If I Ruled the World…The Journey To Ricky Comeaux’s Debut Album

As part of the Houston-based duo Atwood and Comeaux, which performed thousands of shows and charity gigs in its heyday from the mid-80s to the late 90’s, Ricky Comeaux became something of a local legend, wowing audiences with his dramatic tenor and versatility with a repertoire that included hundreds of songs from a multitude of genres. During this era, numerous musical icons and countless celebrities were blown away by his effortless talent at conveying emotions, including Kenny G, who once wrote in a chatroom to folks who asked, “This guy is a great singer!”

Now in full-on “ResurrRicky” mode, singing professionally for the first time in a handful of years, the singer is excited to present his official solo debut album If I Ruled The World – a dynamic collection of 11 tracks (some he’s performed countless times, some never before) from the worlds of pop, Broadway and film that showcase his incredible range and his ability to tug the heartstrings with remarkably dramatic power balanced by subtle, sensual grace.

The set includes “Theme from Kiss of the Spider Woman,” Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s “Tell Me On A Sunday,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Roy Orbison’s “It’s Over,” “I’ve Gotta Be Me” from “Golden Rainbow,” Sondheim’s “Not While I’m Around,” “Carolina in the Morning,” “If I Ruled The World,” David Gates’ “If,” “I, Don Quixote” from “Man of La Mancha” and “Since I Fell For You,” originated by Lenny Welch and later re-popularized by Al Jarreau.

Aiming to make the maximum impact to audiences that embrace the “poperatic” likes of Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo and iconic contemporary crooners like Michael Buble, Ricky called on two of the industry’s big guns to guide and helm different aspects of the recording process. The music tracks and arrangements were tracked and produced in Los Angeles by veteran film and television composer and Founder of Musicomm Mark Holden, with Ricky’s vocals produced at Houston’s Wire Road Studios by Barry Coffing. It was mixed by Dale Penner and mastered by Ken Love (Little River Band, Toby Keith, Ben Tankard).
Founder of Musicomm, Inc., Holden composes themes and scores for television programming – having scored eight feature films in addition to three interactive features and four series. His company’s clientele in music for advertising and corporate usage includes General Motors (Pontiac/Cadillac), NBC, Fox, The Los Angeles Times, The United Way, Continental Airlines, Uniglobe, Zales Jewelers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Nestles Drumsticks, and Compaq Computer Corporation. His work on interactive games include “AMERICAN HERO” and Metal Gear “SNAKE EATER.” Holden has received numerous Addy and Telly awards for his music, in addition to two Emmy nominations in regional categories. He received an Emmy award for his score to “Good Luck, Mr. Robinson,” produced by WCVB-TV/Boston and J. Walter Thompson Syndication.

Barry Coffing, the founder of Uprising Entertainment, is a versatile producer, songwriter, composer, singer and film/TV music professional whose songs charted throughout the world via recordings by Randy Travis, Michael McDonald, Cyndi Lauper, The Neville Brothers, Kristen Chenoweth and Randy Crawford. He began his career with Barry Mann and Steve Tyrell writing and producing hit songs for films, TV shows and other artists. In 1992 his song “How Do You Talk to an Angel,” became a #1 hit in the U.S., and was the only TV theme in history to stay #1 for more than one week on the U.S. charts; the record was certified gold and the song was nominated for an Emmy Award. Coffing has also produced tracks for Peabo Bryson, Lee Greenwood, Michael McDonald, Thelma Houston, Tiffany, Irene Cara, Gary Puckett, Maureen McCormick and many others.

“By design and careful detail, the material is all high-level dynamic songs that allow me to let loose and show the range of what I can do vocally,” says Ricky. “While in the middle of creating the instrumental tracks, Mark reconnected me with Barry, who I knew from years ago, when he performed with his band in Houston during the same era Atwood and Comeaux did. I told Barry about the project and he was excited to produce the vocals for me. Essentially, it’s the same kind of mix of tunes that made me successful with Jerry years before, so everything felt very natural.

“Barry put me in a booth and we engaged in back and forth conversations where we sculpted my voice around the arrangements,” he adds. “He made incredible suggestions, and the highest notes that I’m singing are from his urging me to take things up a notch here and there. It was a great blessing to work with such talented arrangers who knew me and my style and the dynamics of what I wanted with this project.”