Music career
Early career
Upon moving to
New York City at the age of 18, he was made head of A&R and promotion at
Scepter Records. There he was mostly behind-the-scenes, producing hits for popular recording artists and movie soundtracks.
At 19 years old he first began producing with the likes of
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David. He worked on several
Dionne Warwick hits such as
The Look of Love, and
Alfie. Together with
B.J. Thomas, he worked on the Bacharach-David song,
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, which went on to win the 1969 Oscar for Best Song From A Movie (
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).
Film contributions
His contributions to the film industry include
Mystic Pizza
,
Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw
,
Father of the Bride
and
The Brady Bunch Movie
. Steve also sang the theme from
Garbage Pail Kids
with
Ashley Hall who also wrote the lyrics with his wife.
Tyrell's performance singing
The Way You Look Tonight in
Father of the Bride
, starring
Steve Martin, pushed him center-stage as a vocalist, with live performances and a recording career of his own.
Recent work
Since the end of the 1990s, he has made several albums based on jazz, holiday and Disney standards.
Tyrell has covered popular standards including
I've Got a Crush on You,
Georgia On My Mind and
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. Tyrell delivers his own interpretation of many of these tracks: “We don't think it's right if we can't bring something fresh to these wonderful songs that some of the greatest artists of all time have already done definitive versions of”.
His work in the studio has included collaborations with such diverse and legendary artists as Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, LL Cool J, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler and Stevie Wonder.
Back to Bacharach, his latest album, is due for release in July 2008. The album has been delayed by his wife's passing.
Personal life
Tyrell was married to the late
Stephanie Tyrell, a long-time partner.