Legendary Beatles record producer Richard Perry dies on Christmas Eve aged 82-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

Record Producer Richard Perry died on Christmas Eve (Picture: Earl Gibson III/Getty Images)

Acclaimed record producer Richard Perry has died aged 82.

He was famous for working with The Beatles, having produced on Ringo Starr’s 1973 album, Ringo, to which all members of the Liverpool band contributed.

This marked one of the closest things to a reunion the foursome had after their split.

Perry is also credited on Carly Simon’s hit tune, You’re So Vain, and Sir Rod Stewart’s The Great American Songbook series.

He died from cardiac arrest on Christmas Eve in a Los Angeles hospital, his friend Daphna Kastner confirmed.

Reflecting on his life, she said: ‘He maximised his time here.’

Perry famously dated Jane Fonds (Picture: Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)

He also dated Elizabeth Taylor, pictured here in 1986 (Picture: Bei/REX/Shutterstock)

She also described him as a ‘father friend,’ as Perry was the godfather to her son.

‘He was generous, fun, sweet, and made the world a better place.

‘The world is a little less sweet without him here, but it’s a little sweeter in heaven.’

Perry first rose to prominence on the music scene in the late 1960s when he worked on Captain Beefheart’s Safe as Milk album.

By the 70s, he was one of the most sought-after producers of the time thanks to his innovative flair and style.

Perry’s other collaborations included Barbra Streisand, Harry Nilsson, Fats Domino, Martha Reeves, The Pointer Sisters, and The Band.

Writing fondly about him in her 2023 memoir, My Name is Barbra, Streisand said he ‘had a knack for matching the right song to the right artist’.

Perry was once the most sought-after producer in the industry (Picture: Joe Kohen/Invision for House of Rock, LLC/AP Images, File)

Sir Rod also mentioned Perry in his autobiography, Rod, in which he described the producer’s home in West Hollywood as ‘the scene of much late-night skulduggery through the 1970s and beyond, and a place you knew you could always fall into at the end of an evening for a full-blown knees-up with drink and music and dancing.’

As for his work with The Beatles, Perry began by producing Sentimental Journey, a track on Starr’s first solo album, which allowed him to grow closer to the musician through mutual friends.

His subsequent album, Ringo, charted at number two and featured collaborations from Nilsson, Billy Preston, Steve Cropper, and Martha Reeves, including singles Photograph and You’re Sixteen.

Perry then worked with John Lennon on his song I’m The Greatest, which brought three Beatles back into the studio just three years after their breakup.

Starr sang lead vocals and played drums, Lennon played keys and sang backing vocals, and, following a phone call from George Harrison’s assistant asking if the album was still in progress, Harrison joined on guitar.

In his 2021 memoir, Cloud Nine, Perry wrote: ‘As I looked around the room, I realised that I was at the very epicentre of the spiritual and musical quest I had dreamed of for so many years.

‘By the end of each session, a small group of friends had gathered, standing silently along the back wall, just thrilled to be there.’

Perry pictured in 1982 (Picture: AP)

He collaborated with Fats Domino on his album Fats is Back (Picture: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

While Sir Paul McCartney was not around for that particular collab, he did help to write and arrange vocals on the ballad Six O’Clock.

In 2015, Perry received a Grammy Trustee Award.

Away from music, he continued to brush shoulders with A-listers—and even dated a few.

He was famously romantically involved with Jane Fonda and Elizabeth Taylor, which only further cemented his place in the spotlight.

Perry was also briefly married to the actress Rebecca Broussard.

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