Richard Tee

Richard Tee
Tee in 1990
Background information
Birth name Richard Ten Ryk
Born (1943-11-24)November 24, 1943
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died July 21, 1993(1993-07-21) (aged 49)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Genres R&B, jazz, funk, rock, pop, soul
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments Keyboards, vocals
Years active 1967–1993
Labels Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts Paul Simon, Hank Crawford, George Benson, Grover Washington Jr., Cornell Dupree, Stuff, Steve Gadd, Jackie DeShannon, Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, Bob Marley, Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Peter Gabriel, Aretha Franklin, Wilbert Longmire, Mariah Carey, Tom Scott, George Harrison

Richard Tee (November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as In Your Eyes, Slip Slidin' Away, Just the Two of Us, Tell Her About It, and many others.

Biography

Tee was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he spent most of his life and lived with his mother in a brownstone apartment building.

Tee graduated from The High School of Music & Art in New York City and attended the Manhattan School of Music.[1] Though better known as a studio and session musician,[2] Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the band Stuff. In 1981 he played the piano and Fender Rhodes for Simon and Garfunkel's Concert In Central Park.

Tee played with a diverse range of artists during his career, such as Paul Simon, Carly Simon, The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Diane Schuur, Donny Hathaway, Peter Allen, George Harrison, Diana Ross, Duane Allman, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, Art Garfunkel, Nina Simone, Juice Newton, Billy Joel, Etta James, Grover Washington Jr., Eric Clapton, Kenny Loggins, Patti Austin, David Ruffin, Lou Rawls, Ron Carter, Peter Gabriel, George Benson, Joe Cocker, Chuck Mangione, Tim Finn, Peabo Bryson, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow, Doc Severinsen, Leo Sayer, Herbie Mann and countless others. He also contributed to numerous gold and platinum albums during his long career and joined the band Stuff led by bassist Gordon Edwards. Other members of the band included guitarist Cornell Dupree, drummer Chris Parker and later adding guitarist Eric Gale and drummer Steve Gadd to the line up.[3]

After a 16-year relationship with Eleana Steinberg Tee of Greenwich, Connecticut, the couple was married in Woodstock, New York, by New York State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Wright. The couple moved to the Chelsea Hotel in 1988, and later to Cold Spring, New York.[1]

Tee died of prostate cancer on July 21, 1993 in Cold Spring, New York at the age of 49.[1] He is buried in the Artist Cemetery in Woodstock, New York.

Equipment

Tee used a diverse range of keyboards during his recording and touring career, notably the Hammond organ, piano, Hohner clavinet and synthesizers. His trademark sound, however, was his unique method of playing a Fender Rhodes electric piano and feeding the signal through a phase shifter.

Discography

Solo albums

  • Strokin' (Columbia/Tappan Zee 1979)
  • Natural Ingredients (Columbia/Tappan Zee 1980)
  • The Best of Richard Tee (Columbia/Tappan Zee 1981)
  • Contemporary Piano (DCI 1982)
  • The Bottom Line (King Records 1985)
  • Inside You (Columbia 1989)
  • Real Time (One Voice 1992)
  • The Right Stuff (Blues Interactions 1993)

with Hank Crawford

with George Benson

with Grover Washington, Jr.

  • Inner City Blues (1971)
  • All the King's Horses (1972)
  • Soul Box - Vol. 2 (1973)
  • Feels So Good (1975)
  • Winelight (1980)
  • Skylarkin' (1980)
  • Come Morning (1981)
  • The Best Is Yet to Come (1982)
  • In Concert (1982)
  • Inside Moves (1984)

with Cornell Dupree

  • Teasin' (1974)
  • Coast to Coast (1988)
  • Can't Get Through (1991)
  • Child's Play (1992)
  • Uncle Funky (1992)

with Stuff

  • Stuff (1976)
  • More Stuff (1977)
  • Stuff It (1978)
  • Live Stuff (1978)
  • Live In New York (1980)
  • East (1981)
  • Best Stuff (1981)
  • Stuff Live In Montreux (2008) DVD/CD
  • Right Stuff (1996) collection

with Steve Gadd / The Gadd Gang

  • Gadd About (1984)
  • The Gadd Gang (1986)
  • Here & Now (1988)
  • Live at the Bottom Line (1988)
  • Gadd Gang (1991)

with other artists

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Richard Tee, 49, Dies; Composer and Pianist". The New York Times. 26 July 1993.
  2. ↑ Wynn, Ron. "Richard Tee Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Richard Tee Profile". Soulwalking. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
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