Ron Kersey

Tyrone Garfield "Ron (Have Mercy)" Kersey (April 7, 1949 – January 25, 2005) was an American keyboardist, songwriter, producer and arranger most known for writing the music to "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps.

Kersey was born in Philadelphia,PA. He attended and graduated from Edison High School where he sang in the glee club and played football. He was a lifelong football fan and loved his Philadelphia Eagles. Ron served in the United States Air Force from 1967 through 1972. While in the service he often played piano and keyboards at the local boards. There is where he gained the nickname "have mercy". It was the name the patrons would scream at him as he played because they loved his funky rhythms. Upon returning to Philadelphia, he re-acquainted himself with his longtime friend and musician Norman Harris. Norman was instrumental in Ron becoming a studio musician at Sigma Sound Studios. He later became a member of the disco band The Trammps. Ron did not like the constant travel so he decided to quit the band and concentrate on producing and writing. In 1978 he received a Grammy Award as producer for the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever which included "Disco Inferno", which he co-wrote with Leroy Green.^[1]^[2]^[3] He was also a member of MFSB and The Salsoul Orchestra. He moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and continued his career as a sought after studio musician, producer and songwriter.Kersey suffered a stroke in 1997 and died in Philadelphia in 2005.Ron is survived by a daughter Kisha, four grandchildren,eight great grandchildren, two sisters and his mother Gevoda.

In addition to co-writing "Disco Inferno", Ron produced or co-wrote songs that reached the top 20 for other artists. He produced Stephanie Mills’ "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love"^[3]^[4] which charted at number #1 for two weeks on the R&B charts. It was Mills’ first number one single and would prove to be her most successful single. Ron Kersey was also the producer for her next single "If I Were Your Woman", a cover of the Gladys Knight and the Pips hit that reached number #1 for three weeks on the R&B charts for Stephanie Mills. In addition, he co-wrote "Every Drop of Your Love" for Stacy Lattisaw that peaked at #8 on the R&B charts. He co-wrote the classic slow jam "Send for Me"^[2] with his friend Sam Dees for Atlantic Starr which peaked at #16. For Evelyn "Champaign" King, he co-wrote "Kisses Don’t Lie"^[5] with Alex Brown peaking at #17 on the R&B charts.Kersey also appears on many Philadelphia International Records as a studio musician most notably "Teddy" Teddy Pendergrass,^[2] "Unmistakably Lou" Lou Rawls^[2] and "Message in the Music" The O'Jays.

References

↑ "Disco Inferno by The Trammps Songfacts". songfacts.com.
1 2 3 4 "Ron Kersey". discogs.com.
1 2 "The Trammps". billboard.com.
↑ "Stephanie Mills". billboard.com.
↑ "Ron Kersey - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.

External links

Grammy Award for Album of the Year

1959–1979	The Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini (1959) Come Dance with Me! – Frank Sinatra (1960) The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart – Bob Newhart (1961) Judy at Carnegie Hall – Judy Garland (1962) The First Family – Vaughn Meader (1963) The Barbra Streisand Album – Barbra Streisand (1964) Getz/Gilberto – Stan Getz, João Gilberto (1965) September of My Years – Frank Sinatra (1966) A Man and His Music – Frank Sinatra (1967) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles (1968) By the Time I Get to Phoenix – Glen Campbell (1969) Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears (1970) Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (1971) Tapestry – Carole King (1972) The Concert for Bangladesh – Various (1973) Innervisions – Stevie Wonder (1974) Fulfillingness' First Finale – Stevie Wonder (1975) Still Crazy After All These Years – Paul Simon (1976) Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder (1977) Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (1978) Saturday Night Fever – Various (1979)

1980–2000	52nd Street – Billy Joel (1980) Christopher Cross – Christopher Cross (1981) Double Fantasy – John Lennon and Yoko Ono (1982) Toto IV – Toto (1983) Thriller – Michael Jackson (1984) Can't Slow Down – Lionel Richie (1985) No Jacket Required – Phil Collins (1986) Graceland – Paul Simon (1987) The Joshua Tree – U2 (1988) Faith – George Michael (1989) Nick of Time – Bonnie Raitt (1990) Back on the Block – Quincy Jones and various artists (1991) Unforgettable... with Love – Natalie Cole (1992) Unplugged – Eric Clapton (1993) The Bodyguard – Whitney Houston (1994) MTV Unplugged – Tony Bennett (1995) Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette (1996) Falling into You – Celine Dion (1997) Time Out of Mind – Bob Dylan (1998) The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill (1999) Supernatural – Santana (2000)

2001–present	Two Against Nature – Steely Dan (2001) O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack (2002) Come Away with Me – Norah Jones (2003) Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – Outkast (2004) Genius Loves Company – Ray Charles and various artists (2005) How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb – U2 (2006) Taking the Long Way – Dixie Chicks (2007) River: The Joni Letters – Herbie Hancock (2008) Raising Sand – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (2009) Fearless – Taylor Swift (2010) The Suburbs – Arcade Fire (2011) 21 – Adele (2012) Babel – Mumford & Sons (2013) Random Access Memories – Daft Punk (2014) Morning Phase – Beck (2015) 1989 – Taylor Swift (2016)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.