Phil Ramone, the Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer whose platinum touch included recordings with Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, has died at he age of 72.
His son, Matt Ramone, confirmed the death. Ramone won 14 Grammy Awards. He worked with Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, Elton John and Tony Bennett.
He won an Emmy for a TV special about Duke Ellington, a Grammy for the soundtrack to the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, and a Grammy for the soundtrack to Flashdance.
He made an art out of the duets concept, pairing Sinatra with Bono, Bennett with McCartney and Barbra Streisand, and Charles with Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison.
In his memoir, Making Records, he recalled persuading a hesitant Sinatra to re-record some of his signature songs.
“I reminded Frank that while Laurence Olivier had performed Shakespeare in his twenties, the readings he did when he was in his sixties gave them new meaning.”
A native of South Africa, he seemed born to make music. He had learned violin by age and was trained at the Juilliard School in New York.
