Jerry Ragovoy (born 1935, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American songwriter and record producer. His best-known composition "Time Is on My Side" (written under the pseudonym of Norman Meade) was made famous by the The Rolling Stones, although it had been recorded earlier by Kai Winding and Irma Thomas. Ragovoy also wrote "Stay With Me", which was originally recorded by Lorraine Ellison and performed by Mary J. Blige at the 49th Grammy Awards. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... Time Is On My Side is a song recorded by Jazz singer Kai Winding and The Enchanters in 1963, and covered by both Soul singer Irma Thomas and Rock band The Rolling Stones in 1964. ... A pseudonym (Greek: , pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons legal name. ... “Rolling Stones” redirects here. ... “Sound recorder” redirects here. ... Kai Chresten Winding (May 18, 1922-May 6, 1983) was a popular trombonist and jazz composer. ... A soul Queen from New Orleans. ... Lorraine Ellison (17 March 1931 – 31 January 1983 [1]) was an African American female soul singer, best known for her recording of the song Stay With Me Baby in 1966. ... Mary Jane Blige (born January 11, 1971) is an American R&B, soul, and hip hop soul singer, rapper, songwriter, producer, and actress. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

His first recorded song was "This Silver Ring" by The Castelles. For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... The Castelles have been admired for years as the originators and the epitome of the “Philadelphia Sound”, which features a high tenor lead, a bass, a seemingly endless supply of tenors in strong harmony, and minimal instrumentation. ...

Another well-known song by Ragovoy is "Piece of My Heart", co-written with Bert Berns, and performed by Big Brother and the Holding Company. Ragovoy also co-wrote several songs in Janis Joplin's solo career, including "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)", "Cry Baby", "Get it While You Can" (originall by Howard Tate, covered by Janis) and "My Baby". Piece of My Heart is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. ... Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 - December 30, 1967) (a/k/a Bert Russell and Bert Berns) was one of the great American songwriters and record producers of the 1960s. ... Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the psychedelic music scene that also produced the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. ... Janis Lyn Joplin (Born January 19, 1943- October 4, 1970 was an influential singer, songwriter, and music arranger. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ... Cry-Baby is a musical from 1990 directed by John Waters. ...

To take it deeper: It is interesting that some of the seminal producers and songwriters of the soul era were not African-American, or nearly as young as the audience buying most soul records. Ragovoy was a case in point; he was a white Jew from Philadelphia, and entered record production in 1953 with "My Girl Awaits Me" by the Castelles. He worked at Philly's Chancellor Records (where Fabian and Frankie Avalon had hits) and wrote the Majors' vocal group single "A Wonderful Dream," which made number 22 in 1962. Around this time he began writing some songs with another excellent white soul songwriter-producer type, Bert Berns, including "Cry Baby" by Garnet Mimms, which made number four in 1963.

Ragovoy produced Mimms throughout the 1960s, creating a distinctive soul sound that blended churchy vocals and gospel-ish tunes with professional, classy New York studio arrangements. Ragovoy also had a hand in writing other memorable singles for Mimms, including "A Quiet Place," "Look Away," "Baby Don't You Weep," "It Was Easier to Hurt Her," "Anytime You Want Me" (covered by the Who in 1965), and "My Baby." In the mid-'60s he also wrote a song for jazz trombonist Kai Winding, "Time Is on My Side," that was covered by Irma Thomas, and then by the Rolling Stones in a more rock-oriented version that gave them their first U.S. Top Ten hit. "Time Is on My Side," and some other of his best songs, were written under the pseudonym of Norman Meade.

Ragovoy also took a production/songwriting role in the careers of two of the most esteemed East Coast soul cult performers of the late '60s, Lorraine Ellison and Howard Tate. Ellison's "Stay With Me" is a classic example of the Ragovoy style: a slow, emotionally wrenching number which could almost be a gospel song but for the symphonic orchestral production, vocalized passionately and played with a drama with faint echoes of Broadway and opera. Indeed, for "Stay With Me," a 46-piece orchestra was used, after a Frank Sinatra session was canceled at short notice and Ragovoy scrambled to come up with an arrangement that could be used while the musicians were available.

Janis Joplin in particular seemed to have a yen for Ragovoy-penned material, covering (with Big Brother & the Holding Company, or as a solo singer) "Piece of My Heart," "My Baby," "Get It While You Can," "Cry Baby," and "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (the last of which was originally recorded by Ellison). In most cases, Joplin's interpretation eventually became the best-known version. Three of these songs were on her final album, Pearl, and Joplin asked Ragovoy to compose a tune especially for her that she could record on the disc. Ragovoy has said that he did do this around the summer of 1970, but that Joplin did not have a chance to record the number -- titled, ironically, "I'm Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven" -- as she died several weeks later.

Probably comfortable from the royalties brought in by Joplin's cover versions, as well as some of his other compositions -- it was reported that producers of proposed Joplin biopic paid about one million dollars for the rights to use "Piece of My Heart" -- Ragovoy was not too active after the 1960s, although he did some production for Bonnie Raitt in the 1970s.

Regarding Howard Tate: When it comes to great soul albums of the 1960s, the music of vocalist Howard Tate and writer-arranger Jerry Ragovoy is among the very best. Today, 30 years after Tate left the music business, the pair have returned with a magnificent and acclaimed new CD, "Howard Tate Rediscovered," written, arranged and produced by Ragovoy.

Other compsitions include "Ain't Nobody Home" by both Howard Tate and Bonnie Raitt; "Cry Baby" (Garnett Mimms, then covered by Janis Joplin) "I'll Take Good Care of You" and "It's Been Such a Long Way Home" by Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters; "Heart Be Still" by Lorraine Ellison; "One Way Love" by The Drifters; "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba; "Stop" by Howard Tate; "You'd Better Believe It" by the Small Faces; "You Don't Know Nothing About Love" by Renée Geyer; "It Was Easier to Hurt Her" by Chris Farlowe; "Either Side of the Same Town" by Elvis Costello; and "What's It Gonna Be" by Dusty Springfield.[1] Howard Tate is an American soul music singer and songwriter. ... Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American Blues-R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms 16 November 1933 in Ashland, West Virginia) is an American singer influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. ... One Way Love was the second single of Agnetha Fältskogs eighth solo-album called Eyes Of A Woman. ... The Drifters are a long-lived American doo wop/R&B vocal group, originally formed by Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953. ... Miriam Makeba performing at the Cape Town Jazz Festival in 2006. ... Howard Tate is an American soul music singer and songwriter. ... This article is about the group Small Faces. ... Renée Geyer. ... Chris Farlowe is an English pop singer and one-time amateur boxer. ... Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick McManus August 25, 1954) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. ... Dusty Springfield OBE (16 April 1939–2 March 1999) was a popular English singer whose career spanned four decades. ...

Ragovoy also produced recorded work by Bonnie Raitt and Milkwood. In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Milkwood was an Anglo-Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in March 1969 by former The Influence guitarist Louis McKelvey with future Celine Dion backing singer Mary Lou Gauthier and English multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Tomlinson, who’d worked previously with future Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre in The Motivation, The...