Richie Rome, born Richard V. Di Cicco in Philadelphia, was a prominent American producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, arranger

Arranger

In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...

 and orchestra conductor during the 1970s.

Life

Richie Rome began his career composing arrangements in the 1960s, with, as one of his earliest professional works, a medley of Green Apples and Something by The O'Jays

The O'Jays

The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...

 (from their Neptune album The O'Jays in Philadelphia.

In collaboration with, and as arranger for, producer Jacques Morali

Jacques Morali

Jacques Morali was a French music producer, who is best remembered for being the creator and driving force behind the disco group, Village People....

, Mr. Rome established the disco recording group The Ritchie Family

The Ritchie Family

The Ritchie Family was the name of an American vocal group, based in Philadelphia, who achieved several hits during the disco era.-Career:...

 in 1975, whose albums include Brazil (1975), Arabian Nights (1976), and Life Is Music (1977).

Mr. Rome's signature style is marked by lush orchestrations, interweaving multidimensional horns and strings to accentuate the sensuality of the compositions. His various other projects include Jimmy Ruffin

Jimmy Ruffin

Jimmy Ruffin is an American soul singer, and elder brother of the late David Ruffin of The Temptations. He had several hit records between the 1960s and 1980s, the most successful being "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted."-Life:...

's Fallin' in Love with You (1977), The Sweet Inspirations' Black Sunday (1977), The Chi-Lites

The Chi-Lites

The Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...

' My First Mistake (1977), Flower's Midnight Dancing, Now, and Our Never-Ending Love (1979), and, in collaboration with Phil Hurtt, Stanley Turrentine

Stanley Turrentine

Stanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...

's Disco Dancing (1978) and Phil Hurtt's Giving It Back (1978).

Literature

• Whitburn, Joel: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1992, Record Research Inc, 1993, ISBN 978-0898200935 p.624
• Shapiro, Peter: Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco, Faber & Faber, 2003, ISBN 978-0865479524 p.223

External links

• A list of his works on discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
  
  
• African Suite of Ritchie Rome