Richard James Page (born May 16, 1953) is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer and bassist of 1980s band

Mr. Mister Mr. Mister was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, active from 1982 until 1990. The band consisted of Richard Page (musician), Richard Page on lead vocals and bass guitar, Steve George (keyboardist), Steve George on keyboards/backing v ...

. The band's hits include " Broken Wings" and "

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives fr ...

". Page has also sung in other bands, been a solo artist, written songs for other artists, and worked as a background singer for other artists.

Early life

Page graduated from Central High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. His mother worked as the Assistant Director of the Phoenix Boys Choir, while his father was a musical director at a Phoenix church. During high school, Page performed in school musicals such as ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'' Page cited that his musical influences at this stage included

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Immediately following his high school graduation, he moved to Hollywood.

Career

In Los Angeles, Page and Steve George, a friend from Phoenix, “knocked around the LA music scene, eventually working with topflight acts like

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to pr ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

, and

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 ...

.” Page turned down an offer to be the lead singer for the bands

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and Toto. Page's first major band,

Pages Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

, was formed with Steve George in the late 1970s. After producing three "Pages" albums, Page and George formed

along with Steve Farris and

Pat Mastelotto Lee Patrick Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters an ...

. Page was on vocals/bass, George handled keyboards, Farris played guitar, and Mastelotto was on drums. Page is best known for his work with Mr. Mister. The band's first album was ''I Wear The Face'' (1984). Page has said that in this album the band was "just getting together and figuring out" how they wanted to sound. Ringo Starr and all his band (8470843376)

Ringo Starr and all his band (8470843376)

As frontman for Mr. Mister, Page scored two consecutive Hot 100 No. 1's with the singles " Broken Wings" and "

", both of which Page composed in collaboration with his cousin, John Lang. In 1985, both songs appeared on Mr. Mister's breakthrough second album, '' Welcome to the Real World'', which reached No. 1 on the albums charts. The group was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Band in 1986. The band scored another hit with "Is It Love" (1986), which reached no. 8 in the charts. Mr. Mister's third album, ''Go On…'' was released in 1987. In an interview, Page said that the band "tried many new and different sounds and ideas" and that it included some of the band's best songwriting. Before breaking up on September 25, 1990, the group recorded a fourth Mr. Mister album, ''Pull'', in 1989. The album was not released until 2010. Page has described "Pull" (2010) as the group's "most experimental album." Many of Page's songs for Mr. Mister, and many of his solo numbers, were co-written with Steve George and John Lang. Page has also been a solo artist, and he has worked as a background singer for other artists and bands. He has written songs for popular artists such as

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, and

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

, among others. Page released his first solo album, ''Shelter Me'', in 1996. It featured the singles "The Best Thing" and "My Oxygen", a remake of

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Kershaw came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the ...

's hit. Based on a recommendation by his friend, songwriter

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

approached Page to join his 11th All-Starr Band and, in the summer of 2010, they embarked on a 32-date U.S. tour; in 2011 they embarked on a 40-date Europe tour. Page also toured with Ringo's 12th All-Starr Band in the summer of 2012, 2013, and 2017.

Personal life

Page and his wife, Linda, have four children.

Discography

Solo albums

*''Shelter Me'' (1996) *''Peculiar Life'' (2010) *''Songs from the Sketchbook'' (2012) *''Goin' South'' (2015)

Live albums

*''Solo Acoustic'' (2011) (DVD/CD)

With Pages

*''Pages'' (1978) *''Future Street'' (1979) *''Pages'' (1981)

With Mr. Mister

* ''

I Wear the Face ''I Wear the Face'' is the 1984 RCA Records debut album from Mr. Mister. It reached #170 on the Billboard Top 200, ''Billboard'' Top 200 chart. It was originally issued with a different cover photograph that was changed after the success of their ...

'' (1984) * '' Welcome to the Real World'' (1985) * '' Go On...'' (1987) * ''

Pull Pull may refer to: Sports *In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who usually hits the ball to the side of the field from which he bats * Pull shot, a batting stroke in cricket * A phase of a swim stroke * A throw-off in the sport of ultimate (o ...

'' (2010)

With 3rd Matinee

*''Meanwhile'' (1994)

Notable album appearances

*1979: '' Keep the Fire'' –

(background vocals) *1980: ''

Hi Infidelity ''Hi Infidelity'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band REO Speedwagon, released on November 21, 1980 by Epic Records. The album became a big hit in the United States, peaking at number one on the ''Billboard 200''. It went on to become ...

'' –

(background vocals) *1981: '' Runaway'' –

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...

; on "Satisfaction" and "Gotta Get Back To Love" (background vocals) *1981: '' Breakin' Away'' –

(background vocals) *1981: '' Sometimes Late at Night'' –

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

(background vocals) *1982: '' Friends in Love'' –

(background vocals) *1982:

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is o ...

' eponymous album (background vocals) *1982: ''

Three Lock Box ''Three Lock Box'' is the seventh studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released on November 30, 1982 by Geffen Records. This album has appearances by Loverboy's Mike Reno, Journey's Jonathan Cain and Mr. Mister's Richard Page. Th ...

'' –

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

(background vocals) *1983: ''

Caught in the Game ''Caught in the Game'' is the fourth album by American rock band Survivor, released in October 1983. It features guest appearances by Mr. Mister's Richard Page and REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin. It is the band's last album to-date to feature ...

'' – Survivor (background vocals) *1983: ''

Shout at the Devil ''Shout at the Devil'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on September 26, 1983. It was the band's breakthrough album, establishing Mötley Crüe as one of the top selling heavy metal acts of the 19 ...

'' –

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

(background vocals) *1983: '' A Christmas Album'' –

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 ...

(background vocals) *1983: '' Bent Out of Shape'' -

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

(backing vocals) "Street of Dreams" *1984: '' Primitive'' -

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

*1984: '' Isolation'' – Toto (background vocals) *1984: ''

Stay Hungry ''Stay Hungry'' is a 1976 American comedy-drama film by director Bob Rafelson from a screenplay by Charles Gaines (adapted from his 1972 novel of the same name). The story centers on a younscionfrom Birmingham, Alabama, played by Jeff Bridges, ...

'' –

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...

(background vocals) *1984: "

High Crime ''High Crime'' ( it, La polizia incrimina la legge assolve, es, La policía detiene, la ley juzga) is a 1973 Italian-Spanish ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. The film stars Franco Nero, James Whitmore, Delia Boccardo and ...

" –

(background vocals) *1984: '' Straight Ahead'' – Amy Grant (background vocals); on "It's Not a Song" *1985: ''

Finder of Lost Loves ''Finder of Lost Loves'' is an American drama series aired by the ABC network during the 1984–1985 season. Synopsis After Cary Maxwell's (Anthony Franciosa) wife Kate dies, he decides to set up a private detective agency specializing in reun ...

'' – Dionne Warwick (background vocals) *1985: '' Vox Humana'' – Kenny Loggins (background vocals and accompanying vocals) *1985: '' Rhythm of the Night'' –

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

; on "Who's Holding Donna Now" (background vocals) *1985: '' Unguarded'' – Amy Grant; on "I Love You" and " Sharayah" (background vocals) *1986: '' Something to Talk About'' –

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

; on "

Now and Forever (You and Me) "Now and Forever (You and Me)" is a hit song written by David Foster, Randy Goodrum and Jim Vallance and recorded by Canadian country music artist Anne Murray. It was aided by a popular music video, filmed in Toronto. The back-up vocal was sung by ...

" (background vocals) *1986: '' The Collection'' –

; on "

Stay for Awhile "Stay for Awhile" is a 1986 single by Christian singer Amy Grant, and was the first single from her album '' The Collection''. Background vocals were provided by herself and her friend, Richard Page, lead singer for Mr. Mister at the time. Ba ...

" (background vocals) *1986: ''

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

'' –

; on "Who's Gonna Love You Tonight" *1987: ''

Reservations for Two ''Reservations for Two'' is a studio album by the American singer Dionne Warwick. It was recorded during the spring of 1987 and released on July 30 of that year. Her eighth album for Arista Records, it was again executive produced by label head ...

'' – Dionne Warwick; on "

No One in the World "No One in the World" is a song by American R&B singer Anita Baker. It was the fourth single from her multi-platinum album, ''Rapture''. It had previously been released by Dionne Warwick on her 1985 album '' Finder of Lost Loves'' and again on he ...

" (background vocals) *1988: ''

Back to Avalon ''Back to Avalon'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. Released in 1988, it yielded the hit singles " Nobody's Fool (Theme from ''Caddyshack II'')" (a #8 hit in the U.S.), "I'm Gonna Miss You", "Tell Her", and ...

'' – Kenny Loggins (background vocals) *1988: ''Shadow and Light'' –

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

; (lead vocal on "The Immigrants") *1989: ''

Slip of the Tongue ''Slip of the Tongue'' is the eighth studio album by the British band Whitesnake, released in 1989. The album peaked at number 10 on both the UK Album Chart and US ''Billboard'' 200. Three singles were released from the album: " Fool for Your ...

'' –

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

; on "Now You're Gone" (background vocals) *1990: ''Conserve our world'' –

Marc Jordan Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

(background vocals) *1992: ''

Kingdom of Desire ''Kingdom of Desire'' is the eighth studio album by Toto, released in 1992. It is the first album on which guitarist Steve Lukather assumed sole lead vocal duties and the final album to feature drummer Jeff Porcaro, who died during rehearsals fo ...

'' – Toto; on " 2 Hearts" and "Kingdom of Desire"(background vocals) *1995: ''

I'll Lead You Home ''I'll Lead You Home'' is a 1995 album by Michael W. Smith released by Reunion Records. Sales and charts The album entered the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 at number 16, making it the highest-debuting Christian album in the history of the c ...

'' –

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...

(background vocals) *1999: ''

Mindfields ''Mindfields'' is the tenth studio album (though counted as the 11th album overall — ''see Toto XIV)'' by the American rock music, rock band Toto (band), Toto. It was released on November 16, 1999. ''Mindfields'' saw the return of vocalist Bob ...

'' – Toto; on "Mindfields" (background vocals) *2000: ''Birdland'' - Masanori & LA Allstars (lead vocal on "Green Flower Street") *2001: '' Until the End of Time'' -

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

(accompanying vocals on "Until the End of Time") *2002: ''Familiar To Me'' –

; (lead vocal on "Faces And Places") *2003: '' Closer'' –

(background vocals) *2005: ''The Day After Yesterday''; duet with

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

on his cover of " Broken Wings"

References

External links

Official home page

– Page biography & detailed discography * List of appearances– provided by AllMusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Richard Living people Songwriters from Iowa American male singers American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Singers from Arizona People from Keokuk, Iowa People from Los Angeles Songwriters from Arizona Singers from Iowa Mr. Mister members Guitarists from Arizona Guitarists from Iowa 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band members 1953 births