Condolences: Ron Haffkine

• A longtime friend of RAMP, multi-platinum producer Joel Diamond reached out to tell us, “It is with great sadness I share the news that Ron Haffkine, my beloved friend of 50 years, has passed away after a brief illness at 84, with Sydney, his loving wife of 37 years by his side.”

Ron Haffkine was best known for his string of hits in the ’70s with Dr. Hook, including “Sylvia’s Mother,” “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” “Sharing The Night Together,” “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman,” “Sexy Eyes,” “Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk,” and “A Little Bit More,” all resulting in 67 gold and platinum awards worldwide.

Over the course of his career Haffkine also worked with Waylon Jennings, Lou Rawls, Mac Davis and Helen Reddy, as well as with Shel Silverstein, earning a Grammy Award for producing Silverstein’s award-winning album, Where The Sidewalk Ends, and a Grammy nomination for Silverstein’s “A Light in the Attic.”

Diamond commented, “Ron always had an uncanny knack of hearing a hit song in its rawest stage and then had the rare talent to couple it with the best musicians and then top it off with a meticulous performance by the artist. Ron was an extremely loving and caring husband to Sydney and a fiercely loyal friend. He will be greatly missed, but his musical legacy that touched millions of people around the globe will live on forever.”