John Purdell
John Purdell (July 8, 1959 – July 10, 2003) was a musician and one of rock music's top record producers who is credited on such albums as Ozzy Osbourne's No More Tears (1991) and Dream Theater's Awake (1994). He was born in San Diego and raised in Los Angeles. His father John Purdell (senior) (British) and mother Arrie Purdell (American) were both captains in the Salvation Army. He graduated from Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, California in 1977.
Aside from being the producer of a number of acclaimed albums from such artists as Ozzy Osbourne, Abandon Shame, Poison, L.A. Guns, Dream Theater, Kix, Alice Cooper, Cinderella, Tangier, Heart, Ted Nugent and Demolition Pit, he toured with Quiet Riot, the Lou Gramm Band and Foreigner as keyboardist. Purdell, who was splitting his time between the studio and the road at the time of his death, produced Ozzy Osbourne's best-selling album No More Tears (1991), where John co-wrote the title song, and he also penned the lyrics to three songs on Osbourne's album Ozzmosis (1995).
In 1997, Purdell founded the production company Three Wishes Inc with broadcasting executive Bill Flowers and Korean superstar Honey. The three worked with and produced some of rocks top artist. Purdell and Flowers also formed the independent record label Jackal in Los Angeles along with famed Capitol Records executive Frenchy Gautier, who was responsible for artists like David Bowie and Jimmy McKeever, a mastering engineer at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studio in Hollywood. McKeever mastered for Michael Jackson. The first release on the Jackyl label was John Purdell's Hindsight. The first song released on Purdell's album was "Better Way to Die", which made it to the top of the adult contemporary charts.
Discography
- Hindsight (1998)
Credits
(partial list)
- Quiet Riot, QR III (1986) - co-producer, keyboards
- Ozzy Osbourne, No More Tears (1991) - co-producer, co-wrote title track
- Foreigner, The Very Best ... and Beyond - co-producer, keyboards and background vocals
- Heart, Desire Walks On (1993) - co-producer, keyboards and background vocals
- Alice Cooper, The Last Temptation (1994) - keyboards on three songs
- Cinderella, Still Climbing (1994) - co-producer
- Dream Theater, Awake (1994) - co-producer, backing vocals on "The Silent Man"
- Ozzy Osbourne, Ozzmosis (1995) - co-wrote "Perry Mason", "Old L.A. Tonight" and "Tomorrow"
Death
Purdell died from cancer on July 10, 2003 while on tour with Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm while in Quebec City, Canada.
External links
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