Rick Price (Australian singer and songwriter)

Rick Allan Price (born 6 July 1961) is an Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer and executive founding his own label "Clarice Records". His debut album, Heaven Knows, was released in July 1992, and peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It provided two top ten singles, "Not a Day Goes By" and the title track. At the APRA Music Awards of 1992 "Heaven Knows" won Song of the Year for Price and his co-writer, Heather Field. His second album in 1995 Tamborine Mountain contained the single "River of Love", which peaked at No. 18. Since 2009 he has been a resident of Nashville, Tennessee. Price has worked with numerous artists as a vocalist, songwriter and record producer, including Tina Arena, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, Richie Sambora, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Tommy Emmanuel, Rod Stewart, Sting, Mitch Grainger, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, John Mellencamp, Jon Bon Jovi and numerous others and recorded a duet album California Dreaming with Jack Jones. As a music producer, he has worked for Girlfriend and Dami Im. Roderick Allan Price was born on 6 July 1961 in Beaudesert, a small country town 69 kilometres (43 mi) south of Brisbane to Allan and Clarice Price. At the age of nine he appeared touring with his family band, "Union Beau", performing at local bush dances in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Price has cited Stevie Wonder, James Taylor and Carole King as his inspirations. At the age of 18, Price moved to Sydney, where he worked as a session and touring musician, playing bass guitar with various inner city outfits. In September 1983 he was recorded on David Fennell's album Harbour Crossing, where he provided bass guitar and backing vocals. During the mid-1980s Price turned more towards his singing. His distinctive vocals were soon in demand – he was a backing vocalist for Marcia Hines, Jon English, Dragon, Kerrie Biddell and Jade Hurley. He joined the Tommy Emmanuel Band during 1988. In 1988, he sang "Celebration of a Nation", with Keren Minshull (later a member of band Euphoria), the theme song for the Australian Bicentenary. Price later opined "That song made me realise I wanted a recording career of my own. I knew I needed a deal but it was also clear to me that before I did that, I had to write songs I was happy with." He also provided vocals on ""You're Not Alone" released in April 1988 by the Australian Olympians – an ensemble of various local artists – as a theme song for the national Summer Olympics campaign. It reached the top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart. These opportunities helped lay the foundation for his solo career. Price began writing his own material in the late 1980s. He was recorded on the single, "Living Without Your Love", in 1990, which was written by Mike Perjanik. It was performed on TV teen soap opera, Home and Away, by a fictitious group, Image, with Price providing lead vocals. In 1991, Price signed a deal with Columbia Records and he travelled to Los Angeles to work with producer, Chris Lord-Alge (Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Roxette). He issued his debut solo single, "Not a Day Goes By", in February 1992. It was co-written by Price with Pamela Reswick and Steve Werfel. The track was placed on high rotation on radio with the associated music video presented on national TV. It peaked at No. 5 and spent 13 weeks in the Top 40. In June 1992, his second single, "Heaven Knows", was released. Price co-wrote that track with Heather Field. It reached No. 6. The song helped launch his international career. In May of that year, he joined the Wizard of Oz showcase in Los Angeles, where he performed alongside Tina Arena and other Australian artists. In July, Price released his debut album, Heaven Knows, entered the ARIA Albums Chart at No. 3 and stayed in the Top 40 chart for nine weeks – it returned to the Top 40 in May of the following year. Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described the album as "a well-crafted blend of radio-friendly Adult Oriented Rock (AOR), pop and soul material" where Price had used "hot US session players who had collectively worked with everyone from Michael Jackson and Madonna to Steve Winwood and Barbra Streisand." It had also been produced by Lord-Alge. Price explained to Nicole Leedham of The Canberra Times, "I could have made the album earlier but I didn't want to go ahead and sign the wrong deal, that can really destroy an artist's career. I also wanted to make sure that I was absolutely happy with every single track on the record." To promote the album, he formed the Rick Price Band with P. J. Becker on backing vocals, Mike Caen on guitar, Mitch Farmer on drums, Shauna Jensen on backing vocals, Peter Northcote on guitar and Victor Rounds on bass guitar. In August, Heaven Knows was released in Europe and Asia, it reached the top 100 on the German Albums Chart in the following February. In September Price embarked on his first solo tour of Australia. He followed with a promotional trip to Europe including the United Kingdom. In October, he returned to Europe for further TV appearances and then a three-week promotional trip to Southeast Asia. By the end of the year, his group's line-up was P.J. Becker, Chris Becker on bass guitar, Phil Gildea on guitar, Robert Parde on keyboards and David Porter on drums. In November 1992, Price returned to Australia where he, and his co-writer Field, won the Song of the Year category for "Heaven Knows" at the APRA Music Awards. In December 1992 Price was invited to Germany to perform on a variety show. He then made a 36-hour stopover in Manila where he made six TV appearances, two radio interviews and a handful of press. "Heaven Knows" held the top spot in Malaysia for four consecutive weeks while "Not a Day Goes By" sat just behind it in the Top 5. In the Philippines, "Heaven Knows" sat at number 1 for all of November and December. During this time, the album sold over 250,000 units alone in Southeast Asia. Price went on to say, "It was an exhausting experience, but it was stimulating at the same time. It was all new to me, going to places I'd never been and doing stuff I'd never done, so I certainly didn't get tired of it." In January and February 1993, Price once again toured Australia to sold-out venues. In April, he was nominated for 3 ARIA Awards and on the night performed a tribute to Peter Allen with "Tenterfield Saddler". Later in May, he was asked to perform the song on Good Morning America who were in Australia for two weeks. The performance was aired to five million people. Later that month, Heaven Knows was re-released and included the bonus CD Rarities. Price spent a fortnight travelling the country and promoting the re-release performing in acoustic mode. In July 1993, Heaven Knows was released in America and Canada. Back home, Price continued his touring, this time in the Northern Territory and northern Queensland area, which he had not previously performed in. The tour was extremely successful, with all shows being theatres and all sold out.[citation needed] In October 1993, Price performed more concerts in Southeast Asia, which incorporated seven shows in nine days. They were all sell-outs. The Sentosa Music Festival in Singapore saw him perform in front of 15,000 people. Before returning to Australia, Price visited Korea for short promotional and concert tour.[citation needed] Price once again joined the Wizard of Oz showcases in Japan, where the album was launched. Whilst in Japan, he won Song of the Year for "Walk Away Renee" and Album of the Year for Heaven Knows at the Australian Music Awards. On his return from Japan, Price was awarded the 1993 Australian Export Award for recognition of his international success. During the month, a new single "Where Is the Love", a duet with New Zealand musician Margaret Urlich, was released. In December 1993, Price was invited to the Singapore Music Awards as a special guest. He picked up Song of the Year for "Heaven Knows", then came back home to