Five A-List Artists Whose Careers Were Enriched by Late, Great Music Producer Richard Perry

The music world lost a great in December 2024 with the passing of Richard Perry. At a time when music producers were starting to come into their own as forces in the industry, Perry stood out for the way he was able to bounce from artist to artist and contribute to career-defining successes for them.

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To illustrate our point, check out the list of artists below. Each of the five did some of their finest work with Perry at the board.

Carly Simon

Simon’s first two albums put her on the map as a singer/songwriter of note. While they had their share of hits, they also came across as a bit weightless. Perry came aboard as producer of No Secrets in 1972, and he immediately gave her sound some grit. That was most evident on the monster single “You’re So Vain,” as the music carries a slick nonchalance that perfectly dovetails with the descriptions of the womanizer at the heart of the narrative. This album began a productive stretch of collaborations between the pair, as Perry would helm her next two hit records.

Harry Nilsson

Nilsson entered the making of his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson with the reputation of being a fantastically talented guy who didn’t know how to harness all that talent into making hit records. It’s probably no coincidence that, with Perry producing, he seemed to put it all together all at once on that album to deliver a masterpiece. It didn’t hurt that the cream of the crop of session players helped out. But there’s something to be said for Perry’s ability to create the right musical setting for each song, from the elegant sorrow of “Without You” to the choreographed chaos of “Jump Into the Fire.”

Barbra Streisand

Streisand tried to modernize her sound for the first time on the 1969 album What About Today? and the general consensus at the time was she was out of her element. After a few years of concentrating on movie soundtracks, she gave it another go in 1971 with Stoney End, only this time with Perry doing the producing. Perry managed to lend some heft to the backing arrangements, while still giving Streisand room to do her vocal thing. The end result is one of the finest full-length albums of her career, one that helped her transition to pop stardom.

Ringo Starr

Starr was canny about how he started his solo career after The Beatles breakup. Instead of diving in with both feet, he slow-played it, releasing a couple of niche records (one of standards, one of country songs), then delivering a pair of hit standalone singles. That whet the public’s appetite for his first all-in rock album, and Perry was there to guide him through it. All three of his Beatle buddies contributed to help out, which somewhat masked Perry’s own efforts. But much of what made songs like “Photograph” stand out was just how sharp they sounded, for which the producer deserves major credit.

Rod Stewart

Look, we know that some folks will always look at Stewart’s turn towards singing standards as a calculated, mercenary move, and that’s fine. But the truth is, commercial concerns aside, those albums were always done with class and taste. Stewart deserves credit for a lot of that, because his love for the songs shines through. But the touch of Perry and Phil Ramone, the two main production experts spearheading the recordings, also makes quite a difference. With Perry by his side, Stewart led a renaissance in the Great American Songbook, no small feat.

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