Phil Ramone dies aged 72

PHIL Ramone, the sound engineer and producer whose platinum touch included recordings with Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, has died at 72.

Ramone’s son, Matt Ramone, confirmed the death, saying his father was “very loving and will be missed”.Few producers had a more spectacular and diverse career. Ramone won 14 Grammy Awards.

He worked with Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Paul Mc-Cartney, Elton John and Tony Bennett.

He produced three records that went on to win Grammys for album of the year – Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years, Joel’s 52nd Street and Charles’ Genius Loves Company. He was a pioneer of digital recording who produced what is regarded as the first major commercial release on compact disc, 52nd Street, which came out on CD in 1982.

He produced music for television, film and the stage, winning a Grammy for the soundtrack to Flashdance.