|
Edited on Sun Jul-25-04 08:10 PM by NightTrain
THE BEATLES & GEORGE MARTIN: They'd be landmark figures if they had *only* produced SGT. PEPPER. But add to it such rock-baroque masterworks as REVOLVER, THE WHITE ALBUM, and ABBEY ROAD, and you have a body of work that's formidable simply for what it sounds like, much less for what it says. Then add in the early singles, which can rock a house as hard today as they did 40 years ago. What can you say but, "Wow!"
BERRY GORDY, JR.: Founder and president of the Motown empire, Gordy spent a lot of time producing his fledgling company's early singles as well. Motown's pre-1964 string of hits with Gordy at the helm included the Miracles' "Bad Girl" (leased to Chess), Marv Johnson's "You Got What It Takes" (leased to United Artists), Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)," and the Contours' "Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)." And before Motown, Gordy had co-authored such Jackie Wilson hits as "Reet Petite," "To Be Loved," "Lonely Teardrops," and "That's Why (I Love You So)."
KENNETH GAMBLE & LEON HUFF: They began in the late 1960s producing such sweet-soul hits as the Intruders' "Cowboys To Girls," Archie Bell & The Drells' "I Can't Stop Dancing," and Jerry Butler's "Only The Strong Survive." Then, in the 1970s, the epicenter of soul music shifted from Detroit and Memphis to Philadelphia. And Gamble and Huff were responsible for that sea change. From their Sigma Sound Studios and Philadelphia International label emanated such classic sounds as "TSOP," every hit by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes and the O'Jays, several of the Spinners' best-loved smashes, Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," and McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now." Whether or not you like(d) disco, you can't deny that Gamble & Huff had a profound influence on American popular music.
ISAAC HAYES & DAVID PORTER: For the Memphis-based Stax/Volt family of labels, Hayes and Porter co-wrote and produced every magnificent Sam & Dave recording, like "Hold On! I'm Comin'," "Soul Man," "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby," and "I Thank You." Other Stax artists with whom H&P worked: Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and Booker T. & The MGs. As a performer, Isaac Hayes helped to expand the boundaries of soul music with such groundbreaking LPs as HOT BUTTERED SOUL, which was every bit as expansive and influential as Marvin Gaye's WHAT'S GOING ON, Curtis Mayfield's SUPERFLY, and Sly & The Family Stone's THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON.
BRIAN HOLLAND, LAMONT DOZIER, AND EDDIE HOLLAND. Motown's legendary songwriting/production triumvirate created dozens of classic hits for the Four Tops, the Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, the Marvelettes, and numerous other acts.
JERRY LEIBER & MIKE STOLLER: Along with having written and produced every hit the Coasters ever had, L&S also penned such rock 'n' roll chestnuts as "Hound Dog," "Kansas City," "Jailhouse Rock," "Love Potion #9," "Ruby Baby," and "D.W. Washburn," among many others. They also trained a young Phil Spector and, with their Red Bird and Blue Cat labels, were responsible for such '60s hits as the Ad-Libs' "Boy From New York City" and everything by the Shangri-La's.
LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY: Perry defined early reggae, epitomized by Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves." His brief collaboration with The Clash gave him white-rock prominence, but it was Perry's perfection of "dub" that made him internationally influential--for dub laid the essential sonic groundwork for '80s and '90s dance music.
SAM PHILLIPS: The accidental genius behind Sun Records. Among the artists he produced: Ike Turner, Jackie Brenston, Howlin' Wolf, Little Milton, B.B. King, James Cotton, Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Carl Mann, and Charlie Rich.
RICK RUBIN: Rubin's straightforward, bare-knuckles approach to the mixing board has revolutionized popular music. On L.L. Cool J's debut album, RADIO, he pushed the punch and smack of the drum track even farther into the listener's face than Run-D.M.C. had done just months earlier, helping to set the sonic stage for the fury of later rap. He next took three punks from the Lower East Side and armed them with Zeppelin-esque crunch, turning the Beastie Boys into multi-platinum heroes of every white frathouse in the U.S.A. Then he put Run-D.M.C. in the studio with Aerosmith, ushering in the rock-rap alliance that continues some 18 years later. He preserved Slayer's buzzsaw sound, gave the Cult muscle, and locked the Red Hot Chili Peppers in an abandoned mansion until the veteran punk-funk outfit wrote their first ballad, "Under The Bridge," their breakthrough hit. He also made Mick Jagger sound as if he cared and convinced Johnny Cash to do a rock record.
PHIL SPECTOR: Along with the Wall of Sound--which gave us the Crystals, the Ronettes, Darlene Love, and the Righteous Brothers, among others--Spector also produced Curtis Lee's magnificent doo-wop rocker "Pretty Little Angel Eyes," Gene Pitney's early chart single "Every Breath I Take," and the Checkmates Ltd's "Black Pearl." Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller also called in the young Spector to put the finishing touches on Ben E. King's "Spanish Harlem." Later, Spector produced both LET IT BE and the Ramones.
More to come, if y'all are interested!
|