When you turn on your favorite radio station and hear a great song, the one person that you might never think about is the person who sits in the recording studio behind the glass, mixing and creating the song. ‘Producers’ are the heart and soul of music success; here are a few of the unsung heroes who are simply the best…
Todd Rundgren had a few hits in the 70s, wrote a few more for his friends, but produced great LPs’ like ‘Bat Out of Hell’ from Meatloaf or Grand Funk’s ‘Were an American Band.’ He’s worked with Badfinger, Hall and Oates, and the New York Dolls.
You probably have never head of the Englishman Rod Temperton (keyboardist of the soul group Heatwave in the early 70s), but you know his work; ‘Thriller’ and ‘Off the Wall’ from Michael Jackson are his two best known projects. Although he died in 2016, we should thank him for working with The Brothers Johnson, Patti Austin, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Michel McDonald and more.
Mutt Lange is the man and worked on the biggest LPs from the biggest stars in the day, from Def Leppard to his then wife Shania Twain, Britney Spears to Maroon 5, Michael Bolton and the Cars to Nickelback and Foreigner.
Special shout outs to the late George Martin (Beatles) and Robert Stigwood (Bee Gees).