#ericwoolfson #alanparsonsproject #rockfileradio
Eric Norman Woolfson (18 March 1945 – 2 December 2009) was a Scottish songwriter, lyricist, vocalist, executive producer, pianist, and co-creator of The Alan Parsons Project. He has sold over 50 million albums world-wide. Following the 10 successful albums he made with Alan Parsons, Woolfson pursued a career in musical theatre. He wrote five musicals which won numerous awards and have been seen by over a million people that have been performed in Germany, Austria, Korea and Japan.
Eric Norman Woolfson (18 March 1945 – 2 December 2009) was a Scottish songwriter, lyricist, vocalist, executive producer, pianist, and co-creator of The Alan Parsons Project. He has sold over 50 million albums world-wide. Following the 10 successful albums he made with Alan Parsons, Woolfson pursued a career in musical theatre. He wrote five musicals which won numerous awards and have been seen by over a million people that have been performed in Germany, Austria, Korea and Japan.
Arriving in London in 1963 he found work as a session pianist. The then current record producer for the Rolling Stones, Andrew Oldham, signed him as a songwriter. During the following years, Woolfson wrote songs for artists such as Marianne Faithfull, Frank Ifield, Joe Dassin, The Tremeloes, Marie (French singer), Marmalade, Dave Berry, and Peter Noone. In due course Woolfson signed other publishing deals as more of his songs were adopted by leading recording artists, throughout Europe and America. He also signed a deal with Southern Music, where he worked alongside composers and lyricists such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
In 1971, with the assistance of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and Graham Gouldman (who later became 10cc), a single was produced under the name of Eric Elder ("San Tokay" b/w "Sunflower") and issued on UK Philips 6006 081 and US Philips 40699. Woolfson then produced a single by Graham Gouldman ("Nowhere to Go" b/w "Growing Older") which was issued in 1972 on UK CBS 7739. In the late Sixties and early Seventies Woolfson was an independent record producer for several record companies, and worked with artists including Dave Berry, the Equals and the Tremeloes. Despite his success, he found that earning a living as a songwriter was not easy and decided to try artist management.
His move into management was instantly successful. His first two signings were Carl Douglas (whose record Kung Fu Fighting was one of the biggest selling hits of all time) and engineer/record producer Alan Parsons.
In 1974, Woolfson met record producer Alan Parsons at the Abbey Road Studios in London where both were working on different projects. Parsons asked Eric to become his manager and they worked together with a number of bands and artists including Pilot, Cockney Rebel, John Miles, Al Stewart, Ambrosia and The Hollies.
Subsequently Eric and Alan formed The Alan Parsons Project, the name originally being intended as a working title for their collaborative project. From 1976 to 1987, Woolfson and Parsons collaborated on the conception and lyrics for all ten albums by The Alan Parsons Project, which have achieved worldwide sales in excess of 50 million.
On every Project album, Woolfson would sing a guide vocal track for each song, which the album's eventual lead vocalists would use as a reference. Some of these tracks can be heard on the new remastered editions of various Project albums released in 2007. Woolfson himself was the actual singer on many of the Project's biggest hits, such as "Time", "Don't Answer Me", "Prime Time" and the band's signature tune "Eye in the Sky", which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 on 16–30 October 1982.
source: wikipedia
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