Legendary pop music producer Phil Ramone was a violin prodigy and Juilliard kid who got started early on the glam side of the pop music business. When Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” for JFK at Madison Square Garden in 1962, it was Phil Ramone adjusting the mike.

When Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, BB King, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Bono, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and you wouldn’t believe how many others came into the studio, it was Phil Ramone waiting to produce them.

You could argue he made the sound of American pop.

This hour, On Point: Phil Ramone.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guest:

Phil Ramone, music producer. His new book is “Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music.”