Jack Douglas (record producer)
Encyclopedia
Jack Douglas is an American record producer
. He was born in New York City. Starting out as folk musician and performer, he worked on Robert Kennedy's senatorial campaign as a song-writer. Douglas then moved to England
and joined a succession of bands before returning to New York to attend the Institute of Audio Research as a member of its first graduating class. His first professional job was at the new recording studio Record Plant Studios
, not as producer
or engineer, but as the janitor
. Soon he was working at the recording desk contributing to projects by Miles Davis
, The James Gang
, Alice Cooper
, Cheap Trick
, Montrose
, Rough Cutt
, Artful Dodger
, Moxy
, Flipp
, and Mountain
.
A chance encounter with a group member led Douglas to help engineer The Who
's early (aborted) sessions for Who's Next
at The Record Plant. After this landmark recording he was given a chance to engineer John Lennon
's classic Imagine
album. Douglas and Lennon formed a close bond and worked together for the remainder of Lennon's short life.
As a Record Plant staff engineer Douglas also forged working relationships with Patti Smith
, Blue Öyster Cult
, the New York Dolls
, Cheap Trick
, Starz
and most notably Aerosmith
. Douglas engineered and produced Aerosmith's albums, from 1974's Get Your Wings
to 1975's Toys in the Attic
, 1976's Rocks
and 1977's Draw the Line. His close relationship with Aerosmith extended beyond producing and engineering as Douglas was also a musical contributor to the group when they came up short of material on their projects. He was often given the nickname of "the sixth member" of Aerosmith, due to his close relationship with the band. Douglas was replaced as producer by the band for the 1979 release Night in the Ruts
, but Douglas was to again work with the group on some of their more recent material, including 2004's Honkin' on Bobo
, as well as 1982's Rock in a Hard Place
and several of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry
's solo albums. The band continues to maintain a cordial friendship with Douglas. In fact, Aerosmith's bass player Tom Hamilton announced that Jack Douglas is going to join the band again to write and produce their first studio album with original material in ten years.
1978 saw Douglas work with the Australian group Skyhooks as executive producer on their Guilty Until Proven Insane
album (which included the track "Women in Uniform
" which was later covered by Iron Maiden).
In 1980 Douglas was working as producer with Lennon and Yoko Ono
on their penultimate Double Fantasy
album (for which he won a Grammy Award
for Album of the Year
). During the same sessions he worked on another Lennon/Ono album Milk and Honey that was to be released later, but Lennon's murder cut that project short (an unfinished version of the album was released in 1984). Douglas was later involved in litigation with Ono over unpaid royalties from Double Fantasy.
Since then he has kept working as an engineer and producer, reuniting with Aerosmith for three more albums and producing CDs for artists such as Supertramp
, Clutch
, Local H
, Slash's Snakepit
(solo-project of ex-Guns N' Roses
guitarist Slash
) and in 2006 the return of the New York Dolls. He is currently working with the Michael Monroe
band on their forthcoming album.
Douglas also teaches a studio etiquette class at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
in Emeryville, California
.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He was born in New York City. Starting out as folk musician and performer, he worked on Robert Kennedy's senatorial campaign as a song-writer. Douglas then moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and joined a succession of bands before returning to New York to attend the Institute of Audio Research as a member of its first graduating class. His first professional job was at the new recording studio Record Plant Studios
Record Plant Studios
The Record Plant was a series of three famous recording studios which were founded by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone, beginning in New York City in 1968. The next year, Kellgren and Stone opened a second studio in Los Angeles. In 1972, the company expanded again with a third location in Sausalito,...
, not as producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
or engineer, but as the janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
. Soon he was working at the recording desk contributing to projects by Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, The James Gang
James Gang
The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Montrose
Montrose (band)
Montrose was a California-based hard rock band. The band originally featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and future solo artist and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar...
, Rough Cutt
Rough Cutt
Rough Cutt was an American heavy metal band from San Diego, California in the 1980s. They were based in Los Angeles after signing a recording contract with Warner Brothers...
, Artful Dodger
Artful Dodger (US band)
Artful Dodger are an American power pop rock band, noted for their tight rock compositions, deft lyricism, vocal harmonies, and live shows. The group was heavily influenced by The Beatles, Faces, and The Rolling Stones and drew frequent comparisons to Raspberries...
, Moxy
Moxy (band)
Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1974, from previous members of the rock group, Leigh Ashford — which included singer Douglas "Buzz" Shearman Earl Johnson , Bill Wade Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in...
, Flipp
Flipp
Flipp is a Minneapolis-based band which attempted to revive the Glam-rock era of the early 1970s using its combination of tongue-in-cheek social commentary, self-deprecating wit, cartoonish stage costumes and bizarre, non-sensical electronics, pyrotechnics and production elements...
, and Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
.
A chance encounter with a group member led Douglas to help engineer The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's early (aborted) sessions for Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
at The Record Plant. After this landmark recording he was given a chance to engineer John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's classic Imagine
Imagine (album)
Imagine is the second album by John Lennon. Recorded and released in 1971, the album tended toward songs that were gentler, more commercial and less avant-garde than those on his critically acclaimed previous album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album is considered the most popular of his works...
album. Douglas and Lennon formed a close bond and worked together for the remainder of Lennon's short life.
As a Record Plant staff engineer Douglas also forged working relationships with Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
, the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Starz
Starz (band)
Starz was a 1970s heavy metal and power pop band from New Jersey, United States. Despite a lack of big commercial success, the band has a lasting cult following and has been cited as a major influence by bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison and Twisted Sister....
and most notably Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
. Douglas engineered and produced Aerosmith's albums, from 1974's Get Your Wings
Get Your Wings
-Side two:-Song information:Same Old Song and Dance*Built around a riff Joe Perry came up with while sitting on his amp, Steven Tyler quickly came up with the verse riff. The song appears in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock...
to 1975's Toys in the Attic
Toys in the Attic (album)
For his review of Toys in the Attic for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album's style a mix of Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones riffs and was filled with songs about sex with a different style than there ever was before. Greg Kot called the album a landmark of hard rock...
, 1976's Rocks
Rocks (album)
Rocks is the fourth album by American rock band Aerosmith, released May 3, 1976. Allmusic described Rocks as having "captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking". Rocks also ranked #176 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time...
and 1977's Draw the Line. His close relationship with Aerosmith extended beyond producing and engineering as Douglas was also a musical contributor to the group when they came up short of material on their projects. He was often given the nickname of "the sixth member" of Aerosmith, due to his close relationship with the band. Douglas was replaced as producer by the band for the 1979 release Night in the Ruts
Night in the Ruts
-Side two:-Personnel:*Steven Tyler - lead vocals*Joe Perry - guitar, backing vocals*Brad Whitford - guitar*Tom Hamilton - bass*Joey Kramer - drums-Additional personnel:*Jimmy Crespo - additional guitars*Richie Supa - additional guitars - "Mia"...
, but Douglas was to again work with the group on some of their more recent material, including 2004's Honkin' on Bobo
Honkin' on Bobo
Honkin' on Bobo is the 14th studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 30, 2004 by Columbia Records. The album includes 11 covers and one original track titled "The Grind"...
, as well as 1982's Rock in a Hard Place
Rock in a Hard Place
-Notes:The track "Cry Me a River" is a cover written by Arthur Hamilton.The last track of the album, "Push Comes to Shove" is about Tyler's then girlfriend and future wife Teresa Barrick and her twin sister Lisa.-Band:...
and several of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry
Joe Perry (musician)
Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith. He is influenced by many rock artists especially The Rolling Stones and The Beatles...
's solo albums. The band continues to maintain a cordial friendship with Douglas. In fact, Aerosmith's bass player Tom Hamilton announced that Jack Douglas is going to join the band again to write and produce their first studio album with original material in ten years.
1978 saw Douglas work with the Australian group Skyhooks as executive producer on their Guilty Until Proven Insane
Guilty Until Proven Insane
Guilty Until Proven Insane is the fourth studio album released by Skyhooks on March 13, 1978. It was the first album that featured Bob Spencer, who replaced guitarist Red Symons in early 1977...
album (which included the track "Women in Uniform
Women in Uniform
"Women in Uniform" is a 1978 song originally recorded by the Australian band Skyhooks; it was written by the band's bass player, Greg Macainsh. It appeared on their fourth album, Guilty Until Proven Insane, and was a top 10 single in Australia.[]...
" which was later covered by Iron Maiden).
In 1980 Douglas was working as producer with Lennon and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
on their penultimate Double Fantasy
Double Fantasy
Double Fantasy is an album released by John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, in 1980. Though initially poorly received, the album is notable for its association with Lennon's murder three weeks after its release, whereupon it become a worldwide commercial success, and went on to win the 1981 Album...
album (for which he won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
). During the same sessions he worked on another Lennon/Ono album Milk and Honey that was to be released later, but Lennon's murder cut that project short (an unfinished version of the album was released in 1984). Douglas was later involved in litigation with Ono over unpaid royalties from Double Fantasy.
Since then he has kept working as an engineer and producer, reuniting with Aerosmith for three more albums and producing CDs for artists such as Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, Clutch
Clutch (band)
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
, Local H
Local H
Local H is an American rock duo, formed by Joe Daniels and Scott Lucas in Zion, Illinois in 1987. Local H's 1996 album, As Good as Dead, includes the top 10 hit "Bound for the Floor" Author, rock critic and Rolling Stone contributor Greg Kot and the Chicago Tribune named the band its 2008 Chicago...
, Slash's Snakepit
Slash's Snakepit
Slash's Snakepit were an American rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed by then-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash in 1993. Though often described as a solo or side project, Slash stated that Snakepit was a band, with equal contributions by all members...
(solo-project of ex-Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
) and in 2006 the return of the New York Dolls. He is currently working with the Michael Monroe
Michael Monroe
Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm , best known by his stage name, Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician, and multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23...
band on their forthcoming album.
Douglas also teaches a studio etiquette class at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts is a private, for-profit college located in Emeryville, California, geared toward the entertainment industry and known for its around-the-clock schedule and five week classes...
in Emeryville, California
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
.