Steve Tyrell
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011) |
Steve Tyrell
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| Birth name | Stephen Louis Bilao III [1] |
| Born | December 19, 1944 |
| Origin | Palo Pinto County, Texas, United States[1] |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1970 - present |
| Labels | Concord Music Group |
| Website | www.stevetyrell.com |
Steve Tyrell (born Stephen Louis Bilao III, December 19, 1944)[1][2][3] is an American jazz musician.
Contents |
Music career [edit]
Early career [edit]
Upon moving to New York City at the age of 18, he was made head of A&R and promotion at Scepter Records. There he was mostly behind-the-scenes, producing hits for popular recording artists and movie soundtracks.
At 19 years old he first began producing with the likes of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. He worked on several Dionne Warwick hits such as "The Look of Love" and "Alfie." Together with B.J. Thomas, he worked on the Bacharach-David song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," which went on to win the 1969 Oscar for Best Original Song (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).
Film contributions [edit]
His contributions to the film industry include Mystic Pizza, That Thing You Do, Father of the Bride, The Brady Bunch Movie, and Out of Sync. Steve also worked in television and did the music for California Dreams, The Heights, and Frank's Place, among others.
Tyrell's performance singing "The Way You Look Tonight" in Father of the Bride, starring Steve Martin, pushed him center-stage as a vocalist, with live performances and a recording career of his own.
Recent work [edit]
Since the end of the 1990s, he has made several albums based on jazz, holiday, and Disney standards. In 2005, after the death of the legendary Bobby Short, Steve was asked by New York City's Café Carlyle to take over their revered Holiday Season of November and December, which Mr. Short had not missed in 36 years. Now Steve has become a fixture in New York and has played the Café Carlyle to record crowds for the last 6 years.
His work in the studio as a record producer has included collaborations with such diverse and legendary artists as Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Mary J. Blige, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder, and Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
He recently produced That’s Life, the debut album for Sony recording artist and winner of the 6th season of America's Got Talent, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. The album's vocal tracks were recorded at Wire Road Studios in Houston, Texas with the remainder of the album being recorded at Capitol Studios and Schnee Studios in Los Angeles and Deep Diner and Kilgore Sound in New York.
As an artist, all 7 of his American Standards albums have achieved Top 5 status on Billboard's Jazz charts; and his first album, A New Standard, was among the best-selling jazz albums for over 5 years. In May 2011, he recorded a live performance DVD at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston Texas.
Discography [edit]
- A New Standard (1999), Atlantic Records
- Standard Time (2001), Columbia Records
- This Time of the Year (2002), Columbia Records
- This Guy's in Love (2003), Columbia Records
- Songs of Sinatra (2005), Hollywood Records
- The Disney Standards (2006), Walt Disney Records
- Back to Bacharach (2008), Koch/New Design Records
- Live at the Café Carlyle (2010)
- I'll Take Romance (2012)
- It's Magic - The Songs Of Sammy Cahn (2013) Concord
Personal life [edit]
Tyrell was married to the late Stephanie Tyrell (1949 - October 27, 2003), an American record producer, television composer, and songwriter. She produced the soundtrack albums for The Brady Bunch Movie, Mystic Pizza, and the 1991 version of Father of the Bride. She was best known for writing "How Do You Talk to an Angel," the hit from Fox's The Heights.[1] They had 3 children together: Tina, Lauryn, and Nicholas. Stephanie Tyrell died of colon cancer on October 27, 2003. Tyrell's marriage to Houston interior designer, Karen Pulaski, took place on December 26, 2010. Karen Pulaski filed for divorce on October 11, 2011, and the divorce was finalized on December 12, 2011.[4]
Personal Biography [edit]
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Steve Tyrell is truly a renaissance man. In over four decades in the music business, he has achieved great success as an artist, producer, songwriter, music supervisor, and performer.
With his breakthrough performances in “Father of the Bride” and “Father of the Bride II,” Steve Tyrell reinvented and re-popularized classic pop standards for a modern-day audience. With the grit and soul of a lifetime of experiences, producing hits for Grammy-winning Artists ranging from Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, to Rod Stewart and Diana Ross, Steve himself has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and gained a passionate following all over the world. His hits “The Way You Look Tonight,” “The Simple Life,” “Crush On You” and “The Sunny Side of The Street,” have launched thousands of weddings and millions of romances. He’s held top positions at Standards, Swing, and Big Band outlets with a devoted following at key Adult Contemporary Radio.
With sold out shows across America and raves from around the world, his following increases day by day. Although Steve tours mainly with his band, he also enjoys playing with some of the most renown orchestras in the land, and has had multiple performances with The Boston Pops, The New York Pops, The Nashville Symphony, Kansas City Cymphony, and The Houston Symphony. Most recently, he has appeared with the New West Symphony performing Joseph Sohms photo symphony “Visions of America” narrated by Clint Eastwood, singing the songs of Roger Kellaway and Alan and Marylin Bergman.
At the request of the Sinatra family and Quincy Jones, Steve was the featured performer with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at their season opening concert in which Frank Sinatra was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Also at the request of the Sinatra family, he reprised that performance at Carnegie Hall. This is one of the rare times the family has reached into the vault of original Sinatra arrangements to share them with another artist.
In 2005, after the passing of the legendary Bobby Short, Steve was asked by New York City’s Café Carlyle to take over their revered Holiday Season of November and December, which Mr. Short had not missed for 36 years. In 2013 Tyrell’s contract was extended through his 11th season, starting a new Carlyle legacy that now also includes performances in May.
His work in the studio as a record producer has included collaborations with such diverse and legendary artists as Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Bonnie Raitt, Blood Sweat and Tears, Mary J Blidge, Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder and the list goes on and on. He even produced an album with the late Andy Griffith, which won the Grammy in 1995 for Gospel Album of the Year.
As an artist, all 9 of his American Standards albums have achieved top 10 status on Billboard’s Jazz charts, 7 of which have achieved top 5, and his first album “A New Standard” was amongst the best selling jazz albums for over 5 years.
His voice has been featured on television and in numerous movies. Most recently, he was asked by Oscar winning Songwriter’s Alan and Marilyn Bergman and the late Marvin Hamlisch to sing the end title to Steven Soderbergh’s film “The Informant”.
As a music supervisor and music producer for film and TV, Tyrell has worked with such distinguished directors as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Nancy Meyers, Steven Soderbergh, Hugh Wilson, and Charles Shyer.
His songs have been recorded by such revered artists as Ray Charles, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and Elvis Presley, and his song “How Do You Talk To An Angel,” written and produced for Aaron Spelling’s Fox television series “The Heights,” was a No. 1 on Billboards Top 100 Pop Charts.
Aside from being a Grammy Award winner, Tyrell has earned 2 Emmy nominations, received a daytime Emmy, 3 Ace Nominations, 2004 American Society of Young Musician’s “All That Jazz Award”, 2004 The Wellness Community “Human Spirit Award”, 2006 Society of Singers “Lifetime Achievement Award”, and 2008 Los Angeles Jazz Society’s “Jazz Vocalist of the Year”. His productions were nominated have earned over 11 Grammy Awards themselves. The music he produced for the children’s special “Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue” which aired on all three major networks simultaneously was given special recognition by the Emmy’s.
Projects [edit]
His work in the studio as a record producer has included collaborations with such diverse and legendary artists as:
Rod Stewart, Great American Songbook's Vol 3 and 4, Soulbook
Diana Ross, I Love You (album) - Producer Duets on Great American songbook Vol 3,
Ray Charles Big Bad Love - Genuis Love's Comany Two Frank's Place - Theme
Linda Ronstadt: Cry Like a Rainstorm Howl at the Wind- Producer Somewhere Out There - Producer Don't Know Much - Producer
Aaron Neville: Somewhere Out There - Producer Don't Know Much - Producer
Bonnie Raitt, 9 Lives Album, Produced a song called "Stand Up To the night"
Blood Sweat and Tears, Produced Album - No Sweat
Mary J Blidge, Produced Song on Rod Stewart's Soul Book
Chris Botti: Produced on Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook Vol 3 Produced Trumpet Solo on Steve Tyrell, The Disney Standards
Dave Koz, Produced on Rod's Songbook Albums
Dolly Parton, Produced Baby Its Cold Outside Duet on Rod's Songbook Album
Smokey Robinson, Produced Duet on Rod Stewart's Soul Book
Burt Bacharach: Producer on Back To Bacharach Head of A and R on his Sceptor hits
Bette Midler, Produced her on duet Manhattan on Rod's Great American Songbook Vol 3
Stevie Wonder, Produced duet on Rod's GA Songbook vol 3 and on Rod's Soulbook
and the list goes on and on. He even produced an album with the late Andy Griffith, which won the Grammy in 1995 for Gospel Album of the Year. As a music supervisor and music producer for film and TV, Tyrell has worked with such distinguished directors as:
Steven Spielberg.
Somewhere Out There, An American Tale
Tom Hanks That Thing You do, Music Producer
Nancy Meyers Father of the Bride part 1 and 2, Music Producer and Singer,
Steven Soderbergh The informant, singer and music producer,
Hugh Wilson Music Supervisor,
Charles Shyer. Father of the Bride part 1 and 2, Music Producer and Singer
His songs have been recorded by such revered artists as:
Ray Charles, Big Bad Love
Diana Ross, Big Band Love
LL Cool J, Movie Out of Sync, song was called "The Land of Milk and Honey"
Elvis Presley, It's Only Love
His song “How Do You Talk To An Angel,” written and produced for Aaron Spelling’s Fox television series “The Heights,” was a No. 1 on Billboards Top 100 Pop Charts. Aside from being a Grammy Award winner, Tyrell has earned 2 Emmy nominations, received a daytime Emmy, 3 Ace Nominations, 2004 American Society of Young Musician’s “All That Jazz Award”, 2004 The Wellness Community “Human Spirit Award”, 2006 Society of Singers “Lifetime Achievement Award”, and 2008 Los Angeles Jazz Society’s “Jazz Vocalist of the Year”. His productions were nominated have earned over 11 Grammy Awards themselves. The music he produced for the children’s special “Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue” which aired on all three major networks simultaneously was given special recognition by the Emmy’s
Grammy Pojects: Somewhere out there - Song of the Year Don’t Know Much - Best Pop Performance by a Duo Cry Like a Rainstorm Andy Griffith Album, Gospel Album of the Year
Rod Stewart, Great American Songbook Vol 3, Traditional Pop Album
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Texas Births, 1926-1995, Stephen Louis Bilao 3rd (Birth Date: 1944-12-19, County of Birth: Palo Pinto)
- ^ Steve Tyrell 1944-
- ^ "Born Stephen Bilao, Tyrell graduated from St. Thomas [High School] in 1963." [1]
- ^ Regis, the Clintons, Joe Torre and more beat the blizzard for the Tyrell/Pulaski vows in NYC, Houston Culturemap
