RICHARD BARONE

'Richard Barone' is a musician born in Tampa, Florida, who began his career as the vocalist and leader of the Hoboken, New Jersey band The Bongos. Barone works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, and releases albums as a solo artist.

Contents

Biography

Discography

Solo albums

With The Bongos

Appearances

Literature

See also

References

External links

Biography

As the frontman of the Bongos in the '80s, Richard Barone pioneered an unusual combination of tribal rhythms and Beatlesque chord changes with Sex Pistols overdrive. Along with comrades R.E.M. and just a handful of others, The Bongos helped to create an exploding college radio market, paving the way for alternative rock. As a solo artist, his albums venture into chamber pop and more narrative, singer-songwriter tones. As a record producer, he scouts, discovers, and develops emerging talent, such as pianist Johnny Rodgers, for whom he recently produced a duet with Liza Minelli. As a producer/director, he creates large-scale concert events (such as at his recent, sold-out, star-studded tributes to Miss Peggy Lee at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl in 2003 and 2004, and major concerts in New York's Central Park).
When the Bongos broke onto the national stage with their debut album, ''Drums Along The Hudson'' (PVC Records), they were already popular not only in the Hoboken and NYC scenes, but also in England, where indie label Fetish Records had released the group's first singles, scoring a hit on the Billboard Dance Chart with their innovative cover of T. Rex's "Mambo Sun". ''Drums'' instantly won favor on both sides of the Atlantic for its Americanization of the punk sound, as well as its mixing of influences. RCA Records took notice in 1983 and signed the group.
The ensuing disc ''Numbers With Wings'' (RCA) spawned the hit MTV video of the title song (which remained at the number one spot on the College Music Journal (CMJ) chart for six consecutive weeks), and the tribal, dancefloor hit "Barbarella". The follow-up, ''Beat Hotel'', along with relentless touring, raised the Bongos' profile even further. They split in 1987, and shortly thereafter Barone released his first solo album, ''Cool Blue Halo'' (Passport). His distinctive songwriting and guitar work were highlighted, and the chamber pop backing of acoustic guitar, vibes, and cello accentuated Barone's lush voice. A college radio favorite that directly foreshadowed the 'Unplugged' movement.

The next few years saw two more solo albums: ''Primal Dream'' (MCA, 1990) and ''Clouds Over Eden'' (Mesa-Bluemoon/Atlantic Records, 1994), with its memorable cover image by Duane Michals. Billy Altman, writing in The New York Times called the latter work "unquestionably the most fully realized effort of Barone's career." In 1997, he released ''Between Heaven and Cello'' (Line). Recorded live at NYC's intimate Fez nightclub, it gave his more recent tunes an appealingly stark ''Cool Blue Halo'' treatment. A box-set of his first three solo albums was released in Europe in 2000 as ''The Big Three''.
From the end of the 1990s to the present, Barone's projects have attracted high-level support from major corporate sponsors. In 2004 he released a solo anthology entitled: ''COLLECTION: an embarrassment of richard'', comprised of personal favorites from his catalogue.
Other projects have included executive producing ''The Nomi Song'' (Palm Pictures, 2005), which includes his remix of Klaus Nomi's "Total Eclipse", musical direction and orchestration for "Bright Lights, Big City" at the prestigious New York Theatre Workshop (with ''Rent'' director Michael Grief), as well as directing and performing in ''The Downtown Messiah'', a modern interpretation of Handel's baroque masterpiece, broadcast annually on over 200 public radio stations nationwide for six consecutive years. His songs and collaborations have been heard on several major television programs, including ''The West Wing'' and ''Dawson's Creek''. In 2006, he and the original Bongos entered the studio with Moby to create bonus material for a special editon re-issue of the group's celebrated debut album, released by Cooking Vinyl Records in June, 2007. An accompanying video for "Bulrushes 2007," featuring Moby and directed by Richard Kerris, was released simulaneously.
Barone is currently in the studio working on his next solo album with veteran producer Tony Visconti (Bowie, T. Rex) planned for Spring, 2008 release. He has additionally joined forces for the project with producers Mike Thorne (Bronski Beat, Communards, Wire) and Steve Rosenthal (Lou Reed, Monster Magnet), legendary tunesmith Paul Williams, lensman Mick Rock, and other luminaries. As recording continues, he is writing his first book, ''FRONTMAN,'' to be published by Backbeat/Hal Leonard Books, in Fall 2007.

Discography

Solo albums

★ ''Collection: An Embarrassment of Richard'' (2004) - Compilation; ITunes Store

★ ''The Big Three'' (2000) - Box set; Line Records, Germany

★ ''Between Heaven and Cello'' (1997) - Live; Line Records, Germany

★ ''Clouds over Eden'' (1993), Produced by Hugh Jones - MESA Bluemoon/Atlantic Records

★ ''Primal Dream'' (1990), Produced by Richard Gottehrer and Don Dixon - MCA Records

★ ''Cool Blue Halo'' (1987), Recorded live at the Bottom Line, New York City - Passport Records

★ ''Nuts and Bolts'' (1983), with James Mastro and Mitch Easter - Passport Records

With The Bongos

★ ''Drums Along The Hudson - Special Edition'' (2007), bonus track produced by Moby - Cooking Vinyl, US and UK

★ ''Beat Hotel'' (1985), Produced by John Jansen - RCA Victor

★ ''Numbers With Wings'' (1983), Produced by Richard Gottehrer - RCA Victor

★ ''Drums Along The Hudson'' (1982), Produced by The Bongos, Ken Thomas, and Mark Abel - PVC Records, US

★ ''Time and the River'' (1982), Produced by The Bongos and Ken Thomas, Fetish Records, UK

★ ''Start Swimming'' (1981), Live at the Rainbow, London - Stiff Records

Appearances

★ For a more extensive discography, see All Music Guide.

Literature

★ ''FRONTMAN: Surviving the Rock Star Myth,'' Backbeat/Hal Leonard Books, 2007, ISBN-10 0-87930-912-1, ISBN-13 978-0-87930-912-1

See also

★ The Bongos

References

★ ''Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock,'' (Simon & Schuster, 1995)

★ ''The All Music Guide to Rock,'' (Miller Freeman Books, 1995)

★ ''Rolling Stone's Alt-Rock-A-Rama'', (Rolling Stone Press, 1996)

★ "Man About Town Barone Heads for Fresh Fields," by Jim Bessman -- (''Billboard Magazine,'' September 22, 2001)

★ ''The Official Richard Barone Website''

External links

★ RichardBarone.com - Richard Barone's Official Website

★ FrontmanBook.com - Official website for Richard Barone's forthcoming book, ''FRONTMAN''.

★ All Music Guide - Richard Barone overview on All Music Guide

★ NPR.org- Tom Moon's "Shadow Classics" feature on ''Cool Blue Halo'' (March 28, 2007)

★ ''The New York Times'' - Robert Palmer's '''New York Times''' review of ''Cool Blue Halo''

★ ''Rolling Ston''e - '''Rolling Stone''' reviews of ''Clouds Over Eden'', ''Primal Dream'', and ''Cool Blue Halo''

★ MySpace.com - Richard Barone's profile page at MySpace.com

★ "There'll Be Another Spring: A Tribute To Miss Peggy Lee" - Produced by Richard Barone - Press Release
{| style="margin:0 auto;text-align:center;clear:both;width:90%;" class="toccolours"
|bgcolor=#6699CC|'Richard Barone'
|-
| style="font-size: 80%;" | Other musicians and collaborators: Jane Scarpantoni - Fred Schneider - Paul Williams - Mick Rock - Moby - Donovan - Duane Michals - Nancy Sinatra - Bea Arthur - Jill Sobule - Tiny Tim - David Johansen - Rolan Bolan - Throbbing Gristle - Gary Lucas - Terre Roche - Amy Rigby - The Bongos
|-
| style="font-size: 80%;" | Producers: Tony Visconti - Richard Gottehrer - Don Dixon - Hugh Jones - Mitch Easter
|-
|bgcolor=lightgrey style="font-size:90%;"| 'Discography'
|-
|style="font-size: 90%;"|'Albums:' ''Cool Blue Halo'' - ''Primal Dream'' - ''Clouds Over Eden'' - ''Between Heaven and Cello''
|-
|style="font-size: 90%;"|'Compilations': ''The Big Three'' - ''COLLECTION: An Embarrassment of Richard''
|-
|style="font-size: 90%;"|'Soundtracks and Television': ''Next Year In Jerusalem'' - ''The Nomi Song'' - ''The West Wing'' - ''Dawson's Creek'' - ''Felicity'' - ''South Of Nowhere''
|-