Sheldon Talmy (August 11, 1937 – November 13, 2024) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger, best known for his work in England in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks, and many other artists.
At the age of 13, Talmy appeared regularly on the popular NBC-TV television show Quiz Kids, a question-and-answer program from Chicago.
[4] According to journalist Chris Hunt, Talmy's move from television to audio recording was a result of "the rapid deterioration of his eyesight.
They played with separation and recording levels and built baffles and platforms covered with carpet, using them to isolate vocals and instruments.
[6] Once he struck out as an independent, Talmy also had success in the United States with his productions for Chad & Jeremy, including "A Summer Song" and "Willow Weep for Me".
A long-running controversy about the song revolved around the use of future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page as a session musician on many of the Kinks' early recordings − and on the seminal guitar solo on "You Really Got Me" in particular.
In an interview with rock writer and critic Richie Unterberger, Talmy set the record straight: "You know how many times I've answered that question?
Talmy produced many more hits with the group up to 1967 including "All Day and All of the Night", "Tired of Waiting for You", "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", "Well Respected Man", "Sunny Afternoon", and "Waterloo Sunset".
In his book Before I Get Old, Dave Marsh commented that the records that Talmy made with the Who "are technically among the best that the band ever did, and they have a distinct, original sound."
"[11] Talmy continued to work with other distinguished British performers throughout the 1960s, principal amongst whom was singer-songwriter David Bowie (then known by his real name Davy Jones).
Talmy produced two singles in 1965 by two groups featuring Bowie, "I Pity The Fool" by The Manish Boys and "You've Got A Habit Of Leaving", where the singer was accompanied by The Lower Third.
Writing in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin described the song as "one of the all-time great beat group singles of the '60s".
Talmy's work with The Easybeats stretched through to their 1967 album Good Friday, after which the band's management decided to dismiss him as producer.
These include records by Mickey Finn, The First Gear, The Sneekers, The Untamed, Ben Carruthers & The Deep, The Nashville Teens, The Thoughts, Colette & The Bandits, Wild Silk and many others.
He was also hired to work with successful acts like Manfred Mann, for whom he produced the hits singles "Just Like A Woman" and "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James", and Amen Corner ("If Paradise Was Half as Nice" and "Hello Susie").
Although the venture was not successful, the label did release the initial discs by Talmy's discovery The Creation,[12] now considered amongst the most iconic of mod/psychedelic groups, who often used pop-art imagery.
Though he was famous primarily for his contributions to rock music, Talmy also worked with musicians from the folk scene, including Pentangle, Roy Harper and Ralph McTell.
In 1968 and 1969 Talmy produced the influential first three albums by the folk supergroup, Pentangle, as well as their hit single "Light Flight".
In the late 1960s Talmy worked with American artists Lee Hazlewood and Tim Rose and supervised film music with his favored arranger David Whitaker.
By the early 1970s, Talmy was doing less record production work and pursuing his other interests in the book publishing and filmmaking worlds.
He was however still in demand as a producer and worked on records by Small Faces, String Driven Thing, Fumble, Coven, Chris White, Mick Cox Band, Blues Project, Rumplestiltskin[12] and others.
Singles Note: the 1991 Bowie collection Early On features five additional vintage tracks from Talmy's archive.