Draft: Lori Ruso (Lori M. Ruso), is a singer and songwriter from the greater Los Angeles, California area. Ruso is known for her 1990 album, Show Off, with two songs landing in the Top 20 on Adult Contemporary charts, leading the warm up band for Michael Damian's "Rock On" tour, and was the voice of the opening theme-song, "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" for the 1989, Halloween-classic film, Teen Witch.
| Lori Ruso | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lori Ruso |
| Born | Santa Cruz, California |
| Origin | Arizona |
| Genres | Dance/Club, Adult contemporary |
| Occupation(s) | Singer/songwriter, special needs teacher |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Cypress/A&M Records |
| Associated acts | Michael Damian, Michael Parnell |
Contents
Early life
Ruso was born in Santa Cruz, California, and grew up in California and Arizona, attending High school in Culver City, California, her interest in writing music began as a child, evaluating situations which arose in her life and responding in lyric, this interest evolved from singing for church functions to paid wedding performances. Working her way through her Bachelor of Science in Social Cultural Anthropology, at Santa Clara University Ruso was finding work as a backup singer for contemporary artists and doing advertising jingles. Upon graduation, also worked as a teacher in Los Angeles and has completed post-graduate coursework in Elementary and Secondary Education, at UCLA, and collegiate level voice coursework in Vienna, Austria.
Career
Grammy Award winning mixer, Tom Weir and producer Wikipedia:Larry Weir encountered Ruso's singing at a church performance. Ruso's musical influences are, Karen Carpenter, Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand. Streisand's influence has prevalence in Ruso's work, but there is also a note-hitting precision found in Ruso's a cappella offerings that suggests she also studies Celine Dion. The Weir brothers approached Ruso and included her in their production of the film Teen Witch (1989) where Ruso opens the film with "Never Gonna Be the Same Again".
- Rock On tour with Wikipedia:Michael Damian
- "Teen Witch"
- "Dream a Little Dream"
- "The Young and the Restless"
- Stories from My Childhood (also known as Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood), 1997
Discography
- Something About You (1989) (Spain)
- Show Off Cypress/A&M Records (1990)
- Single "Show Off" from the album Show Off
- I Believe in Love Again Cypress/A&M Records (1993)
- Single, "Rolling Ocean" from the album, Power of One - The Songs of Johnny Clegg (May 18, 2008)
- Single, "Deep" from the album ????? produced by Charbel Khayo (2012)
Show Off
Ruso's debut album Show Off (1990), [1] was first released in Spain as Something About You (1989) under the Vemsa records on vinyl.[2] A 12" EP single, Show Off was also released in 1990.[3]
Show Off
- Released: March 27, 1990
- Format: "LP/Cassete/CD"
- Label: Cypress/A&M Records
- Producer: Larry Weir, Tom Weir
- Singles: "Show Off" (A/C Top 20s -- "I'm Gonna Be", "Never Look Back")
| Show Off (LP Album) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Something About You" | L. Ruso | 4:10 |
| 2. | "Show Off" | 3:29 | |
| 3. | "I'm Gonna Be" | L. Ruso/Michael Parnell | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Good Lovin'" | 3:02 | |
| 5. | "Can't Take My Heart" | L. Ruso/Tom Weir | 4:13 |
| 6. | "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" (theme song for the film Teen Witch) | C. Valentine, L. Weir | 3:56 |
| 7. | "Never Look Back" (duet w Michael Damian]) | 4:15 | |
| 8. | "I Wanna Dance" | L. Ruso | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Hold on to Me" | L. Ruso | 4:17 |
| 10. | "Rebel" | L. Ruso | 3:49 |
| Total length: | 39:17 | ||
| Show Off (EP Single) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Show Off" ((Dance Mix)) | 5:04 |
| 2. | "Show Off" ((Single Version)) | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Show Off" ((Power Mix)) | 4:12 |
| Total length: | 12:45 | |
Personnel
- Performance[4]
- Dennis Belfield - bass
- Wikipedia:John Campbell - keyboards
- [Wikipedia:[Michael Damian]] - vocals
- Wikipedia:Richard Elliot - saxophone
- Wikipedia:Tim Landers - bass
- Michael Parnell - keyboards
- Wikipedia:Tim Pierce - guitar
- Lori Ruso - primary artist, vocals (background)
- Johnnie Walker - vocals (background)
- Wikipedia:Larry Weir - keyboards, producer
- Tom Weir - drums, vocals (Background)
- Kevin Wyatt - keyboards
- Wikipedia:Michael Wycoff - vocals (background)
Reception
- Billboard Magazine selected "I'm Gonna Be", which was written by Michael Parnell and Lori Ruso, as a Critic's Choice, "Ruso's sparkling delivery on this mid-tempo, inspirational number is beautifully enhanced by an exquisite saxophone arrangement."
- "A thoroughly entertaining set mixing energetic dance-pop numbers with ponderous adult contemporary ballads, Show Off stands out for two reasons: one, Lori Ruso's simultaneously rockin' and gorgeous vocals; two, solid arrangements that don't strictly adhere to normal protocol of late-'80s/early-'90s Top 40 material. True, the melodies have "1989" written all through them -- in fact, many seem like they would fit perfectly into silver screen flicks of the time. But Ruso has a classically tinted belting style that gives each tune a distinctive stamp, and she is consistently in tandem with the equally vibrant backing musicians."
I Believe in Love Again
Ruso's sophmore album in 1993 [6][7]
I Believe in Love Again
- Released: April 16, 1995 Allmusic
- Format: "Cassete/CD"
- Label: Major Records(MJR-39372) Major Musik (1995)
- Producer: Larry Weir, Tom Weir
- Singles: "Rolling Ocean"
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Great Heart" | Johnny Clegg | 4:44 |
| 2. | "I Believe in Love Again" | L. Ruso | 4:14 |
| 3. | "Rolling Ocean" | Johnny Clegg | 4:01 |
| 4. | "I'm Gonna Be" | Michael Parnell / Lori Ruso | 3:57 |
| 5. | "I'll Always Stay" | Lori Ruso | 4:31 |
| 6. | "Dela" | Johnny Clegg | 4:29 |
| 7. | "At Last" | Lori Ruso | 4:13 |
| 8. | "Fight for Love" | Lori Ruso | 4:01 |
| 9. | "Dreaming" | Lori Ruso | 4:14 |
| 10. | "Only Through a Storm" | Lori Ruso | 4:04 |
| 11. | "He Loves Me" | Lori Ruso | 4:46 |
| 12. | "Christmas in My Heart" | Lori Ruso | 4:16 |
| Total length: | 51:30 | ||
Personnel
- Performance[7]
- Dennis Belfield - bass
- John Campbell - keyboards
- Luis Conti - percussion
- Wikipedia:Richard Elliot - saxophone
- Dennis Farias - trumpet
- Denny Fongheiser - drums
- Keith Jones - bass
- Nick Lane - trombone
- Steve Madaio - trumpet
- Chris Mostert - saxophone
- Wikipedia:Novi Novog - viola
- Michael Parnell - bass, keyboards
- Wikipedia:Tim Pierce - guitar
- Ken Rarick - keyboards
- Jim Roberts - saxophone
- Lori Ruso - primary artist, vocals (background)
- Jane Bovingdon Semel - photography, stylist
- Wikipedia:Art Wood - drums
- Wikipedia:Michael Wycoff - vocals (background)
- Production[7]
Advocacy
References
- ↑ "Lori Ruso". Show Off. Discogs. 1989. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
Show Off LP
- ↑ "Lori Ruso". Something About You. Discogs. 1989. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
Alternate title for Show Off" in Spain -- Label: Vemsa – E-30.1974 VLP-353
- ↑ "Lori Ruso". Show Off (EP). Discogs. 1990. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
Single EP Show Off (12") Cypress Records, V-74501 US, CTI 1201 Canada 1990
- ↑ "Lori Ruso: Show Off". Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ↑ Justin, Kantor. "Lor Ruso: Show Off". Review by Justin Kantor. AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ↑ "Lori Ruso". I Believe In Love Again. Discogs. 1993. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Lori Ruso". I Believe in Love Again. AllMusic. 16 April 1995. Retrieved 16 November 2013.