Richard Page (musician)

Richard Page
Richard Page on stage in England in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Richard Page
Born	May 16, 1953 (1953-05-16)
Origin	Keokuk, Iowa, United States
Genres	Rock, Pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard
Years active	1977–present
Labels	RCA, Little Dume
Associated acts	Pages, Mr. Mister, Third Matinee, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Website	www.richardpagemusic.com

Richard Page (born May 16, 1953), is an American musician who is the lead singer and bassist of 1980's US band Mr. Mister and is now a songwriter and solo artist.

Early life

Born May 16, 1953 in tiny Keokuk, lowa on the Mississippi River, Richard Page seems pre-destined to have had a life surrounded by music. His parents, Robert and Joyce Page, were both professional musicians. He a singer and choral director, she an accomplished organist, pianist, and singer. The family of seven (Richard has a sister and three brothers, who are all musicians) landed in Montgomery, Alabama in the mid 1950's where his parents worked as music directors at a local Methodist church. His mother knew Richard had a special interest in the family "business" when he came home from Sunday school to announce that he was the only baritone in the four-year-old class. In the early 1960s Richard, along with millions of other American kids, discovered The Beatles, The Beach Boys and the wave of awe-inspiring music of that era.

Career

His first major band, Pages, was formed with his childhood friend from Phoenix, Arizona, Steve George after he moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in the late 1970s. After producing three "Pages" albums, Page and George formed Mr. Mister along with Steve Farris and Pat Mastelotto.

As lead vocalist for Mr. Mister, Page scored two consecutive Hot 100 #1's with the singles "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie". Prior to Mr. Mister's breakthrough 1985 #1 album, Welcome to the Real World, he turned down the opportunity to be a lead singer with the groups Chicago and Toto. The position that he turned down with Chicago was accepted by Jason Scheff. Mr. Mister would also release three albums before breaking up on 25 September 1990. A fourth Mr. Mister album, Pull was recorded in 1989, but ultimately never released (BMG Japan cancelled plans to release the album in 2001). However, in December 2008 Richard Page told the internet radio station 957StarFM about plans to release Pull on his new website: "I'm in the process of getting it back from the record company and publish it on the website."

Subsequently he was a member of Third Matinee with Patrick Leonard, before he released his first solo album to date: Shelter Me from the mid 1990's, featuring the singles "The Best Thing" and "My Oxygen", a remake of Nik Kershaw's hit. In 1997, he turned down an offer from Leonard to record a second Third Matinee album. Based on a recommendation by his friend, songwriter Richard Marx, Ringo Starr approached Richard to join his 11th All-Starr Band and in the summer of 2010 they embarked on a 32 date US tour. Simultaneously, Richard released his second solo album "Peculiar Life" on his own independent "Little Dume" label.

His songwriting clients include Kenny Loggins, Madonna (Golden Globes and Grammy nominated song, "I'll Remember" from With Honors), Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Dionne Warwick, The Pointer Sisters, Meat Loaf, Patti LaBelle, Hall & Oates, BB Mak, Bill Champlin, Al Jarreau, Leona Lewis and many others.

Page performed his own material in December 2008 for the first time since Shelter Me. The song entitled "I Always Cry at Christmas" was co-written with Walter Afanasieff and is for sale on iTunes. A video for the song can be found on YouTube. Page gave a 65-minute interview on Inside MusiCast on January 5, 2009.

Personal life

Richard lives with his wife Linda and their four children in Malibu in Southern California.

Discography

Page has been both a primary band member in various groups, as well as background vocalist for other artists.

Band member

• Pages (self-titled) (1978)
• Pages - Future Street (1979)
• Pages (2nd self-titled) (1981)
• Mr. Mister - I Wear the Face (1984)
• Mr. Mister - Welcome to the Real World (1985)
• Mr. Mister - Go On... (1987)
• Mr. Mister - Pull (1990, released November 2, 2010) (www.littledumerecordings.com)
• Third Matinee - Meanwhile (1994)
• Richard Page - Shelter Me (1996)
• Richard Page - Peculiar Life (2010) (www.littledumerecordings.com)
• Richard Page - Solo Acoustic (live DVD/CD) (2011) (www.littledumerecordings.com)

Notable appearances

Page performed backing vocals on Peter Allen's 1980 album Bi-Coastal as well as on Barbra Streisand's 1985 recording of "I Know Him So Well" for The Broadway Album. He also performed a duet with Cher, "One Small Step", as well as backing vocals on her 1991 album Love Hurts. Other appearances include:

• Joe Zawinul's "The Immigrants" - Lead Vocal on Shadow and Light
• Joe Zawinul's Faces And Places - Lead vocal on Familiar To Me
• DeBarge's "Who's Holding Donna Now" from the album Rhythm Of The Night - background vocals
• Sammy Hagar's 1982 album Three Lock Box - background vocals
• Bill Champlin's "Satisfaction" (from Runaway, 1981) - background vocals and co-writer
• Survivor's 1983 album Caught in the Game - background vocals
• Toto's 1984 album Isolation - background vocals
• Toto's 1992 song "2 Hearts" - background vocals
• Josh Groban's album Closer - background vocals
• Carole Bayer Sager's 1981 album Sometimes Late at Night - background vocals
• REO Speedwagon's 1980 album Hi Infidelity - background vocals
• Amy Grant's 1986 single "Stay for Awhile" - background vocals
• Marc Jordan's 1990 album Conserve our world - background vocals
• David Foster - "Who's Gonna Love You Tonight" - vocals
• A duet with Rick Springfield on his cover of Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" for The Day After Yesterday.
• Backing vocals on Whitesnake's "Now You're Gone" from the album Slip of the Tongue.
• A remixed duet with vocals for 2Pac's "Until the End of Time (Remix)" which sampled Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" from the album Until the End of Time.
• Toto's "Kingdom of Desire" - background vocals
• On a vocal version of "Caravan", a song by Kitaro
• Vocals on a remixed version of 2Pac's 2001 single "Until the End of Time".

References

• Interview on Inside MusiCast, January 5, 2009
• Hunt, Dennis (December 1, 1985). "Mr. Mister's Mr. Party turns Mr. Clean". Los Angeles Times. 

External links

• Official home page - Launched December 2008
• Mr. Mister site - Page biography & detailed discography
• List of appearances - provided by AllMusic
• Shelter Me - Page's solo album details