Producer Richard Perry’s 20 Biggest Billboard Hits

Hot 100 peak: No. 6 (Jan. 23, 1971)

Songwriter: Laura Nyro

Notes: This was Perry’s first top 10 hit and Streisand’s first in nearly seven years, since the exquisite “People” in 1964. Streisand was just 28 when she and Perry recorded “Stoney End,” but she might as well have been 55, so removed was she from the contemporary pop scene. With this one record, she proved she could sing anything. This record opened the door to a contemporary music career that carried her all through the 1970s. “Stoney End” wasn’t nominated for a Grammy, but a subsequent Streisand single produced by Perry, “Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead,” was nominated for best pop vocal performance, female, the following year.

Fun Fact: An earlier version of this song by Peggy Lipton, then one of the stars of The Mod Squad, bubbled under the Hot 100 in 1968.

Hot 100 peak: No. 9 (Oct. 27, 1984)

Songwriters: Trevor Lawrence, Anita, June and Ruth Pointer

Notes: This exhilarating song stalled at No. 30 in 1982 (if you can believe that.) A remix was released in 1984, when the group was on a roll of hits, and this time it made the top 10 (which it had deserved all along).

Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (April 27, 1974)

Songwriters: Vini Poncia, Ringo Starr

Notes: This was the third consecutive top five hit from the Ringo album – back when pulling three top five hits from one album was an extreme rarity. Martha Reeves and Merry Clayton sang backing vocals on the track. Billy Preston played keyboards, Tom Scott played sax.

Hot 100 peak: No.  5 (May 19, 1984)

Songwriters: Hal David, Albert Hammond

Notes: This unlikely pairing resulted in a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The smash won an Academy of Country Music Award for single of the year and was nominated in that same category at the Country Music Association Awards.

Fun Fact: David, who teamed with Burt Bacharach to write many pop classics, and Hammond, who had a top five hit on the Hot 100 as an artist in 1972 with “It Never Rains in Southern California,” had previously teamed to write “99 Miles From L.A.,” which Art Garfunkel included on his 1975 album Breakaway, which Perry produced.

Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (April 14, 1984)

Songwriters: Mark Goldenberg, Brock Walsh

Notes: This won a Grammy for best vocal arrangement for two or more voices. The group arranged the track and won the award.

 Hot 100 peak: No. 3 (April 5, 1975)

Songwriters: Hoyt Axton (“No No Song”)/Elton John & Bernie Taupin (“Snookero”)

Notes: Ringo’s super-catchy song about how he’s abstaining probably did more to make people twice about recreational drug use than Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign did in the early ‘80s. Hoyt Axton, who wrote “No No Song,” had written Billboard’s No. 1 song of 1971, Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World,” as well as their 1972 hit “Never Been to Spain.” Nilsson sang backing vocals on “No No Song”; Elton John played piano and sang backing vocals on “Snookeroo,” which he co-wrote.

Hot 100 peak: No. 3 (Oct. 25, 1980)

Songwriters: Tom Snow, Cynthia Weil

Notes: This song harkened back to the girl-group hits of the early ’60s. Co-writer Weil was part of that Brill Building scene thanks to her unforgettable collaborations with husband Barry Mann. This brought the Pointer Sisters their first Grammy nomination in a pop category (best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal), following previous nominations in country and R&B categories.

Fun fact: Perry and Mann & Weil received their trustees awards from the Recording Academy in the same year (2015).

Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (March 23, 1974)

Songwriters: Charlie Foxx, Inez Foxx

Notes: This record “pops” from the first note to the last. Simon and Taylor were pop music’s “It Couple” in 1974 and Perry was one of the hottest producers in pop, having just been so declared by Rolling Stone in January 1974. This song was first a top 10 hit in 1963 for Inez Foxx with her brother Charlie.

Hot 100 peak: No.  6 (Feb. 16, 1985)

Songwriters: Danny Sembello, Allee Willis

Notes: This song was featured on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, which topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in June 1985. This was the Pointers’ last top 10 hit.

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Hot 100 peak: No. 3 (July 7, 1984)

Songwriters: Steve Mitchell, Marti Sharron, Gary Skardina

Notes: The competition on the Hot 100 was fierce when this record peaked at No. 3 in July 1984. How fierce? The top two hits were Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” (Yep, that’s fierce.) The “For My Love” subtitle was added after Van Halen’s “Jump” became a five-week Hot 100 leader earlier in 1984. “Jump (For My Love)” brought the Pointers a Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal. The scene in Love Actually of Hugh Grant getting caught up in this song’s irresistible beat is charming and relatable.

Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (1 week) (May 14, 1977)

Songwriters: Albert Hammond, Carole Bayer Sager

Notes: This was Sayer’s second single in a row to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. It marked the second time that Perry had produced back-to-back No. 1 hits for an artist, following his volley of hits with Ringo Starr in 1973-74. This brought Sayer a Grammy nod for best pop vocal performance, male. The song’s co-writers Hammond and Sager co-wrote multiple songs on this list. Hammond was the first to record “When I Need You” on his 1976 album of that name.

Hot 100 peak: No.  2 (Feb. 24, 1979)

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Notes: The Pointer Sisters had had a few hits in the mid-’70s, but few were all that impressed when Perry announced them as the first signing to his custom label, Planet Records. But Perry saw the trio’s as-yet unrealized potential. This was the first of seven top 10 hits Perry would produce for the sisters over the course of the next six years. (For the record, songwriter Springsteen had already had a top 10 hit on the Hot 100. He wrote “Blinded by the Light,” which was a No. 1 for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in February 1977.)

Fun Fact: “Fire” was kept out of the top spot on the Hot 100 by Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” But apparently there were no grudges. Perry went on to co-produce four of the five albums in Stewart’s The Great American Songbook series. All five volumes went top five on the Billboard 200 and received Grammy nods for best traditional pop vocal album.

Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (1 week) (Nov. 24, 1973)

Songwriters: George Harrison, Ringo Starr

Notes: With this song, Ringo became the third member of the Beatles to land a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 on his own. George Harrison became the first in December 1970, followed by Paul McCartney in August 1971. (John Lennon followed suit in November 1974). Harrison sang harmony vocal and played a 12-string guitar on this track, which he co-wrote.

Hot 100 peak: No. 2 (Oct. 22, 1977)

Songwriters: Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager

Notes: This sly, sexy smash was kept out of the No. 1 spot by Debby Boone’s megahit “You Light Up My Life,” the longest-running No. 1 of the 1970s. “Nobody Does It Better” received Grammy nods for song of the year and best pop vocal performance, female. (It was Simon’s fourth of six nominations in the latter category, a category in which she never won, unfortunately.) “Nobody Does It Better,” which was written for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, also received an Oscar nod for best original song. Aretha Franklin sang the song on the Oscar telecast.

Hot 100 peak: No.  3 (April 27, 1985)

Songwriters:  Diane Warren

Notes: This was the family group’s biggest Hot 100 hit, and the first top five hit written by Diane Warren, who went on to become one of the most prolific and successful songwriters in pop history. The twinkly smash was featured in the Berry Gordy movie The Last Dragon, which starred Vanity. So, this song had one of top label chiefs, one of the top record producers and (soon to be) one of the top songwriters of all time behind hit. No wonder it was a hit!

Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (1 week) (Jan. 26, 1974)

Songwriters: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman

Notes: When this song went to No. 1, Ringo became not just the first, but the only, ex-Beatle to top the Hot 100 with back-to-back single releases. Nilsson sang backing vocals on the track. Paul McCartney played kazoo. Ringo was 33 when this song was a hit, yet few called him out for recording an age-inappropriate song. It was a more innocent, less hyper-critical time, and everyone knew that Ringo was just singing a favorite song from his youth. “You’re Sixteen” was a top 10 hit for Johnny Burnette in December 1960. The Sherman Brothers went on to become Disney legends, writing the music for Mary Poppins, “It’s a Small World” and much more.

Hot 100 peak: No.  2 (Aug. 29, 1981)

Songwriters: John Bettis, Michael Clark

Notes: This brought the Pointers another Grammy nod for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.“Slow Hand” was kept out of the top spot on the Hot 100 by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie’s megahit “Endless Love.” Perry had produced Ross’ acclaimed 1977 album Baby It’s Me. “Slow Hand” turned out to be a true multi-format smash. In 1982, a cover version by Conway Twitty reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (1 week) (Jan. 15, 1977)

Songwriters: Vini Poncia, Leo Sayer

Notes: This was Sayer’s first No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. It went on to win a Grammy for best rhythm & blues song, which it wasn’t. It was a pop/disco song. All of the other nominees in the category had a better claim to being R&B songs – the Commodores’ hits “Brick House” and “Easy,” The Emotions’ “Best of My Love” and Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” (You can’t blame the song for being miscategorized.) “You Make Me Feel Ike Dancing” was memorably featured in the 1978 film An Unmarried Woman, starring Jill Clayburgh.

Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (4 weeks) (Feb. 19, 1972)

Songwriters: Tom Evans, Pete Ham

Notes: This immaculate power ballad was Nilsson’s first and only No. 1 hit. It logged four weeks at No. 1, longer than any other Perry production, but Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” logged more weeks in the top 10 (11 vs. nine). Nilsson’s recording won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance, male. It was also nominated for record of the year, while the album it was from, Nilsson Schmilsson, was nominated for album of the year. Mariah Carey’s cover version of “Without You” reached No. 3 in 1994.

Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (3 weeks) (Jan. 6, 1973)

Songwriter: Carly Simon

Notes: This was Simon’s first and only No. 1 hit, and one of the best pop singles of its time. The ferocious take-down of an unworthy lover paved the way for such hits as Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good” and Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” This received Grammy nods for both record and song of the year, as well as best pop vocal performance, female. Mick Jagger sang backing vocals. Janet Jackson later sampled “You’re So Vain” in her 2001 hit “Song of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You,” on which Simon had a featured credit.