Emil Richards
Member - NETunes' Integrity Committee
Member - NETunes' Talent Committee
Legendary percussionist Emil Richards serves as a Member of NETunes' Talent and Integrity Committees.
The Integrity Committee advises NETunes' Board of Directors on all aspects of NETunes philosophy, vision, direction and execution. The Talent Committee evaluates and approves all new NETunes affiliated artists, labels and releases.
Emil Richards (Emilio Radocchia) is a graduate of Julius Hart School of Music (now known as the University of Connecticut) and Hillard College. He joined the Hartford Symphony Orchestra while in 10th grade, working under Arthur Fiedler and Fritz Mahler. He has gone on to play on over 1,350 film scores and record with over 650 artists.
In 1952 and 1953, he served in Japan as assistant band lead in the First Cavalry Army Band. In 1954, he moved to New York where he played Jazz gigs with Charlie Mingus, Ed Shaunghnessy and Ed Thigpen while doing studio recordings for artists such as Perry Como, Ray Charles and Mitch Aires. In 1955, he joined the George Shearing Quintet.
In 1959 he moved to Los Angeles where he worked with the Paul Horn Quintet, Jimmy Witherspoon, the Shorty Rogers Big Band, Lennie Bruce and Lord Buckly and recorded with Frank Sinatra, Nelson Riddle, Judy Garland, Sarah Vaughan and Doris Day.
In 1962, in response to a request from President Kennedy, Emil and a small jazz combo joined Frank Sinatra on a tour around the world for the benefit of under privileged children. This group helped to found the first hospital in Israel for Jewish and Arab children.
Richards has since traveled throughout the world in pursuit of a lifelong study of native and ethnic percussion instruments and has assembled one of the world’s most extensive collections of such instruments.
Following the Sinatra world tour, Richards returned to L. A. and added the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Bing Crosby and Nat Cole to his studio resume. He also worked on film scores for Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Johnny Mandel, Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, Neal Hefti, Lalo Schifrin, Dave Grusin, Michel Legrand, Alex North and Bill Conti.
Both Richards and Don Ellis were studying Indian rhythms at this time and co-founded a group known as the Hindustani Jazz Sextet.
In 1968, he joined Stan Kenton as a member of his NeoPhonic Orchestra and remained principal percussionist for the orchestra’s entire existence.
In January of 1974, Frank Sinatra came out of retirement and asked Emil to join him in a small group augmented by Count Basie and his orchestra. Later that year, Emil joined George Harrison and Ravi Shankar for an extended concert tour of north America and later recorded with George Harrison in England. In 1977, he became a member of Frank Zappa’s Electric Symphony and recorded several albums including Zappa’s first, Lumpy Gravy. In 1979, Richards became a founding member of The New American Orchestra.
In 1980’s, Richards concentrated on sound track recording becoming Hollywood’s most sought after percussionist and playing for some of his childhood heroes including Bernard Herman, Dave Rakson, Alex North, Max Steiner, Lionel Newman, Hugo Friedhoffer, Walter Scharf and Ernest Gold.
In 1993 and 94, Emil donated his entire library of percussion books along with a substantial number of his instrument collection to the Percussive Arts Society’s Percussion Museum in Lawton, Oklahoma. He still possesses over 650 different percussion instruments in his current personal collection. During the 1994-95 season, Richards performed with the Glendale Symphony Orchestra under conductor Lalo Schifrin.
Emil Richards is a six-time winner of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Most Valuable Player Award and a recipient of the NARAS Emeritus Award. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame and a member of the Board of Directors of the Percussive Arts Society and the Mister Holland’s Opus Foundation. Currently, he serves also as head of the Percussion Department at The Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, California.
