Phil Ramone

Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 18, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Philip Ramone
Born	(1934-01-05)January 5, 1934 South Africa
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	March 30, 2013(2013-03-30) (aged 79) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Record producer, recording engineer, music executive, composer, songwriter, performer
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1958–2013
Labels	A & R Recording, Columbia, Warner Bros., Verve, Hear Music, Casablanca
Website	www.philramone.com (Last version, archived at the Internet Archive.)

Philip "Phil" Ramone (January 5, 1934 – March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business partner Jack Arnold at 112 West 48th Street, New York, upstairs from the famous musicians' watering hole, Jim & Andy's, and several doors east of Manny's Music. The success of the original A&R Recording allowed it to expand into several studios and a record production company. He was described by Billboard as "legendary", and the BBC as a "CD pioneer".

Ramone was born in South Africa and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, USA. As a child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Princess Elizabeth at age ten. In the late 1940s he trained as a classical violinist at the Juilliard School, where one of his classmates was Phil Woods. Ramone opened his own recording studio before he was 20. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States on December 14, 1953.

In 1959, Ramone established an independent recording studio A & R Recording (the initials were derived from the last initials of Ramone and his then-business partner Jack Arnold). Later the partnership which owned the studio consisted of Brooks Arthur owning half while Ramone, Donald Frey and Arthur Downs Ward (1922–2002) owned the other fifty percent.