Today is World Opera Day
George Martin's career spanned more than six decades of work in music, film, television, and live performance. But it's for his extensive collaboration on each of the Beatles' original albums (except the completed version of 1970's 'Let it Be') that he is best remembered for.
In 1962, after listening to a taped recording of the group, Martin agreed to sign the unknown Beatles to a recording contract, without having met them or seen them play live. After recording 'Please Please Me' in November of that year, Martin peered over the mixing desk and said, "Gentlemen, you have just made your first number one record." Paul McCartney said upon Martin's death, "If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle, it was George."
British-American musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer Mark Ronson has collaborated with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Miley Cyrus, and Bruno Mars.
In 2014, Ronson released his single 'Uptown Funk,' which he produced and which features vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Timothy Zachary Mosley, better known as Timbaland, is a DJ, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive, whose production credits date back to 1996 and include late singer Aaliyah's second studio album 'One in a Million,' recorded that year.
Timbaland has remained a much sought-after producer and has worked with the likes of Madonna, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Drake, and Justin Timberlake, among many other recording artists.
Phil Spector famously developed the innovative Wall of Sound, a multi-layered music production formula that created an unusually dense and dramatic orchestral aesthetic that Spector applied to numerous pop songs throughout the 1960s.
Throughout the decade he wrote, co-wrote, or produced records for acts such as the Ronettes (pictured) the Crystals, Ike & Tina Turner, and the Righteous Brothers. In the 1970s, he produced the album 'Let in Be' for the Beatles, and worked with the likes of Leonard Cohen and the Ramones. His legacy was forever tarnished when he was convicted of murder in 2009 after a retrial and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died incarcerated on January 16, 2021.
Quincy Jones is one of the most respected record producers in the entertainment business, with a career spanning over 60 years. In 1961, he became vice president of the Mercury record label—the first African American to hold the position.
Jones has worked with numerous artists and collected dozens of awards. He is especially recognized for his collaborations with Michael Jackson on the albums 'Off the Wall' (1979), 'Thriller' (1982), and 'Bad' (1987). According to Guinness World Records, 'Thriller' is the best-selling album of all time.
Sam Philips was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. On July 18, 1953, an 18-year-old Elvis Presley dropped into the studio to record an acetate disc for his mother's birthday. The following year, Presley recorded 'That's All Right,' and a music and cultural phenomenon was born.
Sam Philips also produced recordings by Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and more. He's pictured with Presley and musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Black.
One of the first music producer auteurs and principal originator of the California Sound, Brian Wilson was also the first pop artist credited for writing, arranging, producing, and performing his own material.
Wilson co-founded the Beach Boys in 1961, a band distinguished by their pitch-perfect vocal harmonies. Under Brian Wilson's direction, the quintet evolved through the 1960s to became one of the most influential acts of the rock era.
English record producer, musician, sound engineer, and songwriter Joe Meek is considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, not least because he set up his own home recording studio in an apartment he rented in Holloway Road, North London. While his name may not jump out of the page like many of his contemporaries, the music Meek produced ranks as some of the most recognized in the business.
Meek pioneered space age and experimental music in the early 1960s using overdubbing, sampling, and reverberation to produce tracks like the Tornadoes' hit 1962 instrumental 'Telstar,' which became the first record by a British rock group to reach number one in the US Hot 100. Sadly, Meek is also remembered for the tragic incident that occurred on February 3, 1967 when he shot and killed his landlady before turning the gun on himself.
Andre Romelle Young, otherwise known as Dr. Dre, first found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A. before releasing his debut solo album 'The Chronic' in 1992, released under Death Row Records. In 1993, he produced Death Row labelmate Snoop Dogg's debut album, an accomplishment that led to Dr. Dre focusing more on producing other artists.
As the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, Dr. Dre has signed and produced over the years a string of pioneering hip-hop acts, including 2Pac, Kendrick Lamar, and Anderson Paak. He's pictured with two of his acts, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Prince is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. The singer-songwriter was a multi-instrumentalist who worked across multiple genres. He pioneered the Minneapolis Sound, a funk rock subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and toiled tirelessly, but secretively, in the studio to perfect his music.
Todd Rundgren began his professional career in the mid 1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Considered a pioneer in progressive rock, Rundgren was one of the first acts to be prominent as both an artist and producer.
George Clinton is regarded, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, as one of the foremost innovators of funk music. As a producer, he's best known for the production of his own work, notably the Parliament-Funkadelic collective during the 1970s.
Much later, however, Clinton was invited to produce music for other artists, including albums for Bootsy Collins and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose members are huge fans. Pictured with Clinton is Anthony Kiedis and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.
A member of the Move back in the late 1960s, Jeff Lynne went on to form the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) in 1970. Lynne arranged and produced every ELO album while writing nearly all of their original material. His savvy production skills would serve him well in the 1980s.
In 1988, Lynne co-founded the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. The previous year he'd produced Harrison's 'Cloud Nine' album, and in 1997 was invited by Paul McCartney to produce 'Flaming Pie.'
Sources: (Guinness World Records) (BBC) (Recording Arts Canada)
See also: Artists who ditched their record label
Singularly responsible for founding the Motown record label and for creating the distinctive Motown Sound, Berry Gordy ranks as one of the most legendary figures in popular music history.
Already a noted songwriter, Gordy as a record producer launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes (pictured), Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder.
English musician Brian Eno studied painting and experimental music before joining glam rock band Roxy Music in 1971 for two years. Described as one of pop music's most influential and innovative figures, Eno began producing material for other artists while following a solo career.
His work as producer has seen Eno collaborate with a wide range of bands and artists, including Talking Heads (pictured with the band's front man, David Byrne), Grace Jones, and, more recently, U2 and Coldplay.
An intensely private man, few outsiders were ever invited into his Paisley Park Studios (pictured). This is where he produced, arranged, and recorded all his work in pursuit of the artistic freedom he guarded religiously throughout his professional career.
Rundgren's credits as producer include Badfinger's 'Straight Up' (1971), Grand Funk Railroad's 'We're an American Band' (1973), and the New York Dolls' 'New York Dolls' (1973). But it's for 'Bat Out of Hell' that he's especially remembered for. Meat Loaf's 1977 debut album spent nearly 500 weeks in the charts and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rundgren's work on the sound desk was acclaimed, and he became the guy to call for several years afterwards.
No matter how good the music, no matter how good the words, if a song doesn't sound right it's never going to hit the right chord. That's why producers are a vital and indispensable part of the recording process. But who can we thank for helping create some of the most memorable tracks in popular music history?
Click through this gallery for an appreciation of some of the most influential and studio savvy record producers in the business.
The most influential record producers of all time
These are the names that made music work
MUSIC Celebrity
No matter how good the music, no matter how good the words, if a song doesn't sound right it's never going to hit the right chord. That's why producers are a vital and indispensable part of the recording process. But who can we thank for helping create some of the most memorable tracks in popular music history?
Click through this gallery for an appreciation of some of the most influential and studio savvy record producers in the business.