Jerry Ragovoy, the songwriter behind “Time Is on My Side” and “Piece of My Heart,” among many others, passed away from complications following a stroke. Ragovoy and Herb Slotkin set up Grand Records to release tracks from The Castelles, including “My Girl Awaits Me” and “This Silver Ring.” The label could not replicate the success of those albums, and so Ragovoy joined Chancellor Records (Philadephia) for a brief time and eventually moved to New York City, where he worked with songwriter/producer Bert Berns and released “Cry Baby” for Garnet Mimms and The Enchanters; this was one of many songs for which Ragovoy used his pseudonym Norman Meade. Working mainly with Berns until the latter’s death in 1967, Ragovoy created a series of soul records. The ensuing years saw less and less of Ragovoy, though he did come out of retirement in 2003 for a reunion with Howard Tate, writing songs for the latter.
