[1] Chertoff attended the University of Pennsylvania, and whilst in Philadelphia he met soon-to-be long-time friends Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian and formed a lasting musical collaboration.
He was a force behind the signing of Hyman and Bazilian's later band, the Hooters to Columbia Records, where he produced their multi-platinum albums, Nervous Night, One Way Home, and Zig Zag.
In his A&R/production role, Chertoff signed and produced, edited and remixed tracks for Arista artists including the Kinks and the Alan Parsons Project.
Blue Gorilla issued Joan Osborne's Relish, a multi-platinum album and worldwide hit which also garnered 7 Grammy nominations, including 'producer of the year'.
The album, which Chertoff co-produced and co-wrote, features David Forman, the Chieftains, Taj Mahal, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Lauper, Osborne, Carole King, Hyman and Bazilian and uses Dvorak's journey to America as a tapestry of American blues and folk music.