Emil Richards

Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist.

Richards began playing the xylophone aged six.

In High School, he performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

He studied with Al Lepak at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, graduating in 1952.

After being drafted, he belonged to an Army band in Japan and played with Toshiko Akiyoshi.

He cited Lionel Hampton as his first and biggest influence on vibraphone.

In 1954, Richards moved to New York City, where he played with Charles Mingus, Ed Shaughnessy, and Ed Thigpen while doing studio recordings for Perry Como, the Ray Charles Singers, and Mitchell Ayres.

For about three years, he was a member of a group led by George Shearing, then moved to Los Angeles and worked with Don Ellis and Paul Horn.

He led his own band, the Microtonal Blues Band, and spent time with composer and inventor Harry Partch.

As a sideman, he accompanied George Harrison on tour and recorded with Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Doris Day, Judy Garland, Nelson Riddle, Steely Dan, and Sarah Vaughan.

Richards worked often as a studio musician for movies and television.

His credits include playing bongos on the theme song for the television program Mission: Impossible.

Other television work included finger snaps for the Addams Family theme, and xylophone work for the opening theme of The Simpsons.

He led a band with Joe Porcaro, and he released a solo album, The Wonderful World of Percussion.

His mallet pupils included Morten Grønvad, Stan Levey and Bo Wagner.

In 1962, Richards went on a worldwide tour with Frank Sinatra to raise money for poor children.

The tour increased Richards's fascination with ethnic percussion instruments.

During his career, he collected over 350 instruments, many of them more common in the East than the West.

Richards wanted his instruments to continue to be heard in recordings and other performances and to remain together as much as possible.

The Emil Richards Collection includes common percussion, such as xylophone and marimba and exotic, such as the angklung, bulbul tarang, chimta, flapamba, jal tarang, janggu, lujon, mbira, and pakhavaj.

In 1992, he gave sixty-five instruments to the Percussive Arts Society museum in Lawton, Oklahoma.

He was a member of the Society's Hall of Fame.

Part of the collection was sold to Los Angeles Percussion Rentals.

Many instruments were restored and are used in recordings and other performances in Los Angeles.

LAPR works with Odd Art Fabrications to custom design and fabricate instruments and hardware such as chromatically tuned wood blocks and chromatically tuned bell plate.

With The Surfmen

With Louis Bellson

With Alessi Brothers

With Frank Capp

With George Duke

With Michael Giacchino

With George Harrison

With Paul Horn

With James Newton Howard

With Quincy Jones

With Roger Kellaway

With Stan Kenton

With Julie London

With Henry Mancini

Richards died on December 13, 2019.