Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

and percussionist.

Biography

Musician

Richards began playing the

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

aged six. In High School, he performed with the

Hartford Symphony Orchestra The Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is an American orchestra based in Hartford, Connecticut. Overview The orchestra presents more than 100 concerts annually to audiences numbering more than 110,000. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s exten ...

. He studied with Al Lepak at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, graduating in 1952. After being drafted, he belonged to an Army band in Japan and played with

Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...

. He cited

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

as his first and biggest influence on vibraphone. In 1954, Richards moved to New York City, where he played with

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

Ed Shaughnessy Edwin Thomas "Ed" Shaughnessy (January 29, 1929 – May 24, 2013) was a swing music and jazz drummer long associated with Doc Severinsen and a member of The Tonight Show Band on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Biography Shaughn ...

, and

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograp ...

while doing studio recordings for

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

, the

Ray Charles Singers Ray Charles (born Charles Raymond Offenberg; September 13, 1918April 6, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, vocal arranger and conductor who was best known as organizer and leader of the Ray Charles Singers who were featured o ...

, and

Mitchell Ayres Mitchell Ayres (December 24, 1909 – September 5, 1969) was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como on radio, records, and television and as the musical condu ...

. For about three years, he was a member of a group led by

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...

, then moved to Los Angeles and worked with

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his lif ...

and Paul Horn. He led his own band, the Microtonal Blues Band, and spent time with composer and inventor

Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...

. As a sideman, he accompanied

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

on tour and recorded with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

, and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

. Richards worked often as a

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

for movies and television. His credits include playing bongos on the theme song for the television program '' Mission: Impossible''. Other television work included finger snaps for the ''

Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

'' theme, and xylophone work for the opening theme of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. He led a band with Joe Porcaro, and he released a solo album, ''The Wonderful World of Percussion''. Richards died on December 13, 2019.

Collector

In 1962, Richards went on a worldwide tour with Frank Sinatra to raise money for poor children. The tour increased Richards's fascination with ethnic

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

s. During his career, he collected over 350 instruments, many of them more common in the East than the West. Richards wanted his instruments to continue to be heard in recordings and other performances and to remain together as much as possible. The Emil Richards Collection includes common percussion, such as

and

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

and exotic, such as the

angklung The ( Sundanese: ) is a musical instrument from the Sundanese people in Indonesia made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves, simila ...

, bulbul tarang, chimta, flapamba,

jal tarang The ''jal tarang'' (Hindi: जलतरंग) is a melodic percussion instrument that originates from the Indian subcontinent. It consists of a set of ceramic or metal bowls filled with water. The bowls are played by striking the edge with bea ...

janggu The ''janggu'' (, also transliterated as ''janggo'' or ''changgo'') or sometimes called ''seyogo'' (slim waist drum) is the most representative drum in traditional Korean music. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped ...

, lujon,

mbira Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

, and

pakhavaj The pakhavaj is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent, the oldest version of double sided drums and its descendants are mridangam of Southern India and kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South Asi ...

. In 1992, he gave sixty-five instruments to the Percussive Arts Society museum in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was a member of the Society's Hall of Fame. Part of the collection was sold to Los Angeles Percussion Rentals. Many instruments were restored and are used in recordings and other performances in Los Angeles. LAPR works with Odd Art Fabrications to custom design and fabricate instruments and hardware such as

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, ...

ally tuned wood blocks and chromatically tuned

bell plate A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Yazz Per Favore'' (Del-fi, 1961) * ''New Sound Element Stones'' (Uni, 1967) * ''New Time Element'' (Uni, 1967) * ''Cosmic Sounds'' with the Zodiac (Elektra, 1967) * ''Journey to Bliss'' (ABC Impulse!, 1968) * ''Spirit of 1976/Live at Donte's'' (ABC, Impulse!, 1969) * ''Wonderful World of Percussion'' (Interworld, 1994) * ''Luntana'' (Interworld, 1996) With The Surfmen * ''The Sounds of Exotic Island'' (Somerset/Stereo Fidelity, 1960) * ''Hawaii'' (Somerset/Stereo Fidelity, 1960)

As sideman

With

Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

* ''Ecue (Ritmos Cubanos)'' (Pablo, 1978) * ''Prime Time'' (Concord Jazz, 1978) * ''Louie Bellson Jam'' (Pablo, 1979) With

Alessi Brothers The Alessi Brothers, also known as Alessi, are an American pop rock singer-songwriter duo who first came to international prominence with their 1977 hit single "Oh Lori". The duo are identical twin brothers, Billy and Bobby Alessi (born July 1 ...

* ''Alessi'' (A&M, 1976) With

Frank Capp Francis Cappuccio (August 20, 1931 – September 12, 2017), known professionally as Frank Capp, was an American jazz drummer. Capp also played on numerous rock and roll sessions and is considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography ...

* ''Percussion in a Tribute to Henry Mancini'' (Kimberly, 1961) * ''Percussion in a Tribute to Glenn Miller'' (Kimberly, 1963) * ''Percussion in a Tribute to Lawrence Welk'' (Kimberly, 1963) * ''In a Tribute to the Dorsey Brothers'' (Kimberly, 2010) * ''In a Tribute to Count Basie'' (Kimberly, 2014) With

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

* ''I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry'' (MPS, 1975) * ''Liberated Fantasies'' (MPS, 1976) * ''From Me to You'' (Epic, 1977) With

Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), ...

* ''Coco'' (Walt Disney, 2017) * ''Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (Sony, 2017) * ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' (Sony, 2017) With

* ''

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

'' (Apple, 1974) * ''

Thirty Three & 1/3 ''Thirty Three & ⅓'' (stylised as ''Thirty Three & 1/ॐ'' on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1976. It was Harrison's first album release on his Dark Horse record label, t ...

'' (Dark Horse, 1976) * ''

'' (Dark Horse, 1979) With Paul Horn * '' Something Blue'' (HiFi Jazz 1960) * ''

The Sound of Paul Horn ''The Sound of Paul Horn'' is an album by Paul Horn which was originally released on the Columbia label in 1961.Paul H ...

'' (Columbia, 1961) * ''

Profile of a Jazz Musician ''Profile of a Jazz Musician'' is an album by Paul Horn which was originally released on the Columbia label in 1962.Pa ...

'' (Columbia, 1962) * ''Impressions of Cleopatra'' (Columbia, 1963) * '' Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts'' (RCA, Victor, 1965) With

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

* ''Off Limits'' (Varese Sarabande, 1988) * ''Grand Canyon'' (RCA, 1991) * ''Outbreak'' (Varese Sarabande, 1995) * ''Waterworld'' (MCA, 1995) With

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

* '' The Hot Rock OST'' (Prophesy, 1972) * ''Roots'' (A&M, 1977) * ''The Color Purple'' (Qwest, 1986) * ''Basie & Beyond'' (Qwest, 2000) With

Roger Kellaway Roger Kellaway (born November 1, 1939) is an American composer, arranger and jazz pianist. Life and career Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts, United States. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory. Kellaway has composed commissio ...

* ''The Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet'' (A&M, 1971) * ''Come to the Meadow'' (A&M, 1974) * ''Nostalgia Suite'' (Discwasher, 1978) With

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

* ''Artistry in Jazz'' (Capitol) * '' Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra'' (Capitol, 1965) * ''Hair'' (Capitol, 1969) * ''Kenton's Christmas'' (Capitol, 1970) * ''New Horizons Volume 1'' (Tantara, 2014) * ''New Horizons Volume 2'' (Tantara, 2014) With Julie London * '' Julie...At Home'' (Liberty, 1960) * '' All Through the Night: Julie London Sings the Choicest of Cole Porter'' (Capitol, 1965) With

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

* ''The Hawaiians'' (United Artists, 1970) * ''Symphonic Soul'' (RCA Victor, 1975) * ''The Jazz Sound from Peter Gunn'' (Fresh Sound, 1994) With

* ''The World of Harry Partch'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''Delusion of the Fury'' (Sony, 1999) * ''Harry Partch: A Portrait'' (New World, 2015) With

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arran ...

* ''

Bossa Nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

'' (Reprise, 1961) * '' Jazz Waltz'' (Reprise, 1962) * ''

The Fourth Dimension in Sound ''The Fourth Dimension in Sound'' (subtitled ''A Musical Experiment in the Adaptation of Instruments to Modern Electronics'') is an album by bandleader and arranger Shorty Rogers recorded in late 1961 and released on the Warner Bros. Records, Warn ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1962) * ''

An Invisible Orchard ''An Invisible Orchard'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger Shorty Rogers which was recorded for RCA Victor in 1961 but remained unreleased by the label until 1997.Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

* '' More Mission: Impossible'' (1969), featured in a chimes solo on "Self-Destruct" * ''Gypsies'' (Tabu, 1978) * ''Rock Requiem'' (Verve, 1971) * ''Rush Hour 2'' (Varese Sarabande, 2001) * ''Rush Hour 3'' (Varese Sarabande, 2007) With Shadowfax * '' Shadowfax'' (Windham Hill, 1982) * '' Shadowdance'' (Windham Hill, 1983) * '' Too Far to Whisper'' (Windham Hill, 1986) * ''

Folksongs for a Nuclear Village ''Folksongs for a Nuclear Village'' is the sixth studio album by new-age/jazz group Shadowfax, their first for Capitol Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1989. "Folksong for a Nuclear Village" was a 1982 dance performa ...

'' (Capitol, 1988) * ''

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

'' (EarthBeat!, 1992) With

* '' In the Night'' (Capitol, 1958) * '' Latin Lace'' (Capitol, 1958) * ''Shearing On Stage!'' (Capitol, 1959) * '' On the Sunny Side of the Strip'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''The Shearing Touch!'' (World Record Club, 1964) * ''Satin Affair'' (World Record Club, 1967) With

* ''Ring-a-Ding Ding!'' (Reprise, 1961) * ''

It Might as Well Be Swing ''It Might as Well Be Swing'' is a 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra. It was Sinatra's first studio recording arranged by Quincy Jones. The recording of " Fly Me to the Moon" which appears on thi ...

'' (Reprise, 1964) * ''Duets'' (Capitol, 1993) With

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

* ''

The Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlanti ...

'' (Atlantic, 2000) With Singers Unlimited * ''Bossa Nova'' (Valiant, 1963) * ''Just in Time'' (Pausa, 1978) * ''Feelings'' (Universal, 2007) With

L. Subramaniam Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music. Early years Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, Br ...

* ''Fantasy Without Limits'' (Trend, 1980) * ''Blossom'' (Crusaders, 1981) * ''Indian Express'' (Milestone, 1983) * ''Spanish Wave'' (Milestone, 1983) * ''Salaam Bombay!'' (DRG, 1988) With

* ''

Lumpy Gravy ''Lumpy Gravy'' is the debut solo album by Frank Zappa, written by Zappa and performed by a group of session players he dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. Zappa conducted the orchestra but did not perform on the album. It ...

'' (Verve, 1967) * ''

Orchestral Favorites ''Orchestral Favorites'' is an album by Frank Zappa first released in May 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label. The album is entirely instrumental and features music performed by the 37-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. It r ...

'' (Discreet, 1979) * ''

Läther ''Läther'' (, or "''Leather''") is the sixty-fifth official album by Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explained ...

'' (Rykodisc, 1996) With

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

* ''Broken Arrow'' (Milan, 1996) * ''The Thin Red Line'' (RCA Victor, 1999) * ''The Last Samurai'' (Elektra, 2003) With others *

Francisco Aguabella Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader. Biography In Cuba Aguabella wa ...

, ''Dance the Latin Way'' (Fantasy, 1962) *

Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...

Big Band, ''March of the Tadpoles'' (RCA, 1977) *

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

, ''Virtuoso Guitar'' (Crystal Clear, 1977) *

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, ''Just You and Me'' (A&M, 1976) * Herb Alpert, ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...

'' (A&M, 1979) *

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...

, ''Rock Swings'' (Verve, 2005) *

Klaus Badelt Klaus Badelt (born 12 June 1967) is a German composer, producer, and arranger of film scores. He is known for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer, helping to write scores for dozens of critically acclaimed films including '' The Thin Red Line'', ...

, ''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (Walt Disney, 2003) * Klaus Badelt, ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' (Walt Disney, 2007) *

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

, ''The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra'' (Capitol, 2018) *

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

, ''Saturday Night Fever'' (RSO, 1977) *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

, ''Psychedelic Percussion'' (Dunhill, 1967) * Blondie, ''

Autoamerican ''Autoamerican'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached in the UK charts, in the US, and in Australia. Background The album was a radical departure for the band, with the openin ...

'' (Chrysalis, 1980) *

Terence Boylan Terence Curtin Boylan (born 1946) is an American singer-songwriter. Brought up in Buffalo, New York, Terence Boylan first appeared on local radio in the late 1950s performing a song he had written at the age of 11. While still in his mid teens, ...

, ''Suzy'' (Asylum, 1980) *

Brass Fever Brass Fever was an American jazz musical ensemble, which recorded two albums for Impulse! Records. Consisting of both session musicians and leaders such as Shelly Manne, their two albums covered jazz and R&B genres. Their second album charted a ...

, ''Brass Fever'' (Impulse!, 1975) * Les Brown, ''The Explosive Sound of Les Brown and His Band of Renown Swingin' the Masters!'' (Columbia, 1963) *

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

, '' Call Me Irresponsible'' (Reprise Records, 2007) *

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

, ''Solid Ground'' (Polydor, 1991) *

Vanessa Carlton Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while ...

, '' Be Not Nobody'' (A&M, 2002) *

Les Crane Les Crane (born Lesley Stein; December 3, 1933 – July 13, 2008) was a radio announcer and television talk show host, a pioneer in interactive broadcasting who also scored a spoken word hit with his 1971 recording of the poem ''Desiderata'', w ...

, ''Desiderata'' (Warner Bros., 1971) *

Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl," and " Whenever You're on My Mind." He ...

, ''

Jaggedland ''Jaggedland'' is the tenth studio album by the rock artist Marshall Crenshaw. It was released in 2009 on 429 Records. Track listing All songs written by Marshall Crenshaw, except where noted. #"Right on Time" – 4:50 #"Passing Through" (Cre ...

'' (429 Records, 2009) *

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting with reverb eff ...

, '' Summer Surf'' (Capitol, 1964) *

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

, ''

Venice Blue ''Venice Blue'' is an album by American singer Bobby Darin, released in 1965. It peaked at 132 on the '' Billboard'' charts. ''Venice Blue'' was also released in the United Kingdom as ''I Wanna Be Around'' with a slightly altered cover using the s ...

'' (Capitol, 1965) *

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, ''Our Shining Hour'' (Jazz Heritage 1979) *

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...

, '' Born to Be with You'' (Collectables, 1975) *

Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart was a supergroup, consisting of songwriting/performing duo Boyce and Hart and two members of the Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones. Boyce and Hart had written many of the Monkees' biggest hits, such as "Last Train ...

, ''Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart'' (Capitol, 1976) * Joao Donato, ''A Bad Donato'' (Blue Thumb, 1970) * Donovan, ''Slow Down World'' (Epic, 1976) * The Doors, ''Other Voices (The Doors album), Other Voices'' (Elektra, 1971) * Sam Cooke, ''Ain't That Good News (album), Ain't That Good News'' (RCA Victor, 1964) * Duane Eddy, ''Duane Eddy'' (Capitol, 1987) * Danny Elfman, ''MIB2'' (Sony, 2012) * Danny Elfman, ''Epic'' (Sony, 2013) * David Essex, ''Be-Bop the Future'' (Mercury, 1981) * Mimi Farina & Tom Jans, ''Take Heart'' (A&M, 1971) * Victor Feldman, ''The Venezuela Joropo'' (Pacific Jazz 1967) * Jerry Fielding, ''Near East Brass'' (Command, 1967) * Ella Fitzgerald, ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook'' (Verve, 2001) * Dominic Frontiere, ''On Any Sunday'' (Bell, 1971) * Ted Gärdestad, ''Blue Virgin Isles'' (Polar, 1978) * Marvin Gaye, ''Let's Get It On'' (Tamla, 1973) * Lowell George, ''Lightning-Rod Man'' (Bizarre, Straight 1993) * Bob Gibson (musician), Bob Gibson, ''Bob Gibson'' (Capitol, 1971) * Dizzy Gillespie, ''The New Continent'' (Limelight, 1965) * Jackie Gleason, ''The Now Sound... for Today's Lovers'' (Capitol, 1968) * Jerry Goldsmith, ''Along Came a Spider'' (Varese Sarabande, 2001) * Glen Gray, ''Sounds of the Great Bands!'' (Capitol, 1958) * Kathe Green, ''Kathe Green'' (Prodigal, 1976) * Josh Groban, ''Illuminations (Josh Groban album), Illuminations'' (Reprise, 2010) * Dave Grusin, ''Cinemagic'' (GRP, 1987) * Lani Hall, ''Hello It's Me (album), Hello It's Me'' (A&M, 1974) * Cyril Havermans, ''Cyril'' (MGM, 1973) * Lee Hazlewood, ''Something Special'' (Light in the Attic, 2015) * Neal Hefti, ''Jazz Pops'' (Reprise, 1962) * Maurice Jarre, ''Gorillas in the Mist'' (MCA, 1988) * Pete Jolly, ''Seasons (Pete Jolly album), Seasons'' (A&M, 1970) * Michael Kamen, ''The Three Musketeers'' (Hollywood, 1993) * Michael Kamen, ''101 Dalmatians'' (Walt Disney, 1996) * Barney Kessel, ''Contemporary Latin Rhythms'' (Reprise, 1963) * John Klemmer, ''Touch'' (ABC, 1975) * Irene Kral, ''Wonderful Life (Irene Kral album), Wonderful Life'' (Mainstream, 1965) * Irene Kral, ''Kral Space'' (Catalyst, 1977) * Diana Krall, ''Christmas Songs (Diana Krall album), Christmas Songs'' (Verve, 2005) * Queen Latifah, ''The Dana Owens Album'' (A&M, 2004) * Peggy Lee, ''Blues Cross Country'' (Capitol, 1962) * Peggy Lee, ''Sugar 'n' Spice (Peggy Lee album), Sugar 'n' Spice'' (Capitol, 1962) * Carly Simon, ''Playing Possum'' (Elektra, 1975) * Nils Lofgren, ''Cry Tough (Nils Lofgren album), Cry Tough'' (A&M, 1976) * Harvey Mandel, ''Baby Batter'' (Janus, 1971) * Shelly Manne, ''Daktari'' (Atlantic, 1967) * Hugh Masekela, ''Hugh Masekela's Latest'' (Uni, 1967) * Dave Mason, ''Split Coconut'' (CBS, 1975) * Lonette McKee, ''Lonette'' (Sussex, 1974) * Carmen McRae, ''I Am Music'' (Blue Note, 1975) * Mike Melvoin, ''Keys to Your Mind'' (Liberty, 1966) * Sergio Mendes, ''Brasil '88'' (RCA, 2002) * Bette Midler, ''Bathhouse Betty'' (Warner Bros., 1998) * Liza Minnelli, ''Gently (album), Gently'' (Angel, 1996) * Joni Mitchell, ''Mingus (Joni Mitchell album), Mingus'' (Asylum, 1979) * Alphonse Mouzon, ''The Man Incognito'' (Blue Note, 1976) * Maria Muldaur, ''Waitress in a Donut Shop'' (Reprise, 1974) * Gerry Mulligan, ''The Age of Steam'' (A&M, 1972) * Sammy Nestico, ''This Is the Moment'' (Fenwood Music, 2002) * Juice Newton, ''Quiet Lies'' (Capitol, 1982) * Harry Nilsson, ''Sandman (album), Sandman'' (RCA Victor, 1976) * Jeffrey Osborne, ''Stay With Me Tonight (album), Stay With Me Tonight'' (A&M, 1983) * Jimmy and Carol Owens, ''The Witness'' (Light, 1978) * Freda Payne, ''Payne and Pleasure'' (ABC, 1974) * Van Dyke Parks, ''Jump! (album), Jump!'' (Warner Bros., 1984) * Stu Phillips (composer), Stu Phillips, ''A Touch of Modern'' (MGM, 1956) * Steve Porcaro, ''Metro'' (Walt Disney 1997) * Gregory Porter, ''Nat King Cole & Me'' (Blue Note, 2017) * John Powell (film composer), John Powell, ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (Recall 2005) * Don Preston, ''Vile Foamy Ectoplasm'' (Muffin, 1993) * Helen Reddy, ''Ear Candy (Helen Reddy album), Ear Candy'' (Capitol, 1977) * Howard Roberts, ''Jaunty-Jolly!'' (Capitol, 1967) * Robbie Robertson & Alex North, ''Carny'' (Warner Bros., 1980) * Tommy Roe, ''We Can Make Music'' (ABC, 1970) * Linda Ronstadt, ''Winter Light (Linda Ronstadt album), Winter Light'' (Elektra, 1993) * Willie Ruff, ''The Smooth Side of Ruff'' (Columbia, 1968) * Buffy Sainte-Marie, ''Sweet America'' (ABC, 1976) * Mongo Santamaria, ''Afro Roots'' (Prestige, 1989) * Diane Schuur, ''Music Is My Life'' (Atlantic, 1999) * Clifford Scott (musician), Clifford Scott, ''Lavender Sax'' (World Pacific, 1964) * Tom Scott (saxophonist), Tom Scott, ''The Honeysuckle Breeze'' (ABC Impulse!, 1967) * Tom Scott, ''Great Scott!'' (A&M, 1972) * Nancy Sinatra, ''Boots (album), Boots'' (Reprise, 1966) * Emitt Rhodes, ''The American Dream (Emitt Rhodes album), The American Dreams'' (A&M, 1970) * Ravi Shankar, ''Charly'' (World Pacific, 1968) * Ravi Shankar, ''Shankar Family & Friends'' (Dark Horse, 1974) * Judee Sill, ''Heart Food'' (Asylum, 2006) * Joanie Sommers, ''The Voice of the Sixties!'' (Warner Bros., 1961) * Joanie Sommers, ''Softly, the Brazilian Sound'' (Warner Bros., 1964) * Phil Spector, ''Back to Mono 1958–1969'' (Abkco, 1991) * Gabor Szabo, ''Wind, Sky and Diamonds'' (Impulse!, 1967) * Bob Thiele, Gabor Szabo & Tom Scott, ''Light My Fire'' (Impulse!, 1967) * Vinx, ''Rooms in My Fatha's House'' (I.R.S., 1991) * Wendy Waldman, ''Wendy Waldman'' (Warner Bros., 1975) * Nancy Wilson (jazz singer), Nancy Wilson, ''Guess Who I Saw Today'' (Capitol, 2005) * Popcorn Wylie, ''Extrasensory Perception'' (ABC, 1974) * Daniel Valdez, ''Mestizo'' (A&M, 1974) * David Werner (musician), David Werner, ''Imagination Quota'' (RCA Victor, 1975) * Gary Wright, ''Headin' Home'' (Warner Bros., 1979)

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

Emil Richards Interview
NAMM Oral History Program (2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Emil 1932 births 2019 deaths Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut Military personnel from Hartford, Connecticut University of Hartford Hartt School alumni American jazz drummers American jazz percussionists American jazz vibraphonists American session musicians Conga players Güiro players American marimbists Tambourine players Timbaleros Timpanists Xylophonists Impulse! Records artists Uni Records artists Batá drummers Djembe players Maracas players Bongo players Tabla players Tubular bells players Cimbalom players Snare drummers Bass drum players 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from Connecticut 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Del-Fi Records artists