Richie Rome
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Richie Rome (born Richard V. Di Cicco; January 16, 1930 – December 15, 2020) was an American record producer, arranger and orchestra conductor, primarily known for work during the 1970s.


Early life and career

Rome was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...
on January 16, 1930. He began his career composing arrangements in the 1960s, with, as one of his earliest professional works, a medley of "Green Apples" and "Something" by
the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...
(from their Neptune album ''The O'Jays in Philadelphia''). He was also the arranger for
Inez and Charlie Foxx Inez Foxx (September 9, 1937 – August 25, 2022) and her elder brother Charlie Foxx (October 23, 1933 – September 18, 1998) were an American rhythm and blues and soul duo from Greensboro, North Carolina. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charlie ...
on their hit "
Mockingbird Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family (biology), family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species Mimicry, mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly ...
", which reached the US Top 10 in 1963. Rome went on to work with various musical artists in the recording industry, such as
The Ritchie Family The Ritchie Family are an American vocal group based in Philadelphia that achieved several chart-topper, hits during the disco era. They have reunited and continue to perform. Their latest single "Whatcha Got" was released in 2021. Background ...
,
Mike Douglas Michael Delaney Dowd Jr. (August 11, 1920Cook County Birth Certificates, file number 6053268, borAugust 11, 1920/ref>Social Security Death Index, Michael D. Dowd Jr., Birth: 11 Aug 1920, death: 11 Aug 2006 residing in North Palm Beach, FL, acce ...
,
Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...
.
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, Bobby Scott,
Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American singer and actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson ...
Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (; born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. After beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, she garnered acclaim for her role in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a T ...
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the Tymes The Tymes are an American soul vocal group who enjoyed equal success in the United Kingdom and in their homeland. They are one of the few acts to have one and only one chart-topper in both the US and UK with different songs. Early career The g ...
. Pixanne,
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Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...
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, Richard Hatch and others. He was a musical arranger or conductor for television programs highlighting musical artists and also scored films. In collaboration with, and as arranger for, producer Jacques Morali, Rome established the disco recording group the Ritchie Family in 1975, whose albums include ''
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
'' (1975), ''
Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...
'' (1976), and '' Life Is Music'' (1977). Rome's signature style is marked by lush orchestrations, interweaving multidimensional horns and strings to accentuate the sensuality of the compositions. His various other projects include
Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...
's "Fallin' in Love with You" (1977),
the Sweet Inspirations The Sweet Inspirations are an American R&B girl group from Newark, New Jersey, founded by Cissy Houston who are mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists but who are also a Grammy-nominat ...
' "Black Sunday" (1977),
the Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, the group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, Clarence Johnson, Burt ...
' "My First Mistake" (1977), Flower's "Midnight Dancing", "How", and "Our Never-Ending Love" (1979), and, in collaboration with
Phil Hurtt Phil Hurtt (born April 12, 1942) is a musician, singer, songwriter and arranger who has written hits for The Detroit Spinners, The Ritchie Family and many others. His compositions have been recorded by many artists and he has worked as an arran ...
, Stanley Turrentine's "Disco Dancing" (1978) and Hurtt's "Giving It Back" (1978).


Death

Rome died on December 15, 2020, at the age of 90.


References


Literature

* Whitburn, Joel: ''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1992'', Record Research Inc, 1993, , p. 624 *
--> Shapiro, Peter: ''Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco'', Faber & Faber, 2003, , p. 223


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rome, Richie 1930 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American disco musicians Record producers from Pennsylvania Musicians from Philadelphia Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians