"Slow Hand" has become the biggest hit for the trio of sisters who ruled the pop charts by expanding their appeal across genres. "Slow Hand" has a country type vibe to it courtesy of that swooping synth line. It was written by John Bettis and Michael Clark who wrote it especially for the Pointer Sisters. It was a match made in heaven, the slow simmering sexiness of the music track and the sultry vocals was not enough to knock Diana & Lionel's "Endless Love", but it did spend three weeks at #2
The Pointer Sisters had discovered their point with the help of producer Richard Perry. Richard has a long and storied career that first began in 1962 when he was a member of the early 60's doo wop group The Escorts, who were signed to Coral Records in 1962.
Coral was really behind them, but after having recorded six singles that did not chart, ended their association with the group. Perry was enamoured of the music business but the creative aspect is what he craved the most. The man has been trained on piano, guitar, drums, bass and oboe (!). Once he graduated from the University Of Michigan he focused on songwriting but he picked up a few extra bucks by taking on acting roles, in the marketing dept of Kama Sutra Records and meeting Kenny Vance.
I found out about Richard Perry from his production credit on Tiny Tim's LP "God Bless Tiny Tim". Richard gave this guy the royal treatment that saved his career from being too "out there". Even as a kid of 9, I had an ear for music and the work Perry did on it did not let Tiny Tim go into self parody. It was a very competent and super well produced work that displayed the zaniness of the artist yet draws Tiny out in a way no one else would have conceived. The album turned out to be a cohesive but impudent (singing "never hit your grandma with a shovel, it leaves a bad impression on her mind") in between songs. Yes I had this album as a child, it is a favorite. Because of Richard Perry. It peaked at #7 nationally, an impressive start to a promising career.
In the seventies I found his name on albums by Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson then Leo Sayer and Ringo Starr. Clean and clear, a perfect balance of original arrangements that never were less than stellar. He even started his own record company, Planet Records and The Pointer Sisters "Energy" LP was his first official release.
28 сен 2024
