Record producer and engineer Phil Ramone , who worked with some of the biggest music stars of the last 50 years, including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand, died on Saturday in Manhattan. He was 72.
Ramone’s son, Matt Ramone, confirmed the death. The family did not immediately release details of the death, but Matt Ramone says his father was “very loving and will be missed.”
Ramone was born in South Africa and became an American citizen at the age of 12. He trained as a violinist at The Julliard School and opened his first recording studio before reaching the age of 20.
Ramone’s producing credits include the Grammy Award winning albums “Still Crazy After All these Years” by Simon in 1976, Joel’s “52nd Street” in 1980, and Mr. Charles’s duets album, “Genius Loves Company” in 2005. In total, he was awarded 14 Grammys over his career.
His soundtrack credits include “Flashdance,” ”Ghostbusters” and “Midnight Cowboy.”
He was also the engineer behind Marilyn Monroe’s version of “Happy Birthday” sung to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
No immediate cause of death was reported, but Ramone was reported to have been admitted to a Manhattan hospital in late February for treatment of an aortic aneurysm.
He is survived by his sons Matthew, William and Simon, and his wife, Karen.
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