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 Shelter Me in 1996. It featured 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.
Following Shelter me, Page worked as a songwriter and session player. His combined songwriting clients include Kenny Loggins, Madonna (Golden Globes and Grammy nominated song, "I'll Remember" from With Honors), Josh Groban, Céline 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. Page gave a 65-minute interview on Inside MusiCast on January 5, 2009. In 2010 Page released two own song collections, Peculiar Life and 5 Songs for Christmas. These were followed by Solo Acoustic (2011) and Songs from the Sketchbook (2012).
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. Page also toured with Ringo's 12th All-Starr Band in the summer of 2012.
Read more about this topic: Richard Page (musician)
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“Whether lawyer, politician or executive, the American who knows what’s good for his career seeks an institutional rather than an individual identity. He becomes the man from NBC or IBM. The institutional imprint furnishes him with pension, meaning, proofs of existence. A man without a company name is a man without a country.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)
“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)