Second Cup Café: Steve Tyrell
Over the last forty years, Steve Tyrell has worked in just about every aspect of the music business. He's been a successful songwriter, producer, performer, composer, record company executive and music supervisor for film and television.
Tyrell's songs have been recorded by a stellar list of artists that includes Diana Ross, Ray Charles, L.L. Cool J, and Elvis Presley.
As a producer, he earned a Grammy for Rod Stewart's "Stardust...The Great American Songbook Volume III" and has worked with Aaron Neville, Linda Rondstadt, Stevie Wonder, and Dolly Parton, among others.
His work in television has earned him two Emmy nominations, and he's been a music supervisor and producer on numerous films including Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do" and Steven Spielberg's "An American Tail."
Lately, though, his main focus has been on his career as a singer and champion of the great American songbook.
Tyrell's work as a recording artist came relatively late in his career, and in a rather unusual way.
Although he spent the majority of his time behind-the-scenes in the film and music business, Tyrell took time out to appear in the 1991 Steve Martin comedy "Father of the Bride" as a wedding singer.
His performance of "The Way You Look Tonight" in the movie became such a hit with fans that it led to his recording of his own album of classic songs, 1999's "A New Standard."
The set peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Jazz albums chart, and stayed on the chart for 84 weeks. It has since topped the Billboard Jazz catalog chart for another 100-plus weeks.
He followed that up with more albums featuring songs from the great American songbook, "Standard Time," the Christmas-themed "That Time of Year," and "This Guy's In Love With You."
In 2005, Tyrell released "Songs of Sinatra," an album he made using the original Sinatra arrangements with the blessings of the legendary singer's family.
His latest album, "The Disney Standards," is a collection of songs from the studio's animated films including "When You Wish Upon A Star," "The Bare Necessities" and "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes."
The set features guest performances by Dr. John, Dave Koz, and Chris Botti.