''Warmer'' is the debut album by American singer-songwriter
Randy VanWarmer
Randy VanWarmer (also written as Vanwarmer, Van Warmer; March 30, 1955 – January 12, 2004) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His biggest success was the pop hit, "Just When I Needed You Most". It reached No. 8 on the UK Single ...
.
Release
After moving back to the United States from
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, England in 1978 and settling in
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
, New York, twenty-three-year-old VanWarmer signed to local label Bearsville Records. A year later ''Warmer'' was released and produced by Del Newman. It was initially released on vinyl, 8-track, and cassette, and in 1995 it was released on compact disc. "
Just When I Needed You Most
"Just When I Needed You Most" is the title of a 1979 hit single by the American singer-songwriter Randy VanWarmer.
Background
VanWarmer was inspired to write "Just When I Needed You Most" by two events: his old car, that he loved and used for ...
" was written by VanWarmer when he was eighteen and still in England, and the song has been described as "a ballad of heartbreak from a man's point of view." It reached No. 4 on ''Billboard'' in 1979.
Promotion
By December 1980, VanWarmer toured in Europe to support the release of ''Warmer'', as well as Japan and Hong Kong.
Reception
A brief review in a 1979 issue of ''Billboard'' compares VanWarmer's style of singing on ''Warmer'' to that of
The Bee Gees
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, and although the writer felt the album lacked diversity, "Just When I Needed You Most" was regarded as a good cut. According to ''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', "Just When I Needed You Most" was the song VanWarmer was "best remembered for."
John Tropea
John Tropea (pronounced 'tro-pay'; born January 7, 1946) is an American guitarist.
Career
Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. His musical education continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz guitar, harmo ...
,
Johnny Christopher
John (“Johnny”) Lee Christopher Jr. (born 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American singer, guitarist, session musician and songwriter.
Music career
Christopher's singles included "(She's A) Girl Of Many Colors / The Teacher And The Pet" (19 ...
, Mick Barakan, Steve Gibson - guitar
*Jack Williams,
Tony Levin
Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 1 ...
- bass
*John Holbrook, Mick Hodgkinson,
Shane Keister
Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others.
History
Keister was born in Huntin ...
,
Warren Bernhardt
Warren Bernhardt (November 13, 1938 – August 19, 2022)''WBGO'', (Newark, NJ)"Warren Bernhardt, pianist with Steps Ahead, Steely Dan and other bands, dies at 83" August 24, 2022. Retrieved on August 24, 2022. was an American pianist in jazz, pop ...
- keyboards
*
Kenny Malone
Kenny Malone (August 4, 1938 – August 26, 2021) was an American drummer and percussionist.
Life and career
Malone was born in Denver, Colorado. From the 1970s onwards, he was a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoust ...
, Steve Jordan - drums
*George Carnell, Ian Kimmet, John Holbrook, Ray Cooper - percussion
*
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Chris Thompson,
Gary Osborne
Gary Osborne (born 1949 in London) is an English singer and songwriter. He chaired The Songwriters Executive of the British Academy Of Songwriters Composers and Authors for 12 years during which time he was also chairman of The Ivor Novello Awar ...
, John Richardson,
Katie Kissoon
Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain).
E ...
, Roger Moss,
Stevie Lange
Stevie Vann (born Stevie van Kerken), also known as Stevie Lange, is a Zambian singer and vocal coach. She is best known for her work as a backing vocalist and studio singer for many groups and solo performers in the 1970s and 1980s. As lead vocal ...
- backing vocals
*
Del Newman
Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...
Brent Maher
Brent Maher is a producer, engineer, and songwriter currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He has produced and engineered six Grammy-winning records and received awards from the CMA, ACM, CCMA, ASCAP, SOCAN and NSAI. Maher engineered ...
, George Carnell, Jeff Hendrickson, Richard Dodd,
Scott Litt
Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...
- engineer
*Desmond Strobel - art direction
*
Aaron Rapoport
Aaron Rapoport (born May 22, 1954) is an American photographer, best known for his photographs of musicians.
Biography
In a career that spans over three decades, Rapoport has photographed in a wide variety of areas including commercial photogr ...