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

' "

What'd I Say "What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...

" and was assured immortality, if not a hit single, following cover versions performed by

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 other

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

groups of the time, including

the Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

and the Big Three. A clip of the Beatles performing the song at

the Cavern The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club becam ...

was shown on a regional television program screened by Granada TV in the north-west of England in August or September 1962 shortly after the band had fired their previous drummer

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (; born 24 November 1941) is an English retired musician who was the drummer for the Beatles from 1960 to 1962. He was dismissed shortly before the band achieved worldwide fame and is one of several people referred to as a ...

and replaced him with

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 ...

, and this low-quality footage has been included on many videos and DVDs since that time. In 1998,

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

portrayed Barrett in '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'', a film biography about

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group the Te ...

Death

Barrett died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Gladwyne, Pennsylvania Gladwyne is a suburban community in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States along the historic Philadelphia Main Line. In 2018, Gladwyne was ranked the sixth richest ZIP Code (using 2015 IRS data) in the country i ...

, on August 3, 2006, at age 73.

Discography

Singles by the Valentines

* "Summer Love"/"For You" (Bruce, 1954, unreleased, as the Dreamers) * "Tonight Kathleen"/"Summer Love" (Old Town 1009, 1954) * "Lily Maebelle"/"Falling for You" (Rama 171, 1955) * "I Love You Darling"/"Hand Me Down Love" (Rama 181, 1955) * "Christmas Prayer"/"Kiss Me" (Rama 186, 1955) * "C'est la vie"/"C'est la vie" (Rama 194, 1956, with the Wrens but not credited) * "Why"/"The Woo Woo Train" (Rama 196, 1956) * "Twenty Minutes Before the Hour"/"I'll Never Let You Go" (Rama 201, 1956) * "Nature's Creation"/"My Story of Love" (Rama 208, 1956) * "Don't Say Goodnight"/"I Cried Oh, Oh" (Rama 228, 1957)

Solo singles

* "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"/"Remember Me" (MGM 12616, 1958, as Dickie Barrett) * "Body and Soul"/"The Party" (MGM 12659, 1958) * "Lovely One"/"The Snake and the Bookworm" (20th Century Fox 150, 1959) * "Come Softly to Me"/"Walking Through Dreamland" (Gone 5056, 1959, with the Chantels) * "Summer's Love"/"All Is Forgiven" (Gone 5060, 1959, with the Chantels) * "Lovable"/"Only One Way" (Metro 20006, 1959) * "Dream On"/"I Am Yours" (Seville 104, 1960, as Richard Barrett and the Sevilles) * "

"/"Tricky Dicky" (Atlantic 2142, 1962, as Richie Barrett) * "Summer's Love"/"Let Me Down Easy" (Crackerjack 4012, 1963, as Richie Barrett) * "I Will Love You"/"I Will Love You (Instrumental)" (Swan 4228, as Richie Barrett)

References

External links

Find A Grave Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Richard 1933 births 2006 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American musicians African-American record producers Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery American rhythm and blues singers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Pennsylvania Musicians from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Record producers from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American songwriters