David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician best known as co-founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the rock band Ambrosia in the 1970s and 80s. Pack wrote and sang most of Ambrosia’s biggest hits, including “Biggest Part of Me”, “You're the Only Woman (You & I)”, and “How Much I Feel”.
David Pack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Robert Pack |
| Born | July 15, 1952 Huntington Park, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop rock, progressive rock, soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, keyboards, vocals |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Concord |
| Website | www |
In the mid 90’s Pack produced Ambrosia’s Anthology CD on Warner Bros. (Best of) along with three new tracks. These included “I Just Can’t Let Go” with James Ingram & Michael McDonald remixed from Pack’s Solo Album in 1986 (a top 15 Billboard Hit).
Pack stopped touring with the band in 2000, after they played a concert in Atlantic City without him while he was on vacation with his family, fraudulently advertising that Pack would be performing. This and other acts of betrayal towards Pack including using the Ambrosia name for live concerts without Pack’s permission while misleading fans and promoters, caused years of legal issues.
Career
editAs performer
editPack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band Ambrosia.[1] His collected works as a performer and producer have sold over forty million units worldwide. Hits from the band written and sung by Pack include certified gold singles "Biggest Part of Me" (1980), "You're the Only Woman (You & I)" (1980) and "How Much I Feel" (1978).[2] He co-wrote and sang lead on the band's first top 20 hit, "Holdin' on to Yesterday" (1975). His 2005 solo album, The Secret of Movin' On, included remakes of "Biggest Part of Me" and "You're the Only Woman".
Pack guested on lead vocals on the song "Ground Zero" for Kerry Livgren's 1980 solo album, Seeds of Change. He then performed on Kansas' Vinyl Confessions album in 1982. He would later contribute guest lead vocals on the track "Shine On" off of the album It's a Jungle Out There! by Mastedon, one of two Mastedon albums written and produced by former Kansas lead singer John Elefante and his brother Dino Elefante. He also Appeared on Chet Atkins & Friends (1987) on Cinemax as guitarist.
During the 1980s, Pack enjoyed moderate success as a solo artist with the release of his Anywhere You Go LP in 1985. The album generated three charting singles, the greatest of which was "I Just Can't Let Go" (US AC #13), a collaboration with Michael McDonald and James Ingram.[3] In 1988, he recorded a duet with Bette Midler titled "I Know You by Heart", which was featured in the film Beaches and on its soundtrack.
He co-wrote three songs ("The Three of Me", "I'm Talkin' to You" and "Oh, Life (There Must Be More)"), for which he also sang and played guitar, on Alan Parsons's 1993 album Try Anything Once, and sang and played guitar on the song "You Can Run" on Parsons' 2004 album, A Valid Path. (Ambrosia's first album was engineered by Alan Parsons, who served as producer and engineer for their second; all four members of Ambrosia played on the first Alan Parsons Project album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination.) Pack joined producer Alan Parsons on his 2001 live tribute tour to the music of the Beatles called A Walk Down Abbey Road.
Pack again appeared as lead vocalist on the song "I Won't Be Led Astray" on Parsons' 2022 album From the New World.
As producer
editPack has worked as producer for Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin, Kenny Loggins, and Wynonna Judd. He has also produced music for Chet Atkins, Patti Austin, David Benoit, Natalie Cole, Chick Corea, Andrae Crouch, DC Talk, Amy Grant, Faith Hill, Bruce Hornsby, Jennifer Hudson, James Ingram, Patti LaBelle, Little Richard, Branford Marsalis, Bette Midler, Michael McDonald, Brian McKnight, Olivia Newton-John, The Pointer Sisters, LeAnn Rimes, Linda Ronstadt, Brian Setzer, Mavis Staples, Take 6, Steve Vai, Trisha Yearwood, and CeCe Winans.[citation needed]
Pack produced the 1995 album The Songs of West Side Story, which benefited the school. The album is notable for being the final recorded performance of Selena, made three weeks before her murder in March 1995, and for containing the final work by Marty Paich, who arranged the strings on Franklin's "Somewhere".
He served as producer and music director for President Bill Clinton's inaugurations in January 1993 and 1997.[4] In 1997, the White House asked him to direct the music and produce the presidents' Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia for presidents Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford. In 2000, he was asked to direct and produce Yamaha's Michael McDonald Lifetime Achievement Award Show at the L.A. Shrine for his good friend. Pack brought together Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins, Boz Scaggs and Christopher Cross for the event. In 2005, he produced and directed the 2005 World Aids Day Concert at Saddleback Church in Orange County for author and pastor Rick Warren.
Discography
editAlbums with Ambrosia
edit| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S.[5] | |||
| 1975 | Ambrosia
|
22 | |
| 1976 | Somewhere I've Never Travelled
|
79 | |
| 1978 | Life Beyond L.A.
|
19 | |
| 1980 | One Eighty
|
25 | |
| 1982 | Road Island
|
115 |
Compilation Albums with Ambrosia
edit| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. | ||
| 1997 | Anthology
|
— |
| 2002 | The Essentials
|
— |
| 2003 | How Much I Feel and Other Hits
|
— |
Singles with Ambrosia
edit| Year | Title | Chart positions[7] | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC |
AU | CAN | ||||
| 1975 | "Holdin' on to Yesterday" | 17 | 46 | — | 37 | Ambrosia | |
| "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" | 63 | — | — | — | |||
| 1976 | "Magical Mystery Tour" | 39 | — | — | — | All This and World War II | |
| "Can't Let a Woman" | 102 | — | — | — | Somewhere I've Never Travelled | ||
| "Runnin' Away" | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1978 | "How Much I Feel" | 3 | 11 | 30 | 2 | Life Beyond L.A. | |
| "Life Beyond L.A." | — | — | — | — | |||
| "If Heaven Could Find Me" | 107 | — | — | — | |||
| 1980 | "Biggest Part of Me" | 3 | 3 | — | 18 | One Eighty | |
| "You're the Only Woman (You & I)" | 13 | 5 | — | 15 | |||
| "No Big Deal" | 105 | — | — | — | |||
| 1981 | "Outside" | 102 | — | — | — | Inside Moves soundtrack | |
| 1982 | "Feelin' Alive Again" | — | — | — | — | Road Island | |
| "How Can You Love Me" | 86 | — | — | — | |||
| "For Openers (Welcome Home)" | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1997 | "I Just Can't Let Go" | — | 26 | — | — | Anthology | |
| 2004 | "Biggest Part of Me" (Remix) | — | 31 | — | — | Non-album single | |
Solo Albums
edit| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | |||
| 1985 | Anywhere You Go
|
||
| 2004 | Unborn
|
||
| 2005 | The Secret of Movin On
|
||
| 2014 | David Pack’s NapaCrossroads
|
Solo singles
edit| Year | Title | Chart positions[3][8] | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC |
AU | CAN | ||||
| 1985 | That Girl Is Gone | -- | 16 | — | 93 | Anywhere You Go | |
| 1986 | Prove Me Wrong | 95 | — | — | White Nights | ||
| I Just Can't Let Go | — | 13 | — | Anywhere You Go | |||
Movie Soundtracks
edit| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | |||
| 1985 | White Nights
|
||
| 1986 | Wildcats
|
||
| 1988 | Beaches
|
||
| 1995 | The Music of Cinderella
|
||
| 1997 | Selena
|
||
| 2015 | Gallows Road
|
|
Contemporary & Smooth Jazz
edit| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||
| 1987 | "The Key To You" | ** #1 Smooth Jazz / AC Hit ** | Duet with David Benoit | |
| 2005 | "You're The Only Woman" re-make | ** #1 Smooth Jazz / AC Hit ** | The Secret of Movin On | |
| "Biggest Part of Me" re-make | ** #10 Smooth Jazz radio ** | The Secret of Movin On |
Country Music
edit| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions | Certifications | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | ||||
| 1997 | Wynonna LP "The Other Side"
|
Pack Produced "The Wyld Unknown" & "Why Now." |
Christian Gospel Works
edit| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | |||
| 2018 | The Purpose of Christmas: Rick Warren
|
— | David Produced & Arranged
Benefitting Global P.E.A.C.E. |
A Tribute to Andre Crouch
|
— | ** Grammy Winner Best Contemporary Gospel
Album of Year. DP Produced Finale "To God Be the Glory." | |
Cece Winans: His Gift
|
— | ||
Thank You: Billy Graham
|
— | ||
Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration
|
— | ** Grammy Winner Best Contemporary Christian
album of year. DP Produced Patti Austin's "But Who May Abide." | |
Wayne Watson: Field of Souls
|
— | ||
Lisa Nevill: Love of Heaven
|
— | ||
Brian Duncan
|
— |
Other projects
editReferences
edit- ^ Theakston, Rob. "David Pack Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum[1]
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 182.
- ^ "Interview with David Pack for the release of the album Napa Crossroads". Yuzu Melodies. September 15, 2014. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ^ "US album chart positions". Allmusic. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "American certifications – Ambrosia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ "US single chart positions". Allmusic. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ RPM 100 singles
- ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=White+Nights&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section
- ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Bette+Midler&ti=Beaches+&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section
- ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=Selena&lab=emi+latin&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section
- ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Wynonna+judd&ti=The+other+side&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section
- ^ "Child refugee from Cuba, now 65, recalls his past and bares his soul at high school reunion concert". Orange County Register. September 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ "Concert of the Century with Beato Band". David Pack. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ "Cuban Americans Await President Obamas Visit to Cuba". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ "Beato Band | David Pack and Fred Beato". beato-band. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
External links
edit- David Pack's official site
- David Pack discography at Discogs
- David Pack at IMDb
