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Revision as of 23:04, 4 July 2007 by THX96 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Shel Talmy (born August 11, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American record producer best known for his work in 1960s London with The Who and The Kinks.
Born in Chicago, as a child actor Talmy appeared in a TV show called The Quiz Kids before moving to California and working in television. Moving into music, he worked as an engineer at Conway Recorders, working on such early surf hits as The Markets’ "Surfer’s Stomp" and Billy Joe and the Checkmates’ "Percolator Twist". He first moved to London in 1962, initially for only a short stay, but remained for 17 years after creating a reputation for himself in the UK.
An influential producer in the pioneering days of rock music, Shel Talmy experimented with recording techniques, including the capturing of feedback for the first time, and helped The Kinks and The Who achieve their sound. His list of production credits include The Who’s first album, all releases by The Kinks until "Waterloo Sunset", the Easybeats circa "Friday On My Mind", and Manfred Mann mid period that included "Semi Detached Suburban Mr James" and "Mighty Quinn".
Who guitarist Pete Townshend wrote the song "I Can't Explain" in the style of the Kinks, hoping to catch Talmy's interest. The ploy worked and Talmy signed The Who to his production company, licensing his recordings to the record label he secured for them. He producing the band's first album and first two singles, "I Can't Explain" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere." The Who's managers, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp believed the band's contract with Talmy was a poor one and signed with Reaction, a small division of Polydor set up by Roger Stigwood. Talmy took the band to court and won. Though freed from the contract, The Who would give royalties to Talmy up to the album Tommy in 1969. Talmy would retain the master tapes to the debut album, My Generation, for years, keeping them in a temperature controlled vault. The album was the last of The Who's catalogue to be reissued in the mid 90s and early 2000s. Talmy agreed to remix the album in stereo and it was released in a Deluxe Edition in 2002.
In the mid Sixties also worked with The Creation and The Mannish Boys, an early vehicle for David Bowie and he briefly ran his own record label, Planet Records, which numbered The Creation amongst its artists and releasing "Making Time" and "Painter Man" as minor hit singles.
In the 1970s he was largely inactive, although he produced The Damned on their "Sick Of Being Sick'/"Stretcher Case Baby" single, causing Captain Sensible to say that he had given them "the best sound that the Damned ever had for guitars”. He returned to production activity briefly with the album In Heat by the retro garage band The Fuzztones, in 1988.
Talmy also became an author, his works including the novel Whadda We Do Now Butch? “It’s about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” he said in an interview with Chris Hunt in 1989. "Where they died at the end of the film – I did a lot of research and that never really happened”. He apparently sold the film rights to the novel.
He now lives in California, USA.
References
- Shel Talmy at IMDb
- ' Billboard. 15 February 1997. "Songs bring seminal rock producer Shel Talmy back to the board". Vol. 109, No. 7, ISSN 0006-2510.
- Chris Hunt. "Shel Talmy Interview".
- Richie Unterberger. "Shel Talmy Interview".
- Richie Unterberger. "Shel Talmy Folk-Rock Interview".
- Chris Hunt. "Shel Talmy Interview".
- Chris Hunt. "Shel Talmy Interview".
External links
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