Don Randi

Don Randi (born Donald Schwartz, February 25, 1937) is an American keyboard player, bandleader, and songwriter who was a member of the Wrecking Crew.

Don Randi
Birth nameDonald Schwartz
Born (1937-02-25) February 25, 1937
New York City, U.S.
GenresPop, rock, jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsPiano, keyboards
Years active1956–present
Associated actsThe Wrecking Crew

Career

Born in New York City and raised in the Catskill Mountains, he studied classical music.[1] In 1954 he moved to Los Angeles and became a studio musician.[1] During the next year he began working at record distribution company where he was influence by jazz musicians, particularly Horace Silver.[2]

He began his career as a pianist and keyboard player in 1956, gradually establishing a reputation as a leading session musician. In the early 1960s, he was musician and arranger for record producer Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. He played piano on "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and on her albums as well as being a member of her touring band for decades. He performed on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows".[2] His piano can be heard on the Buffalo Springfield songs "Expecting to Fly" and "Broken Arrow". He claims to have played on over three hundred hit records, working with Linda Ronstadt (the harpsichord on "Different Drum"), Quincy Jones, Cannonball Adderley, Herb Alpert, Sarah Vaughan, Lee Hazlewood and Frank Zappa.[2] He recorded live albums of piano jazz as a solo performer and as the leader of the Don Randi Trio with Leroy Vinnegar and Mel Lewis.[1] Randi wrote film scores during the 1970s, including Bloody Mama (1970), Up in the Cellar (1970), J. W. Coop (1972), Stacey (1973), and Santee (1973).

In 1970, he opened The Baked Potato jazz club in Studio City, California, and formed Don Randi and Quest as the house band. The band recorded over 15 albums and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1980 for the album New Baby.[2] In 2010, the Baked Potato was named Best Jazz Club by Los Angeles magazine.[3]

In 2008, as a member of the Wrecking Crew, Randi was inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk.[4][5]

Discography

As leader
  • Feelin' Like Blues (World Pacific, 1960)
  • Where Do We Go from Here? (Verve, 1962)
  • Last Night/with the Don Randi Trio (Verve, 1962)
  • Mexican Pearls (Palomar, 1965)
  • Revolver Jazz (Reprise, 1966)
  • Live On the Sunset Strip! (Reprise, 1967)
  • 3 in the Cellar (American International, 1970)
  • At the Baked Potato (Poppy, 1972)
  • Don Randi & the Baked Potato Band (JAS, 1975)
  • Bermuda Triangle (Dobre, 1978)
  • New Baby (Sheffield Lab, 1979)
  • California 84 (Bee Pee, 1983)
  • Baked Potato Shuffle (Baked Potato, 1988)
  • Don't Look Back (Headfirst, 1989)
  • Wind and Sea (Headfirst, 1990)

As sideman

With David Axelrod

  • Songs of Experience (Capitol, 1969)
  • Earth Rot (Capitol, 1970)
  • Strange Ladies (MCA, 1977)
  • David Axelrod (Mo Wax, 2001)

With others

Notable singles

Based on information from Randi’s book, “You’ve Heard These Hands.” [6]

Charting for singles is on the US singles charts.[7]

Artist Title Date & highest position
on US charts		 Miscellaneous
The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” #39, 9/17/66
The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations" #1, 10/29/66
The Beach Boys “Help Me Rhonda" # 1, 5/01/65
The Beach Boys “Wouldn't It Be Nice" #8, 8/20/65
Buffalo Springfield “Broken Arrow” Released 11/18/67 produced and arranged by Jack Nitzsche
Glen Campbell “I'm Not Gonna Miss You” released on September 30, 2014 for the soundtrack to the documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me,
the last song Campbell recorded
The Crystals “He's a Rebel" #1, 10/06/62 produced by Phil Spector, #2 R&B<v Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Book of TOP 40 R&B and Hip Hop Hits, Billboard Books, New York 2006 p. 128</ref>
The Crystals “Da Doo Ron Ron” #3, 5/11/63 # 5 R&B [8]
The Crystals "Then He Kissed Me" #6, 8/31/63 #8 R&B [8]
Sammy Davis Jr. “The Candy Man” #1, 10/6/72
Neil Diamond “Cracklin' Rosie” #1, 8/29/70
Lesley Gore “It’s My Party" #1, 5/18/63 #1 R&B,[9] produced by Quincy Jones, arranged byJack Nietzsche
The Jackson 5 “ABC" #1, 3/21/70 #1 R&B[10]
Jan and Dean “Popsicle” #21, 6/18/66
Ben E. King “Spanish Harlem“ #10, 1/30/61 #15 R&B[11]
Dean Martin “Everybody Loves Somebody” #1, 7/11/64
Barry McGuire “The Eve of Destruction”<ref. Hartman, Kent, The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Best-Kept Secret, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2012 p. 120</ref> #1, 8/28/65
Jack Nitzsche “The Lonley Surfer” #39, 9/7/63
Laura Nyro “Save the Country”
The Paris Sisters “I Love How You Love Me” #5, 10/2/61
Ray Peterson “Corinna, Corinna” #9, 12/19/60
Elvis Presley “A Little Less Conversation"
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap “Young Girl" #2, 3/16/68
Gary Puckettt and the Union Gap “Lady Willpower” #2, 6/22/68
The Righteous Brothers “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" #1, 12/26/64 #2 R&B [12]
The Righteous Brothers “Ebb Tide” #5, 12/11/65 #13 R&B[12]
The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” #4, 7/31/65 #6 R&B[12]
The Ronettes Be My Baby #7, 4/30/66 #4[13]
Diana Ross “Touch Me in the Morning” #1, 7/7/73 #5 R&B[14]
Frank and Nancy Sinatra “Somethin' Stupid” #1, 3/25/67
Nancy Sinatra “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” #1, 2/5/66
Nancy Sinatra “How Does That Grab You, Darlin’?” #7, 4/30/66
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood “Jackson” # 14, 7/8/67
O.C. Smith “The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp” #40, 4/20/68 #32 R&B[15]
Sonny and Cher “I Got You Babe” #1, 7/31/65 #19 R&B [16]
The Spiral Staircase “More Today Than Yesterday” #12, 5/3/69
Stone Poneys “Different Drum” #13, 12/9/67 lead vocals Linda Ronstadt
Hank Williams Jr. “Family Tradition”

Notable albums

A list of notable albums that Randi played on.[17] [18]


Artist Title Date & highest position
on US charts		 Miscellaneous
The Association And Then... Along Comes the Association #5, 10/01/66
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds #10, 06/11/66
The Beach Boys The Smile Sessions
Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield Again Released 11/18/67
Tim Buckley Goodbye and Hello Released September 1967
Leonard Cohen Death of a Ladies Man Released November 13, 1977 produced by Phil Spector
Neil Diamond Tap Root Manuscript #13, 11/21/70
The Electric Prunes Mass in F Minor arranged by David Axelrod
Cass Elliot The Road is No Place for a Lady
The Jackson 5 ABC #4, 6/6/70
Love The Best of Love
The Monkees The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees #3, 5/18/68
The Monkees More of the Monkees #1, 2/11/67
Michael Nesmith The Wichita Train Whistle Sings
Mickey Newbury An American Trilogy
Harry Nilsson The Point! #25, 4/10/71
Michelle Phillips Victim of Romance Produced by Jack Nitzsche
The Righteous Brothers You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' #4, 2/6/65
The Righteous Brothers Back to Back #16, 2/5/66
Tommy Roe Beginnings 1971
The Ronettes Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica #96 released November 1964
Nancy Sinatra Boots #5, 3/26/66
Nancy Sinatra How Does That Grab You?
Nancy Sinatra Country My Way
Nancy Sinatra Nancy
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood Nancy and Lee # 13, 5/25/68
Sonny and Cher Look At Us #2, 9/4/65
Phil Spector Back to Mono (1958–1969)
Phil Spector A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector In 2019, it was ranked the greatest Christmas album of all time by Rolling Stone.[19]
The Spiral Staircase More Today Than Yesterday
The Tubes Young and Rich
Townes Van Zandt Our Mother the Mountain
Townes Van Zandt High, Low and In Between
Hank Williams Jr. Family Tradition

References
  1. Yanow. "Don Randi". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. "Biography at Baked Potato website". Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  3. "Best Jazz Club". Los Angeles. August 2010. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  4. Lynne Margolis, Glen Campbell, Don Randi and Hal Blaine Honored at RockWalk, 5 August 2008 Archived September 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. The Wrecking Crew at Hollywood's RockWalk
  6. Randi, Don, with Karen “Nish” Nishimura, You’ve Heard These Hands: From the Wall of Sound to the Wrecking Crew and Other Incredible Stories, Hal Leonard Books 2015 pp.227-230
  7. Whitburn, Joel The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, Billboard Books, New York, 1992
  8. Smith 2005, p. 25.
  9. Smith 2005, p. 221.
  10. Smith 2005, p. 278.
  11. Smith 2005, p. 316.
  12. Smith 2005, p. 489.
  13. Smith 2005, p. 496.
  14. Smith 2005, p. 498.
  15. Smith 2005, p. 531.
  16. Smith 2005, p. 535.
  17. Randi, Don, with Karen “Nish” Nishimura, You’ve Heard These Hands: From the Wall of Sound to the Wrecking Crew and Other Incredible Stories, Hal Leonard Books 2015 pp.227-230
  18. Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Book of TOP 40 Albums, Billboard Books, New York 1991
  19. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-25-greatest-christmas-albums-of-all-time-148740/a-christmas-gift-for-you-from-phil-spector-1963-82256/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.