RAY WILLIAMS
Ray Williams (born 1947, London, England), is an A&R music producer/publisher. He is well known as the man who discovered Elton John and introduced him to lyricist Bernie Taupin. Williams has been a prominent figure of the music and film industry for many years as a press agent, A&R head, artist manager, film music producer, and publisher. He was the music supervisor of films including The Last Emperor, Absolute Beginners, and Naked Lunch. (More from Wikipedia)
In 1967, Elton John – then using his real name Reggie Dwight – answered an ad in the prominent British magazine New Musical Express by Ray Williams, a Liberty Records A&R man. (The initials stand for "artists and repertoire"; they are basically the people who shake the bushes looking for new talent). Bernie Taupin had answered the same ad; although neither artist was actually signed by Liberty Records, Ray Williams gave him Taupin's telephone number.
(April 2015/1)
