Richard X. Heyman (born 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Heyman is a founding member of the

Doughboys Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...

Biography

Heyman was born in 1951 and raised in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

. He started banging on things when he was five, got a full drum kit when he was seven, and was an accomplished drummer by the time he was twelve. He picked up guitar and piano in his teens, which was also when he began writing songs. He was one of the original members of the 60s group, The Doughboys, who are considered to be a legendary New Jersey

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band. He would later go solo, in his twenties, following the breakup of the original Doughboys. Heyman's influences are as varied as

Bernstein Bernstein is a common surname in the German language, meaning "amber" (literally "burn stone"). The name is used by both Germans and Jews, although it is most common among people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. The German pronunciation is , but in E ...

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 ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

to the Rascals, and the Blues to

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

. He has drummed for such artists as

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

and the

Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroque ...

's Michael Brown, composer of "

Walk Away Renee Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

". He also played keyboards for the legendary

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...

and guitar for the lead singer of

The Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Give Him a Gre ...

Mary Weiss Mary Weiss (born December 28, 1948) is an American pop music vocalist, best known as the lead singer of the Shangri-Las in the 1960s. She then vanished from the music scene for decades, returning in 2007 to record her first solo album with Norton ...

. In live performance, Richard leads his own band on guitar and keyboards. From 2000-2019, Heyman played with the re-united Doughboys as their drummer and contributing songwriter. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Manhattan.

Discography

Heyman released his first

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

EP, ''Actual Size'', a collection of six of his finest songs recorded on an 8-track Tascam machine in a home studio, in 1987, the same studio in which Richard would subsequently record his album ''Living Room!!'', released in 1988.

Albums

*''Living Room!! (1988) *''Hey Man!'' (1990) *''

Cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

'' (1998) *''Basic Glee'' (2002) *''Rightovers'' (2003) *''Actual Sighs'' (2007) *''Intakes'' (2009) *''Tiers and Other Stories'' (2011) *''X'' (2013) *''Y'' (2014) *''Incognito'' (2017) *''Pop Circles'' (2019) *''Copious Notes'' (2021) *''67,000 Miles An Album'' (2022)

EP's

*''Actual Size'' (1986) *''Heyman, Hoosier & Herman'' (2001)

Singles

*''Vacation" b/w "Takin' My Chances'' (1980)

Others

As a composer, Heyman is co-writer of "My Love for You" on track 3 of

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

, ''

The Tears of a Clown "The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album '' Make It H ...

'' (1970). The song also appears on track 4 of

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

' ''

Funky Serenity ''Funky Serenity'' is an album by the pianist Ramsey Lewis, released in 1973 on Columbia Records. The album got to No. 6 on the Billboard (magazine), Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Samples "Dreams" was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on the song "El ...

'' (1973).

References

External links

Richard X. Heyman's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyman, Richard X. Songwriters from New Jersey American male singers Singers from New Jersey 1951 births Jangle pop groups Living people Musicians from Plainfield, New Jersey Sire Records artists American male songwriters