CREATE- A Musical Life of Healing
Richard Arnold Beattie — A Musical Life
Richard Arnold Beattie’s musical journey began in the early 1970s on Long Island, where he, his brother Ronald (later Charles), and sister Barbara won the Suffolk County CYO Talent Contest and went on to win the grand prize at the Long Island 1970 talent competition mylocalpress.com. Their early fame led to an audition for The Sound of Music at Riverside Plaza, where Richard played Kurt and Barbara played Gretel, becoming part of the seven Von Trapp children. Ronald changed his name to Charles to avoid a conflict with another Ronald Beattie in the theater world mylocalpress.com.
From 1970 to 1978, the Beattie siblings performed as “Ambassadors” at Catholic hospitals, schools, and nursing homes, and were a fixture at the 10:30 Folk Mass at St. John Nepomucene, where Richard wrote many songs mylocalpress.com. His early exposure to Oliver on a turntable at age six profoundly influenced him, and he later performed with the Jones Beach Theater cast of The Sound of Music for two seasons mylocalpress.com.
After leaving Broadway, Beattie continued to write, sing, and collaborate, inspired by the words of Richard Rodgers, who told him, “The world needs great songwriting” mylocalpress.com. He has since become a singer-songwriter, media host, and publisher, creating the CREATE Daily podcast and radio show, which covers community, arts, education, and entrepreneurship Podcast Addict.
Beattie is also the founder of Sound Century Academy of Recording Arts and Broadcasting and the Leadon Family Foundation Colorado Chapter, and he leads the Celtic Mountain String Band mylocalpress.com. He is known for digitizing and preserving iconic folk recordings, working with the Harry Tuft Collection and the University of Colorado to ensure these works remain accessible for future generations klzr.org.
His mission is to “CREATE Orchards” — to produce and share great songs and stories — and to use music as a tool for cultural preservation and community connection mylocalpress.com. His work spans decades, from Long Island’s youth stage to Denver’s folk and Celtic scenes, and continues to inspire through live performances, recordings, and educational outreach.
