Whygold’s Weekend

… under this motto I present you my music tip for the weekend.
Maybe one or the other discovers something new.

Consciously listening to music is, in my opinion, as important as reading a good book.

Today: Pages – Pages (1981)

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kuM1w-jwymSd44kvbwHBRh-Aoq3lgKGeM

Richard Page (born May 16, 1953 in Keokuk, Iowa) is an American singer, bassist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist of the band Mr. Mister. The band’s hits include Broken Wings and Kyrie. He has also been a background singer for many artists and bands since the early 1980s, and a solo artist since 1996.[1][2] He wrote songs for well-known artists such as Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Dionne Warwick and Josh Groban.

Richard Page’s parents were both professional musicians. His father was a singer and choir director, his mother was an organist, pianist and singer. In the mid-1950s, the family of seven (Page has a sister and three brothers, all of whom are musicians) moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where his parents worked as music directors at a local Methodist church. Page had a special interest in the family’s musical activities, and he sang early on himself. The Pages lived in Montgomery from 1955 to 1962.

In the 1960s, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where his mother served as assistant director of the Phoenix Boys Choir for many years while his father was a church music director. Page attended Central High School and performed in school musicals like Oliver. “It was a great experience, I was a terrible student, I had to beg the assistant principal to graduate me,” Page said in 2015.[4] “He did it because he knew my interests were in music, I had kind of graduated in that area.”[4] Page said his musical influences at the time included The Beatles and The Beach Boys.[3]

After graduating from high school in 1971, Page moved to Hollywood. In Los Angeles, Page and Steve George, a friend from Phoenix, “floated around the L.A. music scene, eventually working with top acts like REO Speedwagon, Andy Gibb, Al Jarreau and Kenny Loggins.”[3] Page turned down an offer to be lead singer for the bands Chicago and Toto. The position he declined with Chicago was accepted by Jason Scheff.

His first big band, Pages, was formed with his childhood friend, keyboardist Steve George, after he moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in the late 1970s. After producing three Pages albums, Page and George formed Mr. Mister with Steve Farris and Pat Mastelotto. Page was a singer and played bass, George played keyboards, Farris played guitar and Mastelotto was on drums. The band’s first album was I Wear the Face (1984). Page said that in this album, the band “just came together and figured out” what they wanted to sound like. The group was nominated for several Grammy Awards after the successful album Welcome to the Real World, including “Best Pop Band” in 1986.

After the group disbanded in 1990 following another and a previously unreleased album, Page was a member of Third Matinee with Patrick Leonard before releasing his first solo album, Shelter Me, in 1996. It featured the singles The Best Thing and My Oxygen, a remake of Nik Kershaw’s hit. In 1997, he turned down an offer from Leonard to record a second Third Matinee album.

After the release of Shelter Me, Page worked as a songwriter and session musician. His songwriting clients include Kenny Loggins, Madonna (the Golden Globe- and Grammy-nominated song I’ll Remember from With Honors), Josh Groban, Céline Dion, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Dionne Warwick, The Pointer Sisters, Meat Loaf and Patti LaBelle, Hall & Oates, BB Mak, Bill Champlin, Al Jarreau, Leona Lewis and many others. He was the singer of a tune written by Donald Fagen called Green Flower Street, which appeared on the 2000 album Birdland by Masanori Sasaji and the L.A. Allstars.[5]

On the recommendation of his friend, songwriter Richard Marx, Ringo Starr approached Page about joining his eleventh all-star band. They embarked on a 32-date U.S. tour in the summer of 2010 and began a 40-date European tour in 2011. Page also toured with Starr’s twelfth all-star band in the summers of 2012, 2013 and 2017. Ringo Starr’s all-star band also included keyboardists Edgar Winter and Gary Wright, guitarists Rick Derringer and Wally Palmar, and drummer Gregg Bissonette on their first tour.

About the band Pages and the album:

Pages was an American pop rock band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 2][3] The band consisted of Richard Page and Steve George on vocals and keyboards, backed by various studio musicians, some of whom were considered part of the band from time to time. Although Pages was highly regarded for its well-crafted pop and jazz fusion sound, the group did not achieve commercial success and disbanded after recording three studio albums. Pages is perhaps best known as the launching pad for the recording careers of Page and George, who later formed the band Mr. Mister, which topped the charts in the mid-1980s with the hits “Broken Wings” and “Kyrie.”

Pages grew out of a long friendship between Richard Page and Steve George, dating back to their high school days in Phoenix, Arizona. After high school, the two occasionally played together in bands in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. For a time, Page moved to San Diego to attend music school.

In 1977, rising teen idol Andy Gibb, recently relocated to Los Angeles and as his first single “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” raced to the top of the charts, recruited Page and George to provide vocals and keyboards as part of his backing band along with Peter Leinheiser on lead guitar, Jerry Manfredi on bass and
Gibb toured with this group of musicians in 1977. Towards the end of the year, the group recorded a demo tape of original jazz-fusion material. That band came to the attention of former Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer Bobby Colomby, who liked what he heard and signed the group, now called Pages, to Epic Records. Page’s cousin John Lang was also part of the group. Although Lang could not play a musical instrument (he claimed he was deaf), he became Pages’ chief lyricist.

Although Future Street showed future commercial potential, the album failed to chart. Now down to a duo of Page and George (with longtime collaborator Lang still on board as a non-performing lyricist), the band moved to Capitol Records and brought along acclaimed producer Jay Graydon. The resulting album – eponymous with their first album – was released in 1981. Two singles were released from the album, “You Need a Hero” and “Come on Home.” These were the only tracks Bobby Colomby produced on the album.

The players on this album consisted of Page (lead and background vocals, grand piano on the last track), George (backing vocals, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers: Yamaha CS-80 – Oberheim – ARP 2600, Mini-Moog, Clavinet, Electric Power oboe and grand piano), John Lang (co-writer), Charles Johnson (guitar).Despite this line-up of well-known musicians, the album did not chart.

(Source: Wikipedia)

This album is the third album of the band Pages, not to be confused with the first, which is also called Pages, is from 1978, and contains 10 songs.
All three albums are highly recommended.

Have fun listening to this album !

Your Chris Weigold

P.S.: Maybe you enjoy the listening pleasure together with a glass of wine from our “Orchester der Kulturen Edition”.