RIP - Eric Woolfson of Alan Parsons Project dies at 64‎

[Nut44x4]

Musician Eric Woolfson, a singer and songwriter best known as co-founder of progressive rock group Alan Parsons Project, has died. He was 64.

Woolfson died in London on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, according to his website.

A songwriter since the early 1960s, Woolfson created 10 albums with Alan Parsons, an engineer who had worked on the Beatles' Abbey Road and on the Pink Floyd album, Dark Side of the Moon.

Their low-key albums, recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, had a cult following, especially in Germany and the U.S. Their biggest selling album was 1982's Eye in the Sky.

Other albums included I Robot and Tales of Mystery and Imagination, which was based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Glasgow-born Woolfson was a lyricist and singer for the group, writing songs that became hits, such as Time, Don't Answer Me and Eye in the Sky.

Before working with Parsons, he wrote songs recorded by more than 100 artists, including Marianne Faithfull, Frank Ifield, The Tremeloes, Marmalade and Dave Berry. He also had success as a producer, most notably with Carl Douglas, who recorded the 1974 hit Kung Fu Fighting.

In the 1960s, Woolfson worked alongside two then-unknown writers, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

After he and Parsons split, while working on the album Freudiana, Lloyd Webber encouraged him to try his hand at musical theatre.

His first attempt was called Freudiana, a musical based on the life of Sigmund Freud, which premiered in 1990 in Vienna.

He had great success in Germany with the musical Gaudi, based on the life of the Spanish architect, which ran five years. Another musical, The Gambler, toured in Japan and Korea.

He also returned to Poe, whose work had long fascinated him, with a musical that premiered at Abbey Road Studios in 2003 and was playing in Berlin at the time of his death.

Woolfson is survived by his wife Hazel and two daughters.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/12/03/eric-woolfson-obit.html

[Nut44x4]

http://www.alanparsonsmusic.com/

[Nut44x4]

PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 2, 2009

Eric Woolfson, the co-founder, songwriter and manager of The Alan Parsons Project has died at his home in London. He was 64. He had been suffering with cancer for a number of years.

Alan Parsons has issued the following statement:

"I knew of Eric's illness, but bravely, he always asked that it not be made public."

"Eric was one of the most generous, musically gifted and knowledgeable people I ever met. He was also - and I mean no disrespect - the most stubborn individual to set foot on the planet - a trait which made him a great businessman."

"His songwriting talent speaks for itself. He not only wrote the majority of the songs we recorded together but after we had two or three albums under our belts he proved - contrary to my own opinions - that he had a singing voice that would be loved by millions. He never let me forget that I actually disliked Eye In The Sky when he first played it to me - arguably my most famous mistake."

"One newspaper rather cruelly, but nevertheless to Eric's amusement, referred to him as "The Songwriting Accountant" . It was also once said that in his music business dealings he managed to achieve the sale of the Eiffel tower and then having done it, sold it again."

"It is a regret to me that after 15 years of million-selling successes, that his decision to step from the shadows and into the limelight for his first real solo moment of musical glory - Freudiana - was so plagued with personal conflicts with his business partners. Ultimately and sadly, Freudiana was the last occasion we worked together. Speaking of Limelight - my favourite song of Eric's - was according to him no reflection on his own reaction to stardom or the lack of it. But anyone who knew him will surely agree that upon hearing Limelight's lyrics that there is a message about his feelings in his chosen profession."

"The hiccup that the Freudiana debacle caused, fortunately had no long-lasting effect and he continued in musical theatre with notable success, particularly in Germany, Austria and the Far East."

"I look back upon our times together making The Alan Parsons Projects very fondly. The legacy that Eric created as half of The Alan Parsons Project lived on with a lasting power few artists have ever enjoyed - and I will always be grateful for that."
http://www.alanparsonsmusic.com/

[Nut44x4]

Alan Parsons Project - Don't Answer Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALC7kt6iUHY

Alan Parsons Project-Eye In The Sky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMAGwMAXTpU

Alan Parsons Project Old And Wise (Studio Version Audio Overdub) (((Stereo))) (RIP Eric Woolfson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gehERn5QiSQ

[MuffyBee]

Rest in Peace Eric   

[Nut44x4]

This one is for 'Scandi'

Alan Parsons Project "TIME"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvwrSdMY7dQ

[MuffyBee]

This one is for 'Scandi'

Alan Parsons Project "TIME"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvwrSdMY7dQ

Beautiful, beautiful song.