Great Disco Producers

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Trying to create a disco boxset for a friend, 1 part of it covers disco producers. Justr want to check the ILM hive for noted producers that I missed forgot, missed out on, or just plain don't know.

I'm mainly looking for producers who have produced a large variety of acts - not producers who were great, but only produced themselves.

So far:

Gamble & Huff (proto, I know)
August Darnell
Patrick Adams
Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers
Moroder

Jedmond, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 09:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Patrick Cowley

Matos W.K. (M Matos), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 09:15 (twenty-two years ago)

does martin rushent count, or was he just chartpop?

the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 09:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I looked at his bio on all music guide, and I'd say no - too punk, not too chartpop (even if he did produce "Dare").

Jedmond, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:08 (twenty-two years ago)

How about Kashif, Narada Michael Walden, Eric Matthew?

David (David), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Bohannon.

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Arif Mardin

LondonLee (LondonLee), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Van McCoy.
Tom Moulton (arguably).
Quincy Jones.
Rod Temperton.
Leon Sylvers III.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Klein & MBO

Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll have to put Patrick Cowley (thanks Matos), and I will consider Eric Matthew.

X-post x 2

Did Bohannon produce other acts? I'm putting him on other CDs in the boxset.

Jedmond, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Leroy Burgess
Greg Carmichael

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, actually, I think Burgess did himself more often than not.

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

He should be mentioned anyway 'cause he's the shit.

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree he is the shit, he did produce enough other acts to consider him as producer (there is a boxset or CD of productions of other artists hed did - I think). Thanks for reminding me.

Greg Carmichael - I had slotted him in with Patrick Adams (maybe it should be a combo).

Klein & MBO - great act, on my italo disk of the boxset.

Rod Temperton - primarily an arranger - but Heatwave will be on boxset for sure - just elsewhere.

Tom Moulton - maybe, I'm not sure - have to check. - def. in great remixers section.

Quincy Jones - I'd have to say that he isn't thought of as a disco producer - too wide a selection of acts - you can say the same about Gamble & Huff, but I need early producers, all their early dance oriented songs are disco in any formal sense + defining early disco is very iffy due nature of its origins.

Don't know Van Mccoy, Lyon Sylvers III, or Arif Mardens work enough to judge yet (well I do know Arifs work but only from '80s & "90s.

Jedmond, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Eric Matthew: Gary's Gang, Sharon Redd, Toney Lee, Cinnamon, Peach Boys, Status IV. Good enough for you?

Leon Sylvers III did Shalamar and poss. other stuff on the Solar label eg Whispers.

Arif Mardin produced some classic Chaka Khan tracks but not sure if he did a lot of others during that period.

David (David), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Leroy Burgess? Hell yeah!

Highlights:
Over Like A Fat Rat - Fonda Rae
Weekend - Class Action
Get Loose/Release Yourself - Aleem
Barely Breaking Even - Universal Robot Band

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree he is the shit, he did produce enough other acts to consider him as producer (there is a boxset or CD of productions of other artists hed did - I think). Thanks for reminding me.

He performed under a number of names, which can make things a little confusing. Both of those volumes that came out on Soul Brother in '02 are excellent, and they both have his production work, even though one of them places more emphasis on it.

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Barely Breaking Even was produced by Greg Carmichael, unless I'm mistaken. Burgess is obviously all over it, though!

There's so much criss-crossing between Carmichael, Adams, and Burgess that you might as well consider them one three-headed beast.

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Scratch the Peech Boys from that Eric Matthew list. I thought he had something to do with it but apparently not.

David (David), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Cerrone and James Mtume, too.

Rich, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe I should combine them - it would help with what I'm trying to do with the boxset which is to try and show the connections between people/acts. I have yet to fully decide what goes on each CD, but it's looking sort of like this:

Producers, Remixers, Levan (personal bias I admit + I think he worked to sum up disco due his last man at the fort nature), Female vocalists, Male vocalists, Instrumentals, Electronix/italo, Strings, Mutant Disco fuckery, Proto Disco.

X-post x 2

I'll still check Eric Matthew out, download a couple of his various productions - I have heard his work, just to widely apart to attach any autuer trademarks.

Cerrone is on Italo disc, but I don't know of any production work he did for other people so I doubt it - If I'm wrong post.

I'll check Mtume out now.

As I said, I'm trying to point out the connections between each CD, while also making the listener of varying contexts to consider the work: technically I could put Grace Jones under Producer for Tom Moulton early work on her, Levan for Pull up to the Bumper remix, and in the Mutant Disco Fuckery (official title undecided yet) for her early eighties work - and if I chose the song "I'm not Perfect (but I'm perfect for you)" I could connect her to Nile Rodgers & Co.

The set was originally just going to be a quick dumping of bits of my Disco collection onto CDs for a friend, but I decided to go the whole hog, due to having plenty of spare time, and desire for myself to learn how everything is connected (as opposed to my piecemeal comp & mpeg understanding of Disco as it is now.

If you (Andy K), or anybody else has advice feel free to offer it - I'll be posting the end results of the compilation for ILM abuse when I'm done - I want to share the blame as much as I can.

Jedmond, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Arif Mardin produced 'Jive Talkin' and 'Nights On Broadway' and 'I'm Every Woman', I think he deserves a round of applause just for those three.

LondonLee (LondonLee), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:06 (twenty-two years ago)

He may have been more of a reggae producer, but I would still think the late Alex Sadkin deserves a mention here, for his work with Grace Jones, Thompson Twins and Robbie Nevil among others.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd include "Put Your Body In It" or "Never Knew Love Like This Before" to represent Mtume. Both are sung by Stephanie Mills.

Are you including boogie/black electronic stuff on the Electronix/italo disc? "Put Your Body In It" could go on that, too.

Rich, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Count August Darnell for work with Doc Savannah and Machine? Or was he not the producer?

Joseph McCombs, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Mtume (with Reggie Lucas) also produced the classic 'You Know How To Love Me' by Phyllis Hyman.

David (David), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:52 (twenty-two years ago)

bobby orlando

jody (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:54 (twenty-two years ago)

If I were putting together a disco box set, I'd have trouble breaking everything down into categories -- so many of the songs could apply to multiple themes. I'd probably use some rough chronological set-up and split my hairs during the sequencing stage.

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

There's actually a Mtume/Lucas comp that just came out.

Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:57 (twenty-two years ago)

right on to Bobby "O" Neil Tennant's main man in the early 80s. Moulton was a remixer, not a producer, though he teamed w/Tony Bongiovi (sic) and Meco Menardo on the classic Gloria Gaynor stuff. there are a lot of Motown/Philly second stringers like Freddie Perren, Bunny Sigler and Dexter Wansel who deserve good but not great status. Yeah, those Leeroy Burgess sides were dope, too. how bout eurodisco guys like Cerrone and Alex Costadinas (sic)? Does anybody listen to them. "Supernature" holds up quite well.

soniclifer, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:50 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...
Kenton Nix:

Taana Gardner - Heartbeat
Taana Gardner - Work That Body
Taana Gardner - When You Touch Me
Inez Brooks - Chillin' Out
Ednah Holt - Serious, Sirius Space Party
Kenix Music ft. Bobby Youngblood - There's Never Been (No One Like You)
Gwen McCrae - Funky Sensation
Afrika Bambaataa & The Jazzy 5 - Jazzy Sensation
Taana Gardner - No Frills

[Here's an interview.]

Confounded (Confounded), Thursday, 29 September 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

Some stuff by Began Cekic is good.

Common Sense - Voices Inside My Head

[Here's a label discog.]

[On Discogs.]

Confounded (Confounded), Thursday, 29 September 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

As far as mixing, it's hard to fuck with John Morales. [big, might impressive discog here.]

Confounded (Confounded), Thursday, 29 September 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

MIGHTY.

Confounded (Confounded), Thursday, 29 September 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

Let's not forget Arthur Russell. I've been listening to Dinosaur's "Kiss Me Again (Version)" EVERY DAY for a while.

Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 29 September 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

Klein + MBO was produced by Tony Carrasco, who also produced Take a Chance by Bizzy + Co., BB and Band's All Night Long, Baja Imperial by Plastic Mode and I'm sure a bunch more I'm forgetting.

In that vein, Maurizio Dami, aka Alexander Robotnik, produced a bunch of stuff under his name and others. Victor's Go and Do It(see the last Unclassics), and the stuff on the Sire Fuzz Dance compilation.

continuing the italo love, many props to one of the originators Claudio Simonetti from Goblin who gave us Capricorn's I Need Love, Kasso's Walkman, Key West etc, Fear by Easy Going, Give Me a Break and others by Vivien Vee...

Douglas, did you get the Crazy Rhythms mix CD?

Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 29 September 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

You must read "Turn the Beat Around : The Secret History of Disco" by Peter Shapiro.

Jacobs (LolVStein), Thursday, 29 September 2005 18:44 (twenty years ago)

Began Cekic's schtick involved doing really shady cover versions, like he was trying to cash in on the success of a song, but by involving some really good people (often Tee Scott), many of the tracks ended up pretty kick-ass. His most popular is probably Brooklyn Express's Change Positioni/69, a reworking of Jimmy Bo Horne's Spank. You can pick it up on a Ballroom bootleg. Also great is Hollywood Party.

Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 29 September 2005 19:22 (twenty years ago)

Gino Soccio

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 30 September 2005 10:28 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...
can anyone tell me more about Celso Valli? i know and love Disco Fizz and Ti Sento, is all his output as great?

Yawn (Wintermute), Monday, 6 February 2006 22:05 (twenty years ago)

If for their work with Mel & Kim alone, Stock/Aitken/Waterman deserve a mention here.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 6 February 2006 22:21 (twenty years ago)

Valli's stuff w/ Azoto is great...San Salvador and Exalt Exalt are the ones I know. but Tantra is just mega-classic. Didn't realize those two were produced by the same person. Tantra's Ma-Cum-Be, A Place Called Tarot and Hills of Katmandu are awesome.

Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 6 February 2006 22:32 (twenty years ago)

that tantra double lp is by far and away the greatest $3 record i found misfiled in the prince section EVER

team jaxon (jaxon), Monday, 6 February 2006 22:51 (twenty years ago)


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