In my opinion, producers are under appreciated. How many stars have ebbed because they made the mistake of thinking that their sound was their own and lost their mojo when they went to other labels or producers? Somebody with the right ear and ability to influence what is heard on the final record is every bit as important as the talent on the record, in my opinion.

This idea came up in another thread. But there have been so many great producers and production teams in R&B/Soul music, that I wondered who would be the ones that I put on a musical 'Mount Rushmore'. In other words, which four producers stand out?

It is kind of a personal thing because we all have our own influences. My selections would be Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Quincy Jones, George Clinton, and Berry Gordy.

The sheer body of work that these producers have created blows my mind. And in Clinton and Gordy, you have people who influenced entire genres of music that are still reflected in songs to this day. Where would modern music be if there had never been a Motown Sound or a P-Funk Sound?

The quality of Jam & Lewis' and Q's work is so much better than anybody else's in the past 40 years that I had to include them. Jam & Lewis should have received a lot more Grammys; they remain one of the best teams in popular music. Although Jones' work was much more limited, every album that I ever heard by him was a wonderful collaboration of talent that I don't think anyone else was capable of assembling.

I left off a lot of good ones, especially going back to the '60s and '70s. I still love Ashford & Simpson, Gamble and Huff, Prince, and others. When I made regular forays to record stores on paydays, I would buy any album I could find that was produced by Leon Sylvers [[SOLAR) and Reggie Andrews & Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler. I'm sure there are others and would appreciate any input you have.