Phil Roy (born February 28, 1959) is an American singer and songwriter.

Biography

Early musical career

Roy was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and began playing the guitar at age nine. At age 17, attended Berklee College of Music in

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 ...

. He moved to Los Angeles in 1981 and was discovered on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...

, a music executive from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

who is also responsible for discovering

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

, Little Feat, and the

Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

. He was a member of two rock bands in Los Angeles, but neither were successful.

Songwriting

Roy decided to leave the recording industry to become a songwriter. For fifteen years, he worked for numerous publishers with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Joe Cocker,

The Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1 ...

, and

Pops Staples Pops may refer to: Name or nickname * Pops, an informal term of address for a father or elder * Pops (nickname), a list of people * Pops (Muppet), a Muppets character * Pops (Johnny Bravo), a character from the Cartoon Network animated televisio ...

. He also contributed songs to the soundtracks for ''

As Good as It Gets ''As Good as It Gets'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted, and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as ...

'' and ''

Leaving Las Vegas ''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having ...

''. In 2007,

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

recorded Roy's "Show Me the Way Home" for a film produced and narrated by

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...

. He was the winner of the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards, for Best Concept Album; ''In The Weird Small Hours''.

Solo efforts

Roy moved back east after becoming disillusioned with the industry. In January 2000, Roy released his solo debut album entitled ''Grouchyfriendly''. He released this album on his own Ear Pictures label and his song "Melt" won in The 2nd Annual Independent Music Awards for best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song. He was signed by OR Music after his first album performed well. In 2003, Roy released ''Issues + Options'', his second solo album. Roy performed at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

to a sold-out crowd as part of the "America Songbook" series in January 2004. In May 2008, Roy released his third album ''The Great Longing'' on the Decca Records/

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

label.

Culinary career

In 2004, Roy's record label terminated his contract and his marriage collapsed. In response to these setbacks, Roy began his "I'm Not Leaving the House" tour in November 2005. Operating out of his townhouse in Philadelphia with a table for sixteen, Roy provides home-cooked food and original songs for his diners on a monthly basis.

Discography

*''Grouchyfriendly'' (January 2000) *''Issues + Options'' (May 2003) *''The Great Longing'' (May 2008) -

Cooking Vinyl Records Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

*''In The Weird Small Hours'' (September 2009) - MRI/Megaforce Records

Songwriting credits

*"God is Not Sleeping" and "Ain't No Better than You" by Mavis Staples *"Tell Me Why" by

Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of th ...

*"The Simple Things" and "My Brother, My Brother" by Joe Cocker *"My World" by

*"Hope in a Hopeless World" by

*"Demons", "Perfect" and "X-Ray Eyes" by

Guster Guster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and ...

*"Hope in a Hopeless World" by

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...

*"It Takes More", "Day To Day Thing", "Let My People Go", and "Good Song" by

*"Poor Man Cry", "Things Friend", "Vice Versa Love", and "Be Strong" by

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. Career Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bl ...

*"Hope in a Hopeless World" and "It Will Be You" by

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

*"Hope in a Hopeless World" by

Eric Bibb Eric Charles Bibb (born August 16, 1951) is a Grammy-nominated American-born blues singer and songwriter. Biography Bibb's father, Leon, was a musical theatre singer, who made a name for himself as part of the 1960s New York folk scene; his ...

*"Even If it Breaks My Heart Real" by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

*"Heaven Down Here" by

Tuck & Patti Tuck & Patti are an American jazz duo consisting of guitarist William Charles "Tuck" Andress (born Oct. 28, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) and singer Patricia "Patti" Cathcart Andress (born October 4, 1949, in San Francisco). Music career Guitarist Tu ...

*"Beautiful As You", "Down She Goes", "Don't Mean Anything", "Quarterback", "Amazing", and "It's Alright" by Adam Cohen *"Sister My Sister" and "That's the Difference" by

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

*"Died a Thousand Times" by

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Pa ...

*"Don't Count Me Out" by Eric Martin *"Best Place in the World" by

Charles & Eddie Charles & Eddie were an American soul music duo composed of Charles Pettigrew and Eddie Chacon. Their single " Would I Lie to You?", taken from their 1992 debut album, ''Duophonic'', won Ivor Novello Awards in 1993 in the Best Contemporary Song, ...

*"Be Where You Are" by Kim Stockwood *"What Are We Waiting For" by

Alannah Myles Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada; it was also a number one hit on the US ''Billboar ...

with

Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...

*"Miracle" and "Push" by

Morgan Heritage Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. ...

*"Can't Hurt the Harvest", "I Don't Want to Know", and "September Rain" by

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Hennes ...

*"Never Enough" by

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...

*"Will You Remember" by Eighth Wonder *"Synchronize" by Appollonia

Filmography

* '' Running the Sahara'' (2009) writer of "Show Me The Way Home" performed by

* ''

Welcome to Hollywood ''Welcome to Hollywood'' is a 1998 mockumentary film directed by Adam Rifkin. Synopsis A young man (Tony Markes) tries to make it in Hollywood as an actor. Various attempts to get noticed for consideration for roles in film and television fail. ...

'' (2000) - Writer and performer of "Refuse", "Busy Body", "Wool & Cotton", "The Blaster", "Berries for Sherry", "Tomorrow's Sun", "Round Up", "Move Away", and "The Searcher" and music supervisor * '' Me, Myself, & Irene'' (2000) - Writer of "Happy Feeling" * ''

Love & Sex ''Love & Sex'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Valerie Breiman. It stars Famke Janssen and Jon Favreau. Plot When her rather explicit article on oral sex is rejected, magazine journalist Kate Welles is told by her e ...

'' (2000) - Writer and performer of "It's Alright" * '' I Still Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1998) - Writer of " How Do I Deal" * ''

'' (1997) - Writer and producer of "Everything My Heart Desires" and "My Only" * ''

I Know What You Did Last Summer ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely base ...

'' (1997) - Writer of "Don't Mean Anything" * ''

'' (1995) - Writer of "Ridiculous" * '' The Mask'' (1994) - Writer of "This Business of Love" * '' The Meteor Man'' (1993) - Writer of "Is It Just Too Much"

Selected co-writers

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...

*Michael Kaman *

Heitor Pereira Heitor Teixeira Pereira () (born November 29, 1960), or Heitor TP, is a Brazilian composer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and record producer. In his career, Pereira has recorded with the band Simply Red and several famous musicians, such as Elt ...

*Bob Theile, Jr. *

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs " Tears in Heaven" and " My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has wo ...

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

* Shelly Peiken *Dennis Matkosky *Steven Alan Davis *Simon Clime *

Gavin Greenaway Gavin Greenaway (born 15 June 1964) is an English music composer and conductor. He is the son of Roger Greenaway. Early life and career Educated at Strode's College and Trinity College of Music, Greenaway started working with his father befo ...

*Jeff Silbar *Dillon O'Brian *

Julian Coryell Julian Coryell (born 1973) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Biography Coryell was born in Pennsylvania in 1973 to famed jazz guitarist Larry CoryellAnderman, Joan (February 20, 2004). "Look how they've grown: Two childr ...

* Paul Carrack *Glen Tillbrook * Roy Hay * Adam Cohen *

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the s ...

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Phil 1959 births Living people American folk rock musicians American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters Berklee College of Music alumni Independent Music Awards winners Singers from Philadelphia Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania