There was a momentary pause in rehearsal at the cavernous, uncluttered studio in south Minneapolis. So Kat Dyson began hammering out some heavy-metal riffs on her guitar.

"What's that?" asked producer Phil Ramone, seated in a director's chair opposite the band.

"'Soldier of Love,'" responded Donny Osmond, who had a comeback hit with that song in 1989.

"What are you going to do -- re-release it?" Ramone said sarcastically.

"'Donny does Metallica!'" Osmond joked.

Don't laugh. DonnyOsmond -- '70s teen heartthrob, TV host, musical chameleon, star of stage musicals and punchline of countless jokes -- is reinventing himself once again.

At age 43, a decade after trying to make himself over as a hip black-leather rocker, Mr. Puppy Love is all grown up now. He's teamed with Ramone for an album aimed squarely at adults: pop renditions of contemporary Broadway tunes.   [More >> @ Donny.com]

Recording Academy^® Announces 2000-2001 Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Award Recipients

(Santa Monica, CA) -- Recipients of Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Awards were announced today by Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. Recording artists The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Marley, and the Who will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. Producers Arif Mardin and Phil Ramone will be honored with the Trustees Awards. Formal acknowledgment of the awards will be made in conjunction with the 43rd Annual GRAMMY^® Awards ceremony which will be held at Los Angeles' STAPLES Center on Wednesday, February 21. The show will be a prime time television special on the CBS Television Network.

The Lifetime Achievement Awards honor lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium while the Trustees Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity. Both special awards are decided by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees during meetings held in May. The winners will be officially acknowledged in a ceremony during GRAMMY Week in Los Angeles.

Previous Trustee Award recipients include Clive Davis, Phil Spector, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, Les Paul, Dick Clark, Count Basie, George & Ira Gershwin, and Sir George Martin, among others.

TRUSTEE AWARD WINNERS

An accomplished classical musician and student of the Julliard School of Music, Phil Ramone built his career as a record producer on a firm foundation of technical knowledge, spending years working as an engineer before becoming a producer. He has long been at the forefront of technological advancements, from CDs to cyber-optics, and has made more significant contributions to both the arts and sciences of recording sciences than almost any other producer in the industry. Ramone has won nine GRAMMY Awards in a variety of categories -- demonstrating his outstanding success in multiple mediums. Ramone, a former Chairman of the Recording Academy, has produced music for everything from Broadway musicals to movies, and has worked with outstanding talents such as Stan Getz, John Coltrane, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Barbra Streisand.

Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as the Recording Academy, is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural conditions for music and its makers. An organization of more than 16,000 musicians, producers and other recording professionals, the Recording Academy is internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, and is responsible for numerous groundbreaking outreach, professional development, cultural enrichment, education and human services programs.

Media Contacts:
The Recording Academy
Heather Miller, Communications Coordinator
310.392.3777

New York Heroes Award
(November 13, 2000)

The New York Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) announces the Recording Academy New York Heroes Awards to take place on Tuesday, 5 December 2000 at The Hotel Roosevelt (45th Street and Madison Avenue), 6:30 p.m.  The honorees for its 5th Annual Heroes Awards: B.B. King, Frank Military (Warner/Chappell Music Publishing), Bernadette Peters, Tito Puente, Phil Ramone and Diana Ross.  The event will be hosted by comedian Robert Klein.  Presenters include Armand Assante, Tony Bennett, Mary Tyler Moore and Bill Cosby.

Tickets for this event may be obtained through the New York Chapter office by calling (212) 245-5440.

Grammy-Winning Record Producer Phil Ramone Named LICENSEMUSIC.COM Advisory Board Member
(September 5, 2000)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- September 5, 2000 -- LicenseMusic.com announced that legendary music producer Phil Ramone has been named Advisor to LicenseMusic.com, the leading online provider of music for film, television, advertising, Internet and multimedia productions. Ramone’s mission will include promoting LicenseMusic.com to the entertainment and ‘content creation’ industries, writing guest commentaries for the site, consulting on general business matters and assisting the LicenseMusic.com executive team in regards to content acquisition and customer relationships.

Phil Ramone (http://www.philramone.com) has produced artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Paul Simon and George Michael. He is also the Chairman Emeritus of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). In his twenty-plus year career, Phil has received 8 Grammys including "Best Producer, " "Best Musical Show Album," "Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special," and "Best Score From Original Cast Show Album". Ramone is also very involved in the technology community. He served as President of N2K Encoded Music, and, is presently serving as Senior Advisor for the Lucent Technologies Internet music download initiative (NYSE: LU.)

Sarah Walpole Joe D'Ambrosio
LicenseMusic.com Phil Ramone Inc.
415-543-2470 x121 914-234-6661
sarah@licensemusic.com joed@philramone.com

Latin Grammy Awards
(7 July 2000)

The announcement of the first-ever Latin GRAMMY nominees was made this morning at a press conference in Miami which was heavily attended by Latin musicians, celebrities and the media. Phil Ramone was well-represented for his work with Fito Paez. Fito's 1999 smash CD, Abre, garnered 4 nominations for Song of the Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album. Song of the Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song is "Al Lado Del Camino" off Abre and Best Rock Album is for Abre itself.

The 1st Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will be held at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on September 13. The ceremony will boast awards in 40 key categories covering many genres and sub-genres of Latin music.

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