Mr. Mister
Encyclopedia
Mr. Mister is an American
pop rock
band
most popular in the 1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a Weather Report
album called Mr. Gone
where they referred to each other as "Mister This" or "Mister That", and eventually selected "Mr. Mister." Mr. Mister may be considered as representative of the melodic sound of 1980s pop rock
. The band consisted of Richard Page
on vocals and bass guitar, Steve George
on keyboards, Pat Mastelotto
on acoustic and electronic drums and Steve Farris on guitars.
had previously worked as a session musician
(for Quincy Jones
) and had composed for Michael Jackson
, Donna Summer
, Kenny Loggins
, Al Jarreau
, and many more. In the late 1970s, he and his childhood friend Steve George
founded the band Pages
(most notable song: "I Do Believe in You") in Phoenix, Arizona
, from which Mr. Mister was founded in 1980. The two continued to apply their tight harmonies to background vocals on albums by successful pop artists like Laura Branigan
and the Village People
, while working to break out their own material. All four members had done extensive session work for other artists and brought numerous influences to the band.
, was released in 1984, Page was offered the chance to replace Bobby Kimball
as lead singer of Toto
, and later was offered Peter Cetera
's place in Chicago
; he refused both offers.
Their second album, 1985's Welcome to the Real World—with lyrics from Page's cousin
John Lang—was the breakthrough for Mr. Mister. All three singles were in the top 10, two of which hit No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts—"Kyrie
" and "Broken Wings". The latter was inspired by the book
of the same title by Khalil Gibran
. They had several No. 1 MTV
videos, and performed at the first MTV Spring Break show in 1986. That year, Mr. Mister had two Grammy Award
nominations, including Best Pop Band
(which was awarded to the "We Are the World
" ensemble, USA for Africa
).
During this time, Mr. Mister toured with other popular acts including Don Henley
, The Bangles
, Eurythmics
, Tina Turner
, and Adam Ant
. The band's third album was Go On...
, which the band said was "some of the best stuff we ever did," showing a much more mature band and a sound that hinted at progressive rock
. Nevertheless, Go On... was not a commercial success.
During the 1980s, the group wrote and/or performed songs for several movies, including the title song for Stand and Deliver.
Guitarist Steve Farris left around 1989. The band began working on a fourth album, Pull, with session guitarists Buzz Feiten
, Trevor Rabin
, Doug Macaskill and Peter McRea. The album was completed in 1990, but their label RCA decided not to release it. Soon afterward, the band broke up. The album remained unreleased for 20 years—though one track ("Waiting in My Dreams") appeared on a 2001 greatest hits collection by the band. On November 23, 2010 the remastered album was finally released by the band - in collaboration with Sony music - on Richard Page's independent label, Little Dume Recordings. The album is also available from Sony on iTunes and other digital distribution channels.
(with Patrick Leonard
) in 1994, and continued to write hit songs for many artists including "I'll Remember
" (with Leonard and Madonna), a 1993 hit for Madonna
. Two years later, he released Shelter Me, his first solo album. 2010 saw the release of his latest solo disc "Peculiar Life". In December 2010 Page also released an EP of Christmas songs titled "5 Songs For Christmas" which featured a song co-written and produced by Richard and producer Walter Afanasieff
titled "I Always Cry At Christmas."
Steve George worked extensively as musical director with Kenny Loggins and Jewel
. Steve Farris went on to work with Rod Stewart
, Whitesnake
, Tori Amos
(during her tenure in Y Kant Tori Read
), and 4 Non Blondes
. Pat Mastelotto recorded several hits with The Rembrandts
, Jude Cole
, Cock Robin
, Martika
, as well as alternative bands (XTC
, Robyn Hitchcock
, The Sugarcubes
), and many others. Since 1994, Mastelotto has been a member of King Crimson
and done thousands of live shows and participated in several Crimson records, including producing and mixing the King Crimson ProjeKcts
. He also currently runs several side projects including Mastica, TU
, Tuner, and KTU
. Mastelotto is also a member of the melodic rock band Mecca.
Compilation albums
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
most popular in the 1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
album called Mr. Gone
Mr. Gone (album)
Mr. Gone is Weather Report's eighth studio album, and is perhaps best known for receiving a "one-star" rating by Down Beat magazine.According to Down Beat magazine, "Zawinul, Shorter, et al. have made the controversial music a commercial product; unfortunately .....
where they referred to each other as "Mister This" or "Mister That", and eventually selected "Mr. Mister." Mr. Mister may be considered as representative of the melodic sound of 1980s pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
. The band consisted of Richard Page
Richard Page (musician)
Richard Page , 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:...
on vocals and bass guitar, Steve George
Steve George (keyboardist)
Steve George is an American keyboard player, who is perhaps best known as the keyboardist for the 1980s band, Mr. Mister. He co-wrote many of the Mr. Mister songs, together with his childhood friend, Mr...
on keyboards, Pat Mastelotto
Pat Mastelotto
Pat Mastelotto is a rock drummer who has worked with Mr. Mister and King Crimson, amongst others. For King Crimson he initially formed part of the "double trio" lineup, joining Bill Bruford on drums...
on acoustic and electronic drums and Steve Farris on guitars.
Early work
Richard PageRichard Page (musician)
Richard Page , 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:...
had previously worked as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
(for Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
) and had composed for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
, Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
, Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
, and many more. In the late 1970s, he and his childhood friend Steve George
Steve George (keyboardist)
Steve George is an American keyboard player, who is perhaps best known as the keyboardist for the 1980s band, Mr. Mister. He co-wrote many of the Mr. Mister songs, together with his childhood friend, Mr...
founded the band Pages
Pages (band)
Pages was an American pop rock band of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band consisted of Richard Page and Steve George on vocals and keyboards, supported by various studio musicians, some of whom from time to time were considered part of the band proper...
(most notable song: "I Do Believe in You") in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, from which Mr. Mister was founded in 1980. The two continued to apply their tight harmonies to background vocals on albums by successful pop artists like Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
and the Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
, while working to break out their own material. All four members had done extensive session work for other artists and brought numerous influences to the band.
Mainstream success
When the first Mr. Mister album, I Wear the FaceI Wear the Face
I Wear the Face is the debut album released from Mr. Mister, released in 1984 on the RCA label. It was re-released on October 5, 1990.The only single released was "Hunters of the Night" which was co-written with George Ghiz, who was the band's manager at the time. It reached a high of #57 on the...
, was released in 1984, Page was offered the chance to replace Bobby Kimball
Bobby Kimball
Robert Troy "Bobby" Kimball is an American singer, best known as the longtime frontman of the rock band Toto.- Early life:...
as lead singer of Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
, and later was offered Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
's place in Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
; he refused both offers.
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
John Lang—was the breakthrough for Mr. Mister. All three singles were in the top 10, two of which hit No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts—"Kyrie
Kyrie (song)
"Kyrie" was a #1 hit song by the 1980s pop/rock band Mr. Mister, from their 1985 album Welcome to the Real World. Released in late 1985, it hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in March 1986, where it was #1 for two weeks. It also hit the top spot on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart...
" and "Broken Wings". The latter was inspired by the book
Broken Wings (book)
The Broken Wings is a poetic novel written by Khalil Gibran and first published in Arabic in 1912. It is a tale of tragic love, set in turn-of-the-century Beirut. A young woman, Selma Karamy is betrothed to a prominent religious man's nephew. The protagonist, a young man, perhaps even Gibran...
of the same title by Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān,Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān, or Jibrān Xalīl Jibrān; Arabic , January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer...
. They had several No. 1 MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
videos, and performed at the first MTV Spring Break show in 1986. That year, Mr. Mister had two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations, including Best Pop Band
Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
(which was awarded to the "We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
" ensemble, USA for Africa
USA for Africa
USA for Africa was the name under which forty-seven predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year...
).
During this time, Mr. Mister toured with other popular acts including Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
, The Bangles
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
, Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, and Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
. The band's third album was Go On...
Go On...
Go On... was the third album by American pop band Mr. Mister. It was released in 1987, and featured a more serious tone than their previous album Welcome to the Real World, which was commercially successful...
, which the band said was "some of the best stuff we ever did," showing a much more mature band and a sound that hinted at progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
. Nevertheless, Go On... was not a commercial success.
During the 1980s, the group wrote and/or performed songs for several movies, including the title song for Stand and Deliver.
Guitarist Steve Farris left around 1989. The band began working on a fourth album, Pull, with session guitarists Buzz Feiten
Buzz Feiten
Howard "Buzz" Feiten is a North American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and session musician.He is best known as a lead and rhythm electric guitarist, and for having patented a unique, scientifically designed tuning system which re-configures its stringboard / neck for more accurate tonality...
, Trevor Rabin
Trevor Rabin
Trevor Charles Rabin is a South African born musician, best known as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British progressive rock band Yes from 1983–1994, and since then, as a film composer.- Early years :...
, Doug Macaskill and Peter McRea. The album was completed in 1990, but their label RCA decided not to release it. Soon afterward, the band broke up. The album remained unreleased for 20 years—though one track ("Waiting in My Dreams") appeared on a 2001 greatest hits collection by the band. On November 23, 2010 the remastered album was finally released by the band - in collaboration with Sony music - on Richard Page's independent label, Little Dume Recordings. The album is also available from Sony on iTunes and other digital distribution channels.
Post-breakup
After Mr. Mister broke up, Page released a solo record and a band record as Third MatineeThird Matinee
Third Matinee was formed by vocalist Richard Page and Patrick Leonard after the breakup of Page's band, Mr. Mister. The band released one album, Meanwhile , a moderately progressive album with pop rock leanings....
(with Patrick Leonard
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Raymond Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist and music producer, known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna on many different recordings....
) in 1994, and continued to write hit songs for many artists including "I'll Remember
I'll Remember
"I'll Remember" is a song by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack single of the film With Honors...
" (with Leonard and Madonna), a 1993 hit for Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. Two years later, he released Shelter Me, his first solo album. 2010 saw the release of his latest solo disc "Peculiar Life". In December 2010 Page also released an EP of Christmas songs titled "5 Songs For Christmas" which featured a song co-written and produced by Richard and producer Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990...
titled "I Always Cry At Christmas."
Steve George worked extensively as musical director with Kenny Loggins and Jewel
Jewel (singer)
Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...
. Steve Farris went on to work with Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
(during her tenure in Y Kant Tori Read
Y Kant Tori Read
Y Kant Tori Read was a 1980s synthpop band, fronted by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. The band released one album, also called Y Kant Tori Read, which was largely unsuccessful, perhaps in part because Atlantic Records abandoned promoting the record completely after only two months of release...
), and 4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1989. The group was formed by bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist and guitarist Linda Perry. Prior to the release of their first album, Roger Rocha replaced Hall on...
. Pat Mastelotto recorded several hits with The Rembrandts
The Rembrandts
The Rembrandts are an American pop-rock duo formed by Phil Solem and Danny Wilde in 1989. They had previously worked together as members of Great Buildings in 1981...
, Jude Cole
Jude Cole
Jude Cole is a manager, record producer and singer/songwriter/guitarist.-Career:Cole's solo records, "Jude Cole", "A View from 3rd Street" and "Start the Car" were released on Warner Bros./Reprise Records, and contained the singles "Baby, It's Tonight", "Time for Letting Go" and "Start the Car"...
, Cock Robin
Cock Robin (band)
Cock Robin is an American pop rock band, mostly popular in the 1980s, particularly in continental Europe where they became famous. The band was founded by singer-songwriter Peter Kingsbery in 1982, disbanded in 1990, and reformed in 2006.-History:...
, Martika
Martika
Martika is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress. As a singer she released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over four million copies worldwide.-Early life and career:Martika entered mainstream show business in an uncredited role as one of the...
, as well as alternative bands (XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
, The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.-History:...
), and many others. Since 1994, Mastelotto has been a member of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and done thousands of live shows and participated in several Crimson records, including producing and mixing the King Crimson ProjeKcts
The ProjeKcts
The ProjeKcts is a 1999 box set of four live albums recorded between 1997 and 1999 by four side projects of the band King Crimson, known as ProjeKcts.-Overview:...
. He also currently runs several side projects including Mastica, TU
TU (band)
TU is a band formed by Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. They released one eponymous album in 2003.They opened for Tool on its 10,000 days tour on a few dates.-Track listing:#"Untamed Chicken"#"Absinthe & a Cracker"#"The NOOOSE"#"XTCU2"...
, Tuner, and KTU
KTU (band)
KTU is a progressive/experimental musical supergroup. In 2004 Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto started collaborating with Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen, forming KTU out of their respective duos TU and Kluster.-History:...
. Mastelotto is also a member of the melodic rock band Mecca.
Discography
Studio albums- I Wear the FaceI Wear the FaceI Wear the Face is the debut album released from Mr. Mister, released in 1984 on the RCA label. It was re-released on October 5, 1990.The only single released was "Hunters of the Night" which was co-written with George Ghiz, who was the band's manager at the time. It reached a high of #57 on the...
(1984) - Welcome to the Real World (1985)
- Go On...Go On...Go On... was the third album by American pop band Mr. Mister. It was released in 1987, and featured a more serious tone than their previous album Welcome to the Real World, which was commercially successful...
(1987) - PullPull (Mr. Mister album)Pull is the fourth studio album by American pop band Mr. Mister. It was recorded from 1989 to 1990, but due to the band's being left without a record company - and subsequent breakup - the album was left unreleased until 2010, when it was remixed and released...
(2010)
Compilation albums
- Broken Wings: The Encore CollectionBroken Wings: The Encore CollectionBroken Wings: The Encore Collection is the first U.S. compilation album of the eighties band Mr. Mister. It contains the billboard hits "Broken Wings", "Kyrie", "Hunters of the Night", "Is It Love" and "Something Real ." The album contains all full album versions of the songs except for "Broken...
(1999) - The Best of Mr. Mister (2001)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 28th Grammy Awards | Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group - "Broken Wings" | |
| 1987 | 29th Grammy Awards | Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance The Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance was awarded from 1968 to 1977, and revived for the Grammy Awards of 2005.Through the years, it has had several names:... - "Healing Waters" |
|
External links
- Mr. Mister official site
- Mr. Mister biography at VH-1
- Mr. Mister soundtrack record at Internet Movie Database
- Richard Page - Official website
- Pat Mastelotto - Official website
- Steve Farris - Official website