Rick Berlin (born Richard Gustave Kinscherf III, in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

in 1945) is a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based singer-songwriter, formerly the frontman of

Orchestra Luna Orchestra Luna was an American rock and roll band of the 1970s who had two incarnations, the first producing a hard-to-categorize mixture of cabaret, Broadway musicals, and rock, and the second a somewhat more traditional mix of pop and rock. Rick ...

, Luna,

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...

, Rick Berlin: The Movie, and The Shelley Winters Project.

Life and career

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

graduate, Berlin has been writing and performing a distinctly theatrical form of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

since the early 1970s. He achieved much of his early success with

, whose eponymous debut was released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1974. ''

,'' co-produced by Rupert Holmes, captured many of the dramatic eccentricities that made the band a renowned live act, particularly on "(You Gotta Have) Heart" (a cover of the ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during ...

'' tune). That year, WBCN started an annual tradition of playing this particular cut for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

on the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team's opening day. Album sales proved disappointing to Epic, though the tour for the record was successful (including an opening slot for

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

). The label dropped the band, but Berlin (then Kinscherf) continued to compose and perform with Orchestra Luna, becoming a part of the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

scene in New York City and playing with acts like

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

and

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

. In 1976, Orchestra Luna was offered a recording contract from Sire Records, which they turned down. Unfortunately, they found themselves unable to find a better offer. In 1978, the band's name was changed to, simply, Luna. A hit single, "Hooray For Hollywood" was released, but litigation with a former producer prevented a full album from following. In 1982 his new band,

(named for the Allied mission to fly food and supplies to blockaded West Berlin in 1948–1949), released its eponymous debut on Handshake/ CBS Records. The album was given little chance to succeed, however, as Handshake declared bankruptcy less than two months later.Rick Berlin
The Awful Truth About Rick Berlin
Nonetheless, two of the album's singles, "Don't Stop Me From Crying" and "Over The Hill" were hits on local Boston radio. In 1983, Berlin Airlift opened for

the J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic ...

and released the '' Professionally damaged'' EP. It featured " Hunger Strikes" which was the number one local song of 1983 on Boston radio station WBCN. The demise of Handshake Records and other difficulties led to the breakup of Berlin Airlift in 1984. Rick Berlin: The Movie was formed in 1985. Berlin won Indie Songwriter of the Year at the Boston Music Awards for the single "Rock 'n Roll Romance" in 1987, and continued to perform in Rick Berlin: The Movie until 1989. He briefly fronted a band called Rome Is Burning in 1990, but by 1991 was performing as a solo artist. In 1994, Berlin began playing Monday nights at a Boston transvestite bar called Jacques. This weekly gig continued through 2003. In 1999, Berlin formed one more band, The Shelley Winters Project. An eponymous, six-track CD was released on Orchard Records in 2001, followed in 2002 by the full-length ''I Hate Everything But You'' on Windjam Records. In 2003, The Shelley Winters Project opened for

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

, and in 2004 the band folded. Berlin recently recorded as a solo artist, and released the album ''Me & Van Gogh'' in early 2006, and "Paper Airplane" in 2010, both on the

Hi-n-Dry Hi-N-Dry was a Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA-based independent record label and recording studio. Founded by Morphine singer and bassist Mark Sandman, the studio and label became managed by former Morphine bandmates Dana Colley and Billy Conway al ...

label. In 2009 he appeared on the Internationally streamed, On Stage with Mantis as a soloist featuring material from 'Me & Van Gogh' and the soon to be finished 'Paper Airplanes'. He was also employed at historic Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts until it closed October 2019. Following the release of "Paper Airplane", Rick teamed up with the already existing Nickel & Dime Band. This 8-piece band breathes new life into old Berlin tunes. Berlin continues to write new material, now with this band in mind. The Nickel & Dime band (with Rick Berlin) recorded a live show at the Brendan Behan, titled "Outta Control" in March 2011, and they finished up their first studio pursuit at Dimension Sound, and are expecting to release it later this year. Though on a small scale, the band has received highly positive critical acclaim, partly thanks to Berlin's preexisting reputation in his hometown Jamaica Plain. Berlin also worked in setting up the First Annual JP Music Fest, a tradition that he wants to continue for a long time. The one for 2012 is already in the works.

Luna

Luna was an American

band formed by Rick Berlin from former members of

. Band members were: *Rick Berlin – Keyboards, Vocals *Steven Paul Perry – Guitar *Chet Cahill – Bass *Bob Brandon – Keyboards *Joe Petruzzelli – Drums

Discography

Singles

*Hollywood b/w Dumb Love – (1977)

Solo discography

*''Live at Jacques'' – (2000) *''Me and Van Gogh'' – (2005) *''Old Stag'' – (2008) *''Paper Airplane'' – (2010)

References

External links

Rick's official website
includes MP3s, bio, and reviews. *

Allmusic Guide Entry AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

br>Orchestra Luna fan siteWell-Rounded Radio's 2009 interview with Rick Berlin
nthWORD Shorts Interview by April Greene November 21, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, Rick 1945 births Living people American male singer-songwriters Writers from Sioux City, Iowa Yale University alumni Singer-songwriters from Iowa