Music Producers - Who Is On Your Mount Rushmore of Greats?

[Jerry Oz]

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.

[MIKEW-UK]

Lamont Dozier - merits an entire montain range!

Carl Davis - ditto!

[phil]

Willie Mitchell.

[ralpht]

Sir George Martin. Awesome!

[motony]

1)Smokey Robinson 2)William Stevenson 3)H-D-H 4)Phil Spector

[motony]

ofcourse, Berry Gordy, Jr. EXECUTIVE Producer

[theboyfromxtown]

Henry Cosby

[bradburger]

Ivy Hunter, Don Davis.

Cheers

Paul

[Jerry Oz]

I love the responses. Would anybody care to share what's special about their choices? Phill Spector and Holland-Dozier-Holland are great examples of producers who are recognized regardless of the act. I should have given a nod to Thom Bell and Norman Whitfield as well.

[marv2]

Richard Perry

[RobertZ]

I, too, love A&S - but let's not forget the mighty, mighty CHARLES STEPNEY!

[theboyfromxtown]

I love the responses. Would anybody care to share what's special about their choices? Phill Spector and Holland-Dozier-Holland are great examples of producers who are recognized regardless of the act. I should have given a nod to Thom Bell and Norman Whitfield as well.

Jerry

With me it's a personal choices but I do acknowledge the contributions of many more, some of whom have already been listed. I could perhaps add some Brits like Joe Meek [[one of the first independent UK producers) and Stock-Aitken-Waterman but I'd prefer to mention Gamble & Huff, Thom Bell, Spector and virtually all the producers at Motown and the many Detroit labels with special mention for the Invictus set up.

[alexstassi]

Quincy Jones, George Martin, Prince, Norman Whitfield

[Jerry Oz]

It's interesting that the few modern era producers have been set it since the '80s. But being a huge fan of today's music, I'm not aware who stands out in today's industry.

[thomas96]

Bobby Taylor.

[soulster]

New Music:

Arif Mardin
Van McCoy
Carl Davis
Don Davis
George Martin
Stevie Wonder
Maurice White
Skip Scarborough
Al McKay
Richard Perry
Steve Barri
Dennis Lambert
Brian Potter
Eddie Holland
Lamont Dozier
Brian Holland
Buddy Killen
Jimmy Page
David Sigerson
Quincy Jones
Burt Bacharach
Hal David

Reissue producers:

Joseph M. Palmacio
Harry Weinger
Steve Hoffman
Bill Inglot
Bob Irwin

[Jerry Oz]

That mountain would take a century to carve! Which would be in your list as the best of them?

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Phil Spector [[Philles era), Motown in general, Thom Bell, Van McCoy/Charles Kipps, Tom Moulton, Gamble & Huff, Robert Woods [[Telarc Records).

Hey, fun thread, Jerry. Thanks! - Gary

[soulster]

It's interesting that the few modern era producers have been set it since the '80s. But being a huge fan of today's music, I'm not aware who stands out in today's industry.

Pharrell Williams

[Guy]

I think the majors have been identified. I would add the following:

Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards [[together and separately)
Curtis Mayfield
Giorgio Moroder
Teddy Riley
George Duke

P.S. my hat is off to Jerry Oz for including Leon Sylvers III. All his hits to the side, I still rock to an LP by a group called "Lushus Daim & The Pretty Vain" because of Sylvers' production.

[Jerry Oz]

I'm surprised LA and Babyface weren't mentioned yet. They had a powerhouse in Atlanta about the same time as Jam & Lewis were blowing up in Minneapolis.

[Jerry Oz]

I think the majors have been identified. I would add the following:

Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards [[together and separately)
Curtis Mayfield
Giorgio Moroder
Teddy Riley
George Duke

P.S. my hat is off to Jerry Oz for including Leon Sylvers III. All his hits to the side, I still rock to an LP by a group called "Lushus Daim & The Pretty Vain" because of Sylvers' production.

His stamp was on a lot of great records. He is probably the most underrated bassist from the '80s. I remember that record. I thought that I had it but I can't find it.

[paladin]

Jam & Lewis, Babyface & LA, Clinton, Quincy, Smokey, Curtis Mayfield, Norman Whitfield, Thom Bell, Eaton, Knight & Bridges, Don Davis, George Kerr, Issac Hayes-David Porter, David Byrne, Willie Dixon, George Duke, Jeffery Bowen, Leon Sylver, Hawes-Jeffereson-Simmons...... to name a few...........

[roger]

In the early/mid '70s, when I used to buy "blind" just about any Soul/R&B 7" I came across, as long as the price looked right, I used to look for the producer's name just as much as the headline artist or the record label.

Many of the names I would look out for have already been mentioned [[Thom Bell, Van McCoy, Norman Whitfield, Curtis Mayfield etc. etc.) but ones I haven't noticed in this thread so far that I think should get a mention are PATRICK ADAMS, BERT DECOUTEAU and BOBBY MARTIN. In fact I don't think I've ever heard a record that had BOBBY MARTIN's name on it that I didn't like.

Roger

[Jerry Oz]

I used to forage used record stores every payday. My vinyl library has a lot of obscure records in it, some of which were one shots by artists who never broke out on a national level. When it came down to these artists, a lot of the determining factor was who produced the record. The second factor was who backed the artist/band on the tracks and a lot of times those players worked frequently with the producers. Keep in mind, I'm talking ~1981 thru 1986, at which point I started buying cassettes.

I didn't like everything I bought, but it was much more likely I'd enjoy something from a producer I was familiar with. I think that I now need to focus more on the liner notes of my records from the '50s and '60s. I'm going to look for a lot of the names that you guys have mentioned in this thread.

[soulster]

I think the majors have been identified. I would add the following:

Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards [[together and separately)
Curtis Mayfield
Giorgio Moroder
Teddy Riley
George Duke

They were all major players, too.

[mr soul]

Most of the great ones have been mentioned, here's some more I like.

Leo Graham
Bobby Miller
Jerry Williams Jr
Frank Wilson

[alexstassi]

Damn how could I forget Teddy Riley.. the father of New Jack Swing

[Jerry Oz]

And I think he learned a lot from his dad, Gene Griffin, who also heavily influenced that genre.

[skooldem1]

What about Prince?

[robb_k]

Too many great ones for a mountain with only 4.
Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Hunter, Smokey Robinson, Carl Davis, Van McCoy, Curtis Mayfield, Don Davis, Jerry Ragovoy, Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, Holland-Bateman-Gorman, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Willie Dixon, Bert Berns, Phil Spector, Marc Gordon-Frank Wilson, Cal Carter, Bunky Sheppard, Johnny Pate, George Kerr-Sidney Barnes, Fred Brown-Joe Hunter, Popcorn Wylie-Tony Hester, Norman Whitfield-Barrett Strong, Gerald Sims, J.J. Jackson-Sydney Barnes, Juggy Murray, Clarence Paul, Billy Davis, Monk Higgins, Joshie Armstead, Jack Ashford, George Clinton, Gene Redd, Jr., Hal Davis-Marc Gordon, Berry Gordy, Jr., Mike Theodore-Dennis Coffey, Bob Holmes, Jerry Wexler, Robert Bateman, Sam Cooke-JW Alexander, Issac Hayes-David Porter, Fred Bridges-Bobby Knight, Bobby Eaton, Bert Decoteaux, H.B. Barnum, Bobby Sanders, Luther Dixon, Zell Sanders, Al Benson, Don Robey, Johnny Otis, Don Juan Mancha, Quincy Jones, Bobby Martin, and lots more [[hundreds whose work I love).

[Jerry Oz]

Good googly moogly! You could etch those faces on the Rocky Mountains and still run out of space.

[robb_k]

And that wasn't a complete list, by any means. It's just who I happened to think of over a 10-minute period. I'm sure there are several of my favourites that I forgot to add to that list. After all, that comes fromabout 30 years of music production, and there were many, many excellent producers. If I were banished to a desert island, I'd feel cheated if I weren't allowed to take at LEAST100,000 of my favourite songs.

[Jerry Oz]

Do you suppose that it makes the job seem easier to have a list of 30+ producers? The body of work by some must certainly be larger or more consistent than others. I understand your respect and admiration of them reflects your love of music, but I'm curious if you indeed hold them all in the same esteem? It's no slight against one to respect that another one produced a broader list of artists across a broader range of genres with quality results.

[robb_k]

I guess we'd have to define "esteem". As to most accomplished, with the highest level of quality of work over a long period in a variety of musical genres, I'd be hard pressed to even come up with a definition, let alone narrow my selections down to 4. My list was my favourite producers. Choosing only 4 would surely be cheating others [[even among my very favourites).

If you put a gun to my head, I might choose the team of Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Hunter, Smokey Robinson, Van McCoy and Carl Davis. But, Curtis Mayfield really co-produced on my favourite sessions for which Carl Davis got producer credit.

I forgot to add Johnnie Mae Matthews, Robert West, Al Smith, James Dean and William Weatherspoon, Mike Hanks, Don Talty, Bob Catron, Eddie Singleton, Eddie Sullivan, Richard Pegue, Bernice Williams, Thom Bell, Rick Hall, Huey Meaux, Johnny Brantley, Bob Keane, Bobby and Danny Robinson, Abner Spector and many from the 1950s I have forgotten to mention.

[Jerry Oz]

I agree with you 100%, robb_k. If I had to choose 100 albums to take with me when the rocket leaves Earth, I'm going to be upset because I'd select 100 different albums the day after if given the chance and 100 more each day beyond that. And the thought of all the songs that I'll never be able to listen to again would be upsetting beyond measure.

[rrussi]

Some people are listing way too many for it be "Mt. Rushmore". For me, HDH and Smokey! If room for two more, Gamble & Huff.

[soulster]

Do you suppose that it makes the job seem easier to have a list of 30+ producers? The body of work by some must certainly be larger or more consistent than others. I understand your respect and admiration of them reflects your love of music, but I'm curious if you indeed hold them all in the same esteem? It's no slight against one to respect that another one produced a broader list of artists across a broader range of genres with quality results.

You didn't direct your question to me, but, as much as I respect some producers, I find it difficult to name some of them because they add a sonic signature to everything they touch. I mean, you can tell that Quincy Jones, or Stevie Wonder, or Allen Jones, or Ray Parker Jr., or Van McCoy, or Rick James, or The Chic Organization produced something. People want their sound. It has always been my belief that a great producer gets out of the way of the artist's sound.

[soulster]

Some people are listing way too many for it be "Mt. Rushmore". For me, HDH and Smokey! If room for two more, Gamble & Huff.

Well, for those of us who like a very wide range of music, and really study the production side of things, there is no way we can keep it down to four. Our versions of Mt. Rushmore would take a lot of work.

[Jerry Oz]

You didn't direct your question to me, but, as much as I respect some producers, I find it difficult to name some of them because they add a sonic signature to everything they touch. I mean, you can tell that Quincy Jones, or Stevie Wonder, or Allen Jones, or Ray Parker Jr., or Van McCoy, or Rick James, or The Chic Organization produced something. People want their sound. It has always been my belief that a great producer gets out of the way of the artist's sound.

I agree with you to a point. In some cases, the producer IS the artist's sound. How good would Toni Braxton have been without LaFace? Or Janet Jackson without Flyte Time? Janet's first album was a Pop mess. Tony Williams wasn't as good after leaving the Platters. The list is endless.

And some stars leave their bands and production teams and never reach their former level of glory. Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin never found solo success at the level they did with the Temps even though most would have sworn that they WERE the Temptations' sound. And yet, the Temptations managed to do well for many years after they left the group. I submit to you that the greatest vocal without extraordinary production is equivalent to pearls on a pig.

[mr_june]

Burt Bacharach.

I see some names listed that were just song writers. The OP should have provided a definition of a "producer." It would have been better also if folks didn't list a person that somebody else already listed.

[Jerry Oz]

Good point, mr_june. I was ambiguous because there are de-facto producers as well as nominal producers. I think most of us have an inherent definition. Burt Bacharach is a great example of somebody that should be high in many lists. The other day, my dad asked me what happened to Paul Williams, who was the biggest names behind the control board for a few years in the '70s.