David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician who co-founded the rock band
Ambrosia
In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...
in the 1970s.
Career
As performer
Pack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band
Ambrosia
In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...
. His collected works as a performer and producer have sold over forty million units worldwide. Hits from the band written and sung by Pack include certified Gold singles "
Biggest Part of Me
"Biggest Part of Me" is a song by American band Ambrosia, from the album '' One Eighty''. Released as a single in 1980, the song reached number one on the ''Radio & Records'' chart and number 3 on both the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Adult Cont ...
" (1980), "
You're the Only Woman (You & I)
"You're the Only Woman (You & I)" is a song by American soft rock band Ambrosia, released in 1980 as the second single from the album '' One Eighty''.
The song was their fifth and final U.S. top 40 hit, peaking at No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboar ...
" (1980) and "
How Much I Feel
"How Much I Feel" is a 1978 song by American rock band Ambrosia. The song, written by the band's guitarist/vocalist David Pack, was released in the summer of 1978 as the lead single from their third album, '' Life Beyond L.A.'', peaking at positi ...
" (1978). He co-wrote and sang lead on the band's first Top 20 hit, "
Holdin' on to Yesterday
"Holdin' On to Yesterday" is the debut single by American rock band Ambrosia. It was written by David Pack and Joe Puerta.
Chart performance
The song was released in the spring of 1975 as the lead single from their eponymous debut album, peaki ...
" (1975). His 2005 solo album, ''The Secret of Movin' On'', included remakes of "Biggest Part of Me" and "You're the Only Woman".
Pack guested on lead vocals on the song "Ground Zero" for
Kerry Livgren
Kerry Allen Livgren (born September 18, 1949) is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas.
Biography
Livgren was raised in Topeka, Kansas, by his father Allen L ...
's 1980 solo album, ''
Seeds of Change''. He then performed on
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
' ''
Vinyl Confessions
''Vinyl Confessions'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). It includes " Play the Game Tonight", which broke the Top 20 and is Kansas's third highest-charting single, surpassed only by " ...
'' album in 1982. He would later contribute guest lead vocals on the track "Shine On" off of the album ''
It's a Jungle Out There!
''It's a Jungle Out There'' is the first album by Mastedon, the studio project formed by brothers John & Dino Elefante. It was released in 1989 on Regency Records, while they were setting up their own label "Pakaderm Records". Long out-of-print ...
'' by
Mastedon
Mastedon is a Christian rock band formed by brothers Dino and John Elefante (former lead singer and songwriter of Kansas (band), Kansas) in the mid-1980s. The band was formed mainly as a studio project and have released three full-length albums ...
, one of two Mastedon albums written and produced by former Kansas lead singer
John Elefante
John Elefante (born March 18, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members fro ...
and his brother Dino Elefante.
During the 1980s, Pack enjoyed moderate success as a solo artist with the release of his ''
Anywhere You Go
''Anywhere You Go'' is the first full-length recording from David Pack, the lead singer for the band Ambrosia (band), Ambrosia. The LP was released in November 1985. Pack wrote five songs himself and co-wrote the other five.
The album contains t ...
'' LP in 1985. The album generated three charting singles, the greatest of which was "
I Just Can't Let Go
"I Just Can't Let Go" is a song by David Pack, featuring Michael McDonald (musician), Michael McDonald and James Ingram. It was released as a single in 1986 and was the third of three charting singles released from Pack's debut solo album, ''Anywh ...
" (US AC #13), a collaboration with
Michael McDonald and
James Ingram
James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...
.
In 1988 he recorded a duet with
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
titled "I Know You by Heart", which was for the soundtrack to the film ''Beaches'' and was also featured in the movie.
He co-wrote three songs ("The Three of Me", "I'm Talkin' to You" and "Oh, Life (There Must Be More)"), for which he also sang and played guitar, on Alan Parsons's 1993 album ''
Try Anything Once
''Try Anything Once'' is the first solo album by Alan Parsons, released in 1993. It was his first album following the split of The Alan Parsons Project.
This album features vocals by Ambrosia's David Pack, Jacqui Copland, former Mindbender a ...
'', and sang and played guitar on the song "You Can Run" on Parsons' 2004 album, ''
A Valid Path
''A Valid Path'' is the fourth solo album by English rock musician Alan Parsons. The record was released on 24 August 2004 via Artemis label.
Background
The gap between this and his previous album, ''The Time Machine'', was the third greatest p ...
''. (Ambrosia's first album was engineered by Alan Parsons, who served as producer and engineer for their second; all four members of Ambrosia played on the first Alan Parsons Project album, ''
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
''Tales of Mystery & Imagination'' (often rendered as ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'') is a popular title for posthumous compilations of writings by American author, essayist and poet Edgar Allan Poe and was the first complete collection of ...
''.) Pack joined producer Alan Parsons on his 2001 live tribute tour to the music of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
called ''
A Walk Down Abbey Road
Alan Parsons' A Walk Down Abbey Road was a concert tour that was launched in North America in 2001 to pay tribute to The Beatles and promote the hits of various headlining band members. Similar to Ringo Starr's ''All Starr Band'' tours, each suc ...
''.
Pack again appeared as lead vocalist on the song "I Won't Be Led Astray" on Parsons' 2022 album ''
From The New World''.
As producer
Pack is a Grammy-winning producer for
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Kenny Loggins
Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
, and Wynonna Judd. He has also produced music by Chet Atkins,
Patti Austin
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter.
Music career
Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...
,
David Benoit
David Bryan Benoit (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer, based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Benoit has charted over 25 albums since 1980, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. He is a ...
,
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
,
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...
, Andrae Crouch,
DC Talk
DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...
,
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...
,
Faith Hill
Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
Hill' ...
, Bruce Hornsby,
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...
,
James Ingram
James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...
,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman.
LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul".
She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...
,
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
,
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...
, Bette Midler, Michael McDonald,
Brian McKnight
Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma.
McKnight is known for h ...
,
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
,
The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, b ...
,
LeAnn Rimes
Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...
,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
,
Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...
,
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...
,
Take 6
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music, gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood University, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received seve ...
,
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
,
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...
, and
CeCe Winans
Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been a ...
.
Pack produced the 1995 album ''The Songs of West Side Story'', which benefited the school. The album is notable for being the final recorded performance of
Selena
Selena Quintanilla Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer. Called the " Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mex ...
, made three weeks before her murder in March 1995, and for containing the final work by
Marty Paich
Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...
, who arranged the strings on Franklin's "Somewhere".
He served as producer and music director for
President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again f ...
's inaugurations in January 1993 and 1997.
In 1997, the White House asked him to direct the music and produce the presidents' Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia for presidents Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford. In 2000, he was asked to direct and produce Yamaha's Michael McDonald Lifetime Achievement Award Show at the L.A. Shrine for his good friend. Pack brought together Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins,
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...
and
Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas.
He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...
for the event. In 2005, he produced and directed the 2005 World Aids Day Concert at Saddleback Church in Orange County for author and pastor
Rick Warren
Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American Southern Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in Lake Fore ...
.
Discography
Solo albums
* ''
Anywhere You Go
''Anywhere You Go'' is the first full-length recording from David Pack, the lead singer for the band Ambrosia (band), Ambrosia. The LP was released in November 1985. Pack wrote five songs himself and co-wrote the other five.
The album contains t ...
'' (1985)
* ''Unborn'' (2004)
* ''The Secret of Movin' On'' (2005)
* ''David Pack's Napa Crossroads'' (2014)
Solo singles
* "That Girl Is Gone" (1985) (US AC #16, Canada #93)
* "Prove Me Wrong" (1986) (US #95)
* "
I Just Can't Let Go
"I Just Can't Let Go" is a song by David Pack, featuring Michael McDonald (musician), Michael McDonald and James Ingram. It was released as a single in 1986 and was the third of three charting singles released from Pack's debut solo album, ''Anywh ...
" (1986) (US AC #13)
Albums with Ambrosia
Compilation Albums with Ambrosia
Singles with Ambrosia
Other projects
* Symbols of Tyme
* Beato Band
References
External links
David Pack's official site*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pack, David
1952 births
Living people
Ambrosia (band) members
American Christians
American rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American soft rock musicians
Bruce Hornsby and the Range members
Guitarists from Los Angeles
20th-century American guitarists