Songwriter Tyrell Hits the Heights With ‘Angel’

That’s the unmistakable tone of satisfaction in the voice of Steve Tyrell, talking now of his most recent ride high onto the pop music charts. Not that Tyrell hasn’t been here before, as record producer, songwriter, promoter, and record company executive for musicians as varied as Linda Ronstadt and the Kingsmen.

But this time, when his song “How Do You Talk to an Angel” spent two weeks last month at the top of Billboard’s pop music singles chart, he’d managed to get there as producer and songwriter. He, his wife, Stephanie, and Barry Coffing had co-written the rock ballad for the new Fox Television series “The Heights,” which depicts a fictional band of young musicians.

“There really wasn’t any talk about this even being a record at first,” Tyrell says.

The song, as performed by singer-actor James Walters, and other tracks culled from the program, ultimately won over Capitol Records, which was then rewarded with some heavy rotation for “How Do You Talk to an Angel” on pop radio and MTV. It’s the first No. 1 single to emerge from a television show since 1985’s “Theme From Miami Vice,” and the first to dominate the chart for more than one week.

“Sooner or later, somebody’s going to do some decent music on television and they’re going to clean up,” Tyrell says, sitting in his office overlooking Sunset Boulevard. “Why not? You go right out and reach millions of people. If you do something good, they’re going to respond to it. That’s what I always believed.”

The success of the music hasn’t yet translated into a hit television show, however. “The Heights” is on hiatus, after spending its first several weeks stuck in the bottom-10 of the ratings.

The requirements for success in the two mediums are simply different, says E. Duke Vincent, co-executive producer of “The Heights.” A million-selling record will certainly win an artist a coveted platinum record award, he explains, but 1 million viewers “is a disaster” for a TV series.

He’s still hoping the broad exposure of the show’s music will draw an audience if and when the program returns. “Somewhere out there, people are listening to and buying this record. So obviously there are a lot of people out there who love this group.”

None of this was expected, says Tyrell, who also had some top-10 success co-producing the Ronstadt-Aaron Neville duet “Don’t Know Much” in 1989. He simply built the show’s mainstream rock sound--a style that he suggested includes the likes of Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen--around the working-class setting, story line and cast of musician-actors.

“It has to fit what you’re seeing, you know,” Tyrell says. “Some people told us, ‘Well, grunge rock is happening now.’ Yeah, but look at the screen. Have you ever seen a grunge rock band that had two girls in it that looked like that? I don’t think so.”

Even so, the show has suffered some criticism for using outside musicians for its soundtrack instead of having a self-sufficient band at its center. But, Tyrell insists, the music in fact is a reflection of the talents of cast members: five songs on the soundtrack album were written by cast members.

“I went to a lot of trouble to bring their talent to the project,” says Tyrell, who will soon begin producing an album for Walters. “One of the things that annoys me a little bit is that sometimes people want to make them like the Partridge Family or something. Just because they are on TV, it’s almost like they have less credibility than more.

“Jamie Walters plays guitar; he writes; I love the way he sings. And he’s got the No. 1 song in America. And the guy looks like James Dean. So what’s he supposed to apologize for? That he didn’t play the guitar solo on that song? Aaron Neville didn’t play the guitar solo on his song either. No one asked him why, they gave him a Grammy. I’m not comparing Aaron Neville to him, but they both did their job, you know.”

Tyrell’s musical experiences as a performer started when he was 14, playing in a Houston rhythm and blues act. By 16, he had released his first record on a local label, and eventually earned a few regional hits in Texas. And then he started record producing.

“I just found I wanted to do that more than perform,” he says. “I was always fascinated with the concept of starting with nothing and ending up with a song.”

He wasn’t yet 20 when he moved to New York to work for Scepter Records with such acts as the Shirelles, Maxine Brown, Chuck Jackson and Dionne Warwick, and songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the 1960s.

In a way, he was brought back to those days while creating the music for “The Five Heartbeats,” the recent Robert Townsend film depicting a male vocal group from that era. “That’s what I like about working in television and film, because you don’t just have a blank canvas,” Tyrell says. “Usually there is a setting for your music to be in. I find it more stimulating artistically.”