Richard Perry, a record producer who became one of the most sought-after figures behind the scenes of pop music in the 1970s and ‘80s through his work with Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, the Pointer Sisters and others, died on Dec. 24 in Los Angeles. He was 82.

A trained oboist and drummer who had sung in a teenage doo-wop group, Mr. Perry had a deft ear for crafting the sharpest and most appealing performance of a song. Thatr often involved huge studio budgets and exacting attention to detail. For “You’re So Vain,” he went through three drummers in search of the ideal beat. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

“I try to make the artist the biggest and best they can possibly be,” he told Musician magazine in 1985. “I always conceived of producing as bringing the artist to life in someone’s living room in the most glorious, complimentary performance one could imagine.”