Stephen Anthony Richland ("Tony") was an independent record promoter who lent his name to John Lennon's favorite of Harry Nilsson's songs: "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song."

 

Richland was born on July 18, 1936, in New York City, New York. He married Rosemary on May 11, 1961.[1]

 

In addition to being a music promoter, Tony Richland became manager of The Purple Gang, a short-lived pop group formed in 1965, Rosemary Richland is said to have given the group its named based on a line from the song "Jailhouse Rock" ("The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang...").[2]

 

In those days the record companies hired guys to take their new records around to all the radio stations and hype them to the deejays. Tony was a great guy with a heart of gold. The band sort of looked up to him like a second father. I believe we met Tony when we originally hooked up with our lead singer, Bob Corff. I'm pretty fuzzy, though, on my recollections of exactly how the first meetings went.
Tony Richland also promoted records for Harry Nilsson and other greats. When Harry Nilsson's album Pandemonium Shadow Show came out, The Beatles freaked out. John Lennon called Harry Nilsson the following Monday after the release and told him it was "fuckin' great man". Then Lennon invited Nilsson to England to hang out during the White Album sessions. Lennon was especially knocked out by one of Nilsson's songs, "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song." It's the story of an aging singer and how his fans change over the years. You guessed it...Mr. Richland is Tony, our manager. If you find a copy of any of the compilations of Nilsson's old tunes this song is nearly always in there. So, check out "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song."

-- Marty Tryon [3]