Phil Ramone

Phil Ramone, who has died aged 72, was a Grammy Award-winning engineer, arranger and producer with a stunning list of star names on his CV: Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tony Bennett, Madonna, Lou Reed, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Pavarotti. Even presidents and monarchs turned to him – it was Ramone who arranged the famous party at Madison Square Garden at which Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday to John F Kennedy; he was also executive producer of the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace in 2002.

He was born in South Africa and had learned violin by the time he was three years old. After winning a scholarship, he trained at the Juilliard School in New York. His first job in the music industry was as an assistant engineer at the New York studio JAC but before he was 20, he had opened his own recording studio, A&R Recording, where he served as engineer for such artists as Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. He had known Quincy Jones since he was a teenager and in his twenties became close to Barbra Streisand. By the end of the 1960s, he had worked on Midnight Cowboy and other movie soundtracks and would credit composer John Barry with helping him become a producer.

He moved to producing in the 1970s and few in the recording industry enjoyed a more spectacular and diverse career. He won 14 competitive Grammy Awards and one for lifetime achievement and his credits make it hard to believe they belong to just one person: Joel's The Stranger, Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon, and concert albums by Dylan and the Rolling Stones. He produced three records that went on to win Grammys for album of the year — Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years, Joel's 52nd Street and Charles's Genius Loves Company.

Joel says that much of his music was shaped by Ramone, whom he called the most talented guy in his band, but Ramone much preferred a kind of professional invisibility. "You have to put your ego where it belongs," he once said. "If you think you have a style and you perpetuate that on to people, you're hurting the essence of their creativity."

One of Ramone's other great achievements was in the realm of digital technology – he produced what is regarded as the first major commercial release on compact disc, 52nd Street, which came out on CD in 1982. He was also part of political history, advising presidential administrations on how to properly record a news conference as well as JFK's 1962 birthday party.

He thrived whether producing music for the stereo, television, film or the stage. He won an Emmy for a TV special about Duke Ellington, a Grammy for the soundtrack to the Broadway musical Promises, Promises and a Grammy for the soundtrack to Flashdance. He also made an art out of the duets concept, pairing Sinatra with Bono, Luther Vandross and other younger artists, Bennett with McCartney and Barbra Streisand, and Charles with Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison.

In Ramone's memoir, Making Records, he recalled persuading a hesitant Sinatra to re-record some of his signature songs. "I reminded Frank that while Laurence Olivier had performed Shakespeare in his twenties, the readings he did when he was in his sixties gave them new meaning," Ramone wrote. "I spoke with conviction. 'Don't my children — and your grandchildren — deserve to hear the way you're interpreting your classic songs now?'"

He compared the role of the music producer to that of the film director. "But, unlike a director who is visible, and often a celebrity in his own right," he said, "the record producer toils in anonymity. We ply our craft deep into the night, behind locked doors."

Ramone's many industry honours were returned in kind. He was chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and produced Grammy tributes for James Taylor, Brian Wilson and other artists. He was an advocate for musical education and a trustee for the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress.

His recent recordings included albums with Bennett, Simon, George Michael and Dionne Warwick. "I still make records on the basis that three or four players and a singer, and the song, come together right there," he said recently. "It's a really strong way to work. I'm ready to work, musicians are ready to play. There's a feeling."

Ramone is survived by his wife and three sons.