Jerry Riopelle (May 5, 1941 – December 24, 2018) was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer born in Detroit, and raised in Tampa, Florida, and known primarily for his hard rock performances and for his record production. He mixed rock, country and jazz with R&B and was an inductee into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Early career

Riopelle began his music career in the 1960s in Los Angeles working as an independent record producer. He played drums for The Hollywood Argyles and later signed with

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

as a staff songwriter. At Screen Gems, he wrote and produced, along with Clydie King, a single called "The Thrill is Gone" (not to be confused with the one made famous by B.B. King). This exposure helped Riopelle land staff writer and producer job with Phil Spector and Lester Sills label Philles Records. Riopelle had his first charting record as producer of "Home of the Brave," which was recorded by Bonnie & The Treasures reached #77 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the summer of 1965. He later produced top 40 singles for The Parade (he was a member) and April Stevens & Nino Tempo. This led to an opportunity to work as an A&M Records producer and a role as a staff writer at

Irving Music Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' video ...

Later career and death

Riopelle produced and wrote for The Parade, Brewer & Shipley, We Five, and Shango. His songs have been covered by

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

, Herb Alpert, Kenny Loggins, Rita Coolidge, Meat Loaf, and others. Jerry also wrote various pieces for Hollywood TV shows and films. Riopelle had a large and avid fan base in Arizona during the 1970s, highlighted by his annual New Year's Eve performances at Phoenix venue Celebrity Theatre, featuring a revolving stage. Well known national acts opened for Riopelle on these occasions, including

The Dixie Dregs The Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band's performance consists entirely of instrumentals that fuse elements of diverse genres such as rock, classical music, country, jazz and bluegrass into a ...

and others. In 2001, Riopelle invented and patented the Beamz device for creating music using lasers. He died of complications from cancer on December 24, 2018, at the age of 77.

Family

Riopelle and his wife Naomi had two children, daughter Angela and son Paul. Jerry and Naomi divided their time between homes in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Jerry and Paul were co-founders of the Beamz music system and served as company executives for beamz Interactive.

Discography

Discography Allmusic

Albums (vinyl)

* Jerry Riopelle - Capitol ST-732 - 1971 * Jerry Riopelle -(re issue) Capitol SM-732 - 1977 * The Second Album - Capitol ST-863 - 1972 * The Second Album -(re issue) Capitol SM-863 - 1977 * Saving Grace - ABC ABCX-827 - 1974 * Saving Grace -(Ariola Holland) ABC 27 205 ET - 1974 * Take A Chance - ABC ABCD-886 - 1975 * Take A Chance -(RCA Canada) - 1975 * Little Bit At A Time - Little Eskimo 7 - 1977 * In The Round - Little Eskimo 8 - 1978 * In The Round - (Ariola Holland) - 1979 * Dangerous Stranger - Little Eskimo 9 - 1979 * Dangerous Stranger - (Ariola Holland) - 1979 * Juicy Talk - Little Eskimo 10 - 1982 * Livin’ The Life (UK import)- See For Miles SEE 70 - 1986

Cassettes

* Little Bit At A Time - Little Eskimo LE 7 - 1977 * In The Round - Little Eskimo LE-C-8 - 1978 * In The Round (2 extra songs)*-Little Eskimo LE-CX-8 - 1990 * Dangerous Stranger - Little Eskimo LE 9 - 1979 * Juicy Talk - Little Eskimo LE 10 - 1982 * Hands On - Little Eskimo LE 11 - 1988 * In The Blood* - Indio LE-CDX 1122 - 1998 ** Note these cassettes made especially for Celebrity Theater New Year shows.

CDs

* Hands On - Little Eskimo LECD 11 - 1986 * In The Blood - Indio ICD-9303 - 1993 * Hush Money - Mesa R2 79078 - 1994 * Tongue 'n' Groove - Evening Star/Little Eskimo LE 2000 - 2000 * Tongue 'n' Groove (+In The Round) - Evening Star/Little Eskimo LE 2000X - 2000 * The Works 1970-2000 - Little Eskimo LE 2005 - 2005 * In the Round-Deluxe - Little Eskimo LE 2009 - 2009

References

External links

Jerry Riopelle Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riopelle, Jerry 1940s births 2018 deaths Year of birth missing Musicians from Tampa, Florida American rock musicians Record producers from California Businesspeople from Los Angeles Musicians from Scottsdale, Arizona Musicians from Detroit 20th-century American businesspeople