RIP Paul Buckmaster

Another amazing musician lost yesterday. The name may not be familiar to some of you, but I guarantee you all have heard Paul Buckmaster's work. Paul was a prominent string arranger best known for his work with Elton John. At a time when string arrangements for rock records were typically background chord washes, Paul's arrangements were audacious and aggressive. He would compose counter-melodies that were usually as memorable as the song's own melody. His work was groundbreaking and were a constant presence on hit records for artists of all different genres for the last five decades. Other than Elton, his arrangements could be heard on such classics as:

"Space Oddity" (David Bowie)
"You're So Vain" (Carly Simon)
"Moonlight Mile" (The Rolling Stones)
"Terrapin" (The Grateful Dead)
"Falling Into You" (Celine Dion)
"Drops of Jupiter" (Train)

and countless other records by the likes of Heart, Stevie Nicks, Ben Folds, Tears For Fears, Miles Davis, Blood Sweat & Tears, Dwight Yokam and too many others to mention.

Very tough to pick just one example from his exceptional body of work, but this hidden gem of Elton's from the mid-90's would certainly be one of my favorites. RIP Mr. Buckmaster.

A talented arranger. Besides Bowie's "Space Oddity" the first example of his string arranging skills I think of his would be Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon".

R.I.P.

I love his arrangements for "Madman Across the Water" and pretty much everything on the Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection albums. (And dig that badass wide-brimmed velvet fedora!)

RIP

Apart from what's been mentioned I have him playing bass for the Third Ear Band on a couple of releases

Another great arrangement: Harry Nilsson's "Without You."

Rolling Stone's obit: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/paul-buckmaster-arranger-for-bowie-and-elton-john-dead-at-71-w511370

rusinurbe said:

RIP

Apart from what's been mentioned I have him playing bass for the Third Ear Band on a couple of releases

Click to expand...

OK: I can't leave this alone, partly because I've been listening to the SACDs of those early Eltons and reminding myself of just how amazingly good the songs, the arrangements, and the mixes were. (Also been listening to 11-17-70 again--what with the 47th anniversary last week and all.)

Anyway: the New York Times finally got around to publishing its obit in today's print edition, and it contained one more surprise (to me): Buckmaster did the arrangements for Dwight Yoakam's This Time. Wish somebody would do a surround mix of that one...

I didn't hear about this when it happened. Very sad.

I loved his Nilsson work and recently he did some arrangements for Ben Folds.

Paul on the left with David Bowie in 1975