Perry produced some of the biggest and best hits on the Hot 100 in the ’70s and ’80s. Richard Perry arrives at the Gibson Through The Lens Exhibition on July 30, 2008 in West Hollywood, Calif. Mark Sullivan/WireImage We lost one of the greats this week, when producer Richard Perry died at age 82. Like such contemporary producers as Jack Antonoff, Finneas, Daniel Nigro and Greg Kurstin, Perry was almost as famous as the artists he worked with (at least among pop music obsessives). Perry never won a Grammy in competition, but he did receive a Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in 2015. (That’s the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award for non-performers.) The Grammys didn’t have a producer of the year, non-classical category yet in 1974, when Perry might very well have won it. (The category was introduced the following year.) Perry was nominated in that category in both 1977 and 1978. He was nominated in other marquee Grammy categories as well – record of the year for both Nilsson’s “Without You” and Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and album of the year for Nilsson Schmilssson. Perry had producer credits on top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 spanning more than 40 years, from novelty performer Tiny Tim’s God Bless Tiny Tim in 1968 (hey, you got to start somewhere!) to Rod Stewart’s Fly Me to the Moon… The Great American Songbook Volume V in 2010. Richard Perry’s Biggest Billboard Hits chart is based on actual performance of titles that he produced on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 (through Dec. 28, 2024). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods. “Stoney End,” Barbra Streisand Hot 100 peak: No. 6 (Jan. 23, 1971) Songwriter: Laura Nyro Notes: This was Perry’s first top 10 hit and Streisand’s first in nearly seven years, since the exquisite “People” in 1964. Streisand was just 28 when she and Perry recorded “Stoney End,” but she might as well have been 55, so removed was she from the contemporary pop scene. With this one record, she proved she could sing anything. This record opened the door to a contemporary music career that carried her all through the 1970s. “Stoney End” wasn’t nominated for a Grammy, but a subsequent Streisand single produced by Perry, “Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead,” was nominated for best pop vocal performance, female, the following year. Fun Fact: An earlier version of this song by Peggy Lipton, then one of the stars of The Mod Squad, bubbled under the Hot 100 in 1968. “I’m So Excited,” The Pointer Sisters Hot 100 peak: No. 9 (Oct. 27, 1984) Songwriters: Trevor Lawrence, Anita, June and Ruth Pointer Notes: This exhilarating song stalled at No. 30 in 1982 (if you can believe that.) A remix was released in 1984, when the group was on a roll of hits, and this time it made the top 10 (which it had deserved all along). “Oh My My,” Ringo Starr Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (April 27, 1974) Songwriters: Vini Poncia, Ringo Starr Notes: This was the third consecutive top five hit from the Ringo album – back when pulling three top five hits from one album was an extreme rarity. Martha Reeves and Merry Clayton sang backing vocals on the track. Billy Preston played keyboards, Tom Scott played sax. “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (May 19, 1984) Songwriters: Hal David, Albert Hammond Notes: This unlikely pairing resulted in a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The smash won an Academy of Country Music Award for single of the year and was nominated in that same category at the Country Music Association Awards. Fun Fact: David, who teamed with Burt Bacharach to write many pop classics, and Hammond, who had a top five hit on the Hot 100 as an artist in 1972 with “It Never Rains in Southern California,” had previously teamed to write “99 Miles From L.A.,” which Art Garfunkel included on his 1975 album Breakaway, which Perry produced. “Automatic,” The Pointer Sisters Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (April 14, 1984) Songwriters: Mark Goldenberg, Brock Walsh Notes: This won a Grammy for best vocal arrangement for two or more voices. The group arranged the track and won the award. “No No Song”/“Snookeroo,” Ringo Starr Hot 100 peak: No. 3 (April 5, 1975) Songwriters: Hoyt Axton (“No No Song”)/Elton John & Bernie Taupin (“Snookero”) Notes: Ringo’s super-catchy song about how he’s abstaining probably did more to make people twice about recreational drug use than Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign did in the early ‘80s. Hoyt Axton, who wrote “No No Song,” had written Billboard’s No. 1 song of 1971, Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World,” as well as their 1972 hit “Never Been to Spain.” Nilsson sang backing vocals on “No No Song”; Elton John played piano and sang backing vocals on “Snookeroo,” which he co-wrote. “He’s So Shy,” The Pointer Sisters Hot 100 peak: No. 3 (Oct. 25, 1980) Songwriters: Tom Snow, Cynthia Weil Notes: This song harkened back to the girl-group hits of the early ’60s. Co-writer Weil was part of that Brill Building scene thanks to her unforgettable collaborations with husband Barry Mann. This brought the Pointer Sisters their first Grammy nomination in a pop category (best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal), following previous nominations in country and R&B categories. Fun fact: Perry and Mann & Weil received their trustees awards from the Recording Academy in the same year (2015). “Mockingbird,” Carly Simon & James Taylor Hot 100 peak: No. 5 (March 23, 1974) Songwriters: Charlie Foxx, Inez Foxx Notes: This record “pops” from the first note to the last. Simon and Taylor