Biography
Jerry Ragovoy operated as a key architect of East Coast soul throughout the 1960s, crafting or co-crafting numerous enduring New York and Philadelphia sides that carried a pronounced gospel inflection. Standouts among those tracks encompassed Garnet Mimms’ “Cry Baby,” Erma Franklin’s “Piece of My Heart,” Howard Tate’s “Get It While You Can,” “Time Is on My Side” (first cut by Irma Thomas and later the Rolling Stones), and Lorraine Ellison’s “Stay with Me.” Beyond songwriting he also served as producer and arranger on additional high-caliber soul sessions.
Remarkably, several architects of the soul era were neither African-American nor close in age to the young buyers who fueled the genre’s commercial rise. Ragovoy exemplified that pattern: a white Jewish native of Philadelphia, he first entered record production in 1953 with the Castelles’ “My Girl Awaits Me.” Subsequent stints at Chancellor Records—home to hits by Fabian and Frankie Avalon—led to his composition of the Majors’ vocal-group single “A Wonderful Dream,” which climbed to number 22 in 1962. Around the same period he began collaborating with fellow white soul craftsman Bert Berns, resulting in “Cry Baby” for Garnet Mimms, which reached number four the following year.
Throughout the decade Ragovoy helmed Mimms’ recordings, forging a singular soul aesthetic that fused fervent church-rooted vocals and gospel-derived melodies with polished, sophisticated New York studio charts. He likewise supplied Mimms with further notable singles such as “A Quiet Place,” “Look Away,” “Baby Don’t You Weep,” “It Was Easier to Hurt Her,” “Anytime You Want Me” (later recorded by the Who in 1965), and “My Baby.” Mid-decade he penned “Time Is on My Side” for jazz trombonist Kai Winding; Irma Thomas recorded it first, after which the Rolling Stones delivered a rock-inflected rendition that became their initial U.S. Top Ten entry. Several of Ragovoy’s strongest compositions appeared under the alias Norman Meade.
He extended his production and songwriting reach to two revered East Coast cult figures of the late 1960s, Lorraine Ellison and Howard Tate. Ellison’s “Stay with Me” stands as a textbook Ragovoy creation: a deliberate, emotionally searing ballad that borders on gospel yet is framed by sweeping orchestral forces, delivered with raw vocal intensity and theatrical flourishes that nod toward Broadway and opera. The track employed a 46-piece ensemble after a Frank Sinatra date was abruptly scrapped, allowing Ragovoy to draft an arrangement while the musicians remained on call.
Janis Joplin repeatedly gravitated toward Ragovoy’s catalog, recording (both with Big Brother & the Holding Company and solo) “Piece of My Heart,” “My Baby,” “Get It While You Can,” “Cry Baby,” and “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” (originally cut by Ellison). In most instances her versions ultimately proved the most widely recognized. Three of these selections appeared on her final album, Pearl, and she specifically commissioned Ragovoy to write an original piece for the record. He completed the song, titled “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven,” during the summer of 1970, yet Joplin passed away several weeks later without the opportunity to commit it to tape.
Royalties from Joplin’s interpretations, along with other compositions—including a reported one-million-dollar licensing fee paid by producers of a planned Joplin biopic for “Piece of My Heart”—afforded Ragovoy financial stability that curtailed his activity after the 1960s, though he still oversaw select sessions for Bonnie Raitt during the 1970s. On July 13, 2011, he succumbed in Manhattan to complications from a stroke at the age of 80.
Remarkably, several architects of the soul era were neither African-American nor close in age to the young buyers who fueled the genre’s commercial rise. Ragovoy exemplified that pattern: a white Jewish native of Philadelphia, he first entered record production in 1953 with the Castelles’ “My Girl Awaits Me.” Subsequent stints at Chancellor Records—home to hits by Fabian and Frankie Avalon—led to his composition of the Majors’ vocal-group single “A Wonderful Dream,” which climbed to number 22 in 1962. Around the same period he began collaborating with fellow white soul craftsman Bert Berns, resulting in “Cry Baby” for Garnet Mimms, which reached number four the following year.
Throughout the decade Ragovoy helmed Mimms’ recordings, forging a singular soul aesthetic that fused fervent church-rooted vocals and gospel-derived melodies with polished, sophisticated New York studio charts. He likewise supplied Mimms with further notable singles such as “A Quiet Place,” “Look Away,” “Baby Don’t You Weep,” “It Was Easier to Hurt Her,” “Anytime You Want Me” (later recorded by the Who in 1965), and “My Baby.” Mid-decade he penned “Time Is on My Side” for jazz trombonist Kai Winding; Irma Thomas recorded it first, after which the Rolling Stones delivered a rock-inflected rendition that became their initial U.S. Top Ten entry. Several of Ragovoy’s strongest compositions appeared under the alias Norman Meade.
He extended his production and songwriting reach to two revered East Coast cult figures of the late 1960s, Lorraine Ellison and Howard Tate. Ellison’s “Stay with Me” stands as a textbook Ragovoy creation: a deliberate, emotionally searing ballad that borders on gospel yet is framed by sweeping orchestral forces, delivered with raw vocal intensity and theatrical flourishes that nod toward Broadway and opera. The track employed a 46-piece ensemble after a Frank Sinatra date was abruptly scrapped, allowing Ragovoy to draft an arrangement while the musicians remained on call.
Janis Joplin repeatedly gravitated toward Ragovoy’s catalog, recording (both with Big Brother & the Holding Company and solo) “Piece of My Heart,” “My Baby,” “Get It While You Can,” “Cry Baby,” and “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” (originally cut by Ellison). In most instances her versions ultimately proved the most widely recognized. Three of these selections appeared on her final album, Pearl, and she specifically commissioned Ragovoy to write an original piece for the record. He completed the song, titled “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven,” during the summer of 1970, yet Joplin passed away several weeks later without the opportunity to commit it to tape.
Royalties from Joplin’s interpretations, along with other compositions—including a reported one-million-dollar licensing fee paid by producers of a planned Joplin biopic for “Piece of My Heart”—afforded Ragovoy financial stability that curtailed his activity after the 1960s, though he still oversaw select sessions for Bonnie Raitt during the 1970s. On July 13, 2011, he succumbed in Manhattan to complications from a stroke at the age of 80.