Richard Alderson (record producer)

Last updated

Richard Alderson
Birth nameRichard Larm Alderson
Born (1937-02-10) February 10, 1937 (age 86)
East Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Genres
Years active1950s–present
Website richardaldersonaudio.com

Richard Larm Alderson (born February 10, 1937) is an American audio engineer and record producer, who has worked on recordings by Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Harry Belafonte, Sun Ra, The Fugs, Pearls Before Swine, Roberta Flack, Grover Washington Jr. and others.

Biography

Born in East Cleveland, Ohio, he grew up in New York City. After graduating he worked in record stores, and then selling and installing audio equipment, before being employed by inventor Sherman Fairchild as an audio engineer. He also began recording performers in folk clubs in New York, such as the Village Gate, working on the sound system in parallel with lighting engineer Chip Monck. His first commercially released live recordings were of Nina Simone, released on the albums Nina at the Village Gate (1962) and Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall (1963). He also recorded performances by Thelonious Monk, and early Bob Dylan performances eventually released many years later as Live at The Gaslight 1962 . In 1962, he designed and built RLA Studios in New York, and the following year began working with Harry Belafonte on his live sound system. The studios later became Impact Studios after Belafonte took a financial share. [1] [2]

Albert Grossman then invited Alderson to produce the live sound for Dylan on his groundbreaking England and world tours in 1965–66 with The Band. In the same period, Alderson continued to engineer and then produce recordings in New York, for Fania Records artists such as Joe Bataan, as well as jazz sessions for Prestige Records. In the mid and late 1960s, he worked extensively for ESP-Disk Records, on artists such as Albert Ayler, Patty Waters, Sun Ra, The Fugs and Pearls Before Swine. Several incorporated Alderson's innovative use of musique concrète recordings, tape splicing and exotic percussion instruments. Other musicians with whom he worked in the 1960s included Muddy Waters, Spanky and Our Gang and The Last Poets, as well as gospel musicians. [1] [2] [3]

In 1969, Alderson moved to Chiapas, Mexico, where he spent several years forming his own band and recording the indigenous music of the region, later released by Smithsonian Folkways. He returned to New York in 1975, and set up Rosebud Recording with Ralph MacDonald. While there, he oversaw recordings by Grover Washington Jr., Roberta Flack, Bill Withers and David Sanborn, among others. [1] [2]

From the 1980s, he continued to work as an engineer and consultant, setting up Alderson Acoustics and designing a variety of recording facilities in and around New York. He also worked on jingles and TV commercials, and on projects with producer and arranger Rob Mounsey. In 2010, Alderson was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical section, for singer-songwriter Leslie Mendelson's album Swan Feathers. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Gaudio</span> American songwriter and musician

Robert John Gaudio is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majority of the band's music, including hits like "Sherry" and "December, 1963 ", as well as "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for Valli. Though he no longer performs with the group, Gaudio and lead singer Frankie Valli remain co-owners of the Four Seasons brand.

<i>Killing Me Softly</i> (Roberta Flack album) 1973 studio album by Roberta Flack

Killing Me Softly is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released on August 1, 1973, by Atlantic Records. She recorded the album with producer Joel Dorn for 18 months. The album was dedicated to Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

<i>Live at The Gaslight 1962</i> 2005 live album by Bob Dylan

Live at The Gaslight 1962 is a live album including ten songs from early Bob Dylan performances recorded in October 1962 at The Gaslight Cafe in New York City's Greenwich Village. Released in 2005 by Columbia Records, it was originally distributed through an exclusive 18-month deal with Starbucks, after which it was released to the general retail market. The album release coincided with the release of the documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Rapp</span> American singer-songwriter (1947–2018)

Thomas Dale Rapp was an American singer and songwriter who led Pearls Before Swine, an influential psychedelic folk rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Described as having "a slight lisp, gentle voice and apocalyptic vision", he also released four albums under his own name. He later practiced as a lawyer after graduating from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Jemmott</span> American musician

Gerald Stenhouse Jemmott is an American bass guitarist. Jemmott was one of the chief session bass guitarists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with many of the period's well-known soul, blues and jazz artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let It Be Me (The Everly Brothers song)</span> 1955 single by Gilbert Bécaud and Everly Brothers

"Let It Be Me" is a popular song originally published in French in 1955 as "Je t'appartiens" interpreted by Gilbert Bécaud. It became popular worldwide with an English version by the Everly Brothers and later with the duet by Betty Everett and Jerry Butler.

<i>Midnight Special</i> (Harry Belafonte album) 1962 studio album by Harry Belafonte

The Midnight Special is a 1962 album by Jamaican-American singer, Harry Belafonte. The album notably contains the first officially-released recording by Bob Dylan, who plays harmonica on the title track. For many years the Belafonte session was thought to have been Bob Dylan’s first professional recording, simply because this RCA Victor album was released first. However, documentation found in 2001 in the RCA vaults along with the tapes dates the session definitively as having been recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, in February 1962. This places it later than Bob's recording session with folksinger Carolyn Hester, which dates from September 1961, also in New York City, although her album was not released until later in 1962.

"I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.

<i>Balaklava</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Pearls Before Swine

Balaklava was the second album recorded and released by psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Catero</span> American record producer and engineer (1933–2022)

Fred Catero was an American record producer and engineer. Catero was originally from New York City, where he worked for CBS Records/Columbia, recording artists such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Invited by producer Roy Halee, Catero moved in the 1960s to San Francisco to work for Columbia Records there. In San Francisco, Catero worked on albums by Bob Dylan, Al Kooper, Tower of Power and Santana, many of these under producer David Rubinson at the Automatt. He also produced and engineered recordings with Aaron Copland, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt and Mel Tormé. He also worked for the Automatt Studios, recording musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Santana. 

<i>These Things Too</i> 1969 studio album by Pearls Before Swine

These Things Too is the third album by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and their first for Reprise Records. It was released in 1969.

<i>Roberta Flack</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack is a 1978 album release by American vocalist Roberta Flack: her eighth album release - including her 1972 Donny Hathaway collaboration - Roberta Flack was the parent album of the #1 Adult Contemporary hit "If Ever I See You Again" which also ranked in the Top 40.

<i>Live & More</i> (Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson album) 1980 live album by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson

Live & More is a two-disc live album between Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson.

<i>Born to Love</i> (Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack album) 1983 studio album by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack

Born to Love is a 1983 studio album of duets by American singers Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack. It was released by Bryson's label Capitol Records on July 22, 1983, in the United States. The album yielded the hit single "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser. The track "Maybe" was written and recorded for the film Romantic Comedy (1983).

Arthur Eugene Jenkins, Jr. was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger and percussionist who worked with many popular music icons such as John Lennon, Harry Belafonte, Bob Marley and Chaka Khan.

Bernard Stollman was an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label.

Valerie Ghent is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and recording engineer from New York City. She began by playing the piano at age three and started taking cello lessons at the age of five before beginning to write songs when she was eight years old. Ghent later began her performing career when she joined Dizzy and the Romilars at the age of 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Rock Studio</span> Defunct American recording studio

Blue Rock Studio was an independent 16- and 24-track recording facility located in Manhattan's SoHo district. Founded by owner Eddie Korvin, it opened in 1970 and was sold in 1986.

Alvin Schackman is an American jazz guitarist and arranger, most noted for his long association with Nina Simone as her accompanist from 1957 to 2000.

Donal Richard Leace was an American musician and educator.

References