Award-winning Jimmy Ryan comes to the WPAC stage

Award-winning musician, author, arranger, and composer Jimmy Ryan will be bringing a special show to the Wilson Performing Arts Center at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8.
Ryan is presenting “The Heroes Behind The Hits, Music & Tales from the Legends of Rock & Roll,” featuring conversations and musical selections from a number of well-known hits.
Ryan said he discovered an ability for playing piano by ear when he was four years old, saying he could hear songs and learn to play the melodies very quickly. He said he was later drawn to guitar playing after seeing stars like Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry play on the 50s TV shows, American Bandstand and Ed Sullivan.
“I didn’t want to just be a fan, watching them. I wanted to be them. And so, I really focused. Almost every minute I wasn’t in school I would practice guitar. I believe anybody can learn an instrument if you practice hard enough,” Ryan said. “When I was 15, I formed a high school band called The Critters, made up of guys from my class, from around town, and the next town over, and we stumbled into a record deal after backing up Jay and the Americans.”
Ryan credits Jay and the Americans lead singer John “Jay” Traynor’s girlfriend, who worked at a record company for helping them secure the audition. The band made several records that reached the top 10 in the national charts. The band ended up splitting up after members were drafted into the Vietnam War. Ryan later performed with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown before forming a long-term association with Carly Simon.
“The advantage I had playing with Carly Simon was that we were friends long before we were bandmates. I had taken a job at a guitar store, and she was my boss’s girlfriend. She hadn’t started her recording career yet. Sometimes we’d sing songs in the store after hours and we would just hang out. She ended up leaving my boss, and I left the store because I was starting to get jingle work as a studio musician. Then one day she called me and said she’d gotten a record deal and asked if I wanted to play on her first record. I of course said yes, and the rest is history,” explained Ryan.
Ryan played guitar on her first album, which contained her first hit, “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be.” He worked with Simon until around 1993 on a full time basis.
“I ended up getting a record deal with a new band I had formed, which ended my working for her regularly. We remain friends to this day, and I was going to play for an industry tribute to her career at Carnegie Hall, but COVID-19 caused the event to be cancelled three years in a row. Carnegie Hall remained closed down during that time,” said Ryan. “However, on Nov. 5 of last year, I helped induct Carly into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Since I was the guitarist and soloist on the original recording of “You’re So Vain,” I had the honor of performing it with triple Grammy Award winner Olivia Rodrigo. How amazing to be performing this song that made it into the top 100 songs of all time with a super-talented woman young enough to be my granddaughter. This, plus the two of us fronting a band comprised of the best musicians in Los Angeles. I was standing in front of 7,200 people saluting Carly Simon, with LL Cool J, Steven Tyler, Dave Grohl, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and some of the greatest recording artists in the world in the audience.”
When not working with Simon, Ryan worked as a studio musician in London, recording with Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, John Entwistle of the Who, Elton John & Kiki Dee, Tommy James, Jimmy Webb, The Doors, Andy Williams, Martha Reeves, and Rod Stewart, as well as collaborating with Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Luther Vandross, and James Taylor during recording sessions with Carly Simon. Ryan credits playing on “You’re So Vain,” as being the big front row ticket to getting called by all the other recording stars.
“Carly and Cat Stevens were close friends, so the bands hung out a fair bit while we were recording together, so it was a natural progression for Stevens to call me up and ask to play on his album, and I was happy to. I got to play with Rod Stewart, and I was later introduced to Elton John, who was producing Kiki Dee’s first album, so I got to work with them on Kiki Dee’s first hit. All of it was interconnected,” Ryan advised. “I’ve had the phenomenal luck of being in the right place at the right time. The big deal is the connections. Having someone important saying the right thing about you or introduce you to someone important is key. That’s how it’s done. You have to get to know the people you want to work with. Some people go to Nashville. I went to England.”
While recording at AIR Studios in London, Ryan said Paul McCartney helped with the backup vocal arrangements of Simon’s song “Night Owl.” Ryan said it took only seconds for McCartney to come up with perfect background vocal parts. After the song was recorded, Ryan said McCartney invited Simon and Ryan to listen to a theme song he wrote for “a little movie soundtrack” project he was working on.
“He said he’d been called to write a song for a movie and he’d never done that before, so he asked us to step over to the studio piano and listen and see if we thought it was any good. So, we stood around the piano, and he played us “Live And Let Die.” It had not yet been recorded. I was standing there asking myself if I was dreaming and if it was real. Paul McCartney was performing a song that no one else except Linda and George Martin had heard for us. He invited us back the next day, and we got to listen to the playback of a rough mix of “Live And Let Die” with the orchestra. Paul was unbelievably gracious, it was fantastic. He was a total gentleman.”
It was a culmination of all those experiences and a call from a high school friend connected to the Port Washington Library in Long Island, N.Y. that led Ryan to create “The Heroes Behind The Hits.” The library asked him to participate in their lecture series on the performing arts.
“I’d never done a lecture before, so the head of the library suggested I play some snippets of songs and talk about my career. I agreed. And then it occurred to me that most people have no idea what studio musicians do. Most people hear a song as a whole, focusing mainly on the singer, not what’s going on in the background. They don’t think about how raw songs are shaped and modified by the studio musicians, transforming them from rough ideas into hit records. With this in mind, I created a show where I analyze a bunch of well-known songs. One by one, I perform snippets of these hits the way they came into the studio,” stated Ryan.
One of the examples is a song that was made famous by The Lovin’ Spoonful, “(What a Day for a) Daydream.”
“It’s a fun song, and I play it the way John Sebastian, the writer and lead singer introduced it to the band and producer. To the band, it sounded like a mediocre folk song played sloppily in a coffee house. The producer told John he needed to come up with a better guitar part, something worthy of the band’s legacy, something that sounded like a hit. I then perform the intricate guitar part that John came up with and the song comes together - now it sounds like a hit. Another example is The Beatles’ “Day Tripper.” The famous guitar intro wasn’t part of the original song until George Harrison stepped forward and said the song needed something special to start it off, and he created that brilliant riff the world is so familiar with.”
Ryan said he performs other Beatles songs before and after they were vastly improved by band members and studio musicians, as well as songs by artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Police.
“I perform parts of the original versions of these songs, then the interim repair stages, then the final with the additions and changes added by studio musicians that helped them to became hits. Making these suggestions and changes is what we are hired to do. This is how songs that are just okay become epic hits.”
“To conclude the show, I read two funny chapters from my book, The Superstar Chronicles, Tales of Life Among Rock Royalty, that you won’t find in gossip columns, books or magazines, because they were personal interactions between me and the artist behind the scenes.” commented Ryan.
Ryan has lived in Fairfield Iowa since 2015. On Sept. 3 he was inducted into the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Association’s Hall of Fame receiving their Lifetime Achievement Award. Board member Rick Hillyard suggested he perform his show at a few venues in Iowa, including The Wilson Performing Arts Center.
“Rick gave me Val Zane’s name at the WPAC, and De Heaton at the Corning Opera House, where I will also perform the show. Rick really helped me out. When I called Val and used his name, Val said if Rick said I’m good, I’m in, and she booked me on the spot. The Corning Opera House reacted the same way. I plan on performing the show at various venues until February of next year, and if it goes well, I’ll keep doing it,” Ryan explained. He said he’s looking forward to sharing the show with the attendees at the WPAC.
“I love the expressions and emotions I see from audiences enjoying the show. People really don’t know how hit records are created until they come and witness the process, and once they do, the reaction is always, ‘Wow. Who knew?’ I perform Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” which is the last song you’d expect to hear on an acoustic guitar. I’ve gotten standing ovations, which makes me feel the show is a worthwhile addition to the entertainment world. Bringing this knowledge to people and being able to share what I’ve learned over the six decades I’ve been doing this is incredibly fulfilling. What better time than the present to give something back to young musicians and interested fans?” said Ryan.
After the show, Ryan will meet, greet and sign copies of his book, The Superstar Chronicles, Tales of Life Among Rock Royalty, which will be available for purchase. Over the two years since its release, the book has maintained an enviable five star rating on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
“It’s a series of fun stories about my interactions with these big stars. It’s not a technical manual; it’s more like a People magazine article on stories that were never in Rolling Stone. I narrate it in the first person, so it’s as if you’re literally sitting next to me on stage, in the studio, in the green rooms and on the planes and busses. I’ve written in a very positive perspective – no back-stabbing. I did my best to make it a fun read, and so far, the critics agree!” Ryan stated.
Tickets for the show are $30 for adults and $20 for students, and can be reserved by calling 623-3183, or visiting wilsonartscenter.org.