Tom Wilson (producer)

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For other persons of the same name, see Thomas Wilson.

Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. (March 25, 1931 – September 6, 1978) was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Simon and Garfunkel and The Velvet Underground. He was most productive in the 1960s, though he made his first mark in the mid-50s.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Starting out

Wilson was born in 1931 to Tom and Fannie Wilson. He grew up in Waco, Texas, where he attended A.J. Moore High School, and was a member of New Hope Baptist Church. Tom was known by his initials, T.B. in his youth. While attending Fisk University, Wilson was invited to Harvard where he became involved with the Harvard New Jazz Society and radio station WHRB; to the latter he later credited all of his success in the music business.[citation needed]

On graduating from Harvard, he borrowed $900 to set up Transition Records, having a goal in mind of setting up a record label and recording the most advanced jazz musicians of the day.[1] The label did release several albums, including Sun Ra's Jazz By Sun Ra (or Sun Song) (which was Ra's first LP, though a second LP of material was unreleased until 1968) and the album Jazz Advance by Cecil Taylor.

His work with Transition Records helped him obtain a job with United Artists Records in 1957.[2] He went on to work as a producer for various jazz labels, including Savoy Records, for whom he again recorded Sun Ra in 1961.[3]

[edit] Columbia Records

As a staff producer at Columbia Records Wilson was one of the "midwives" of folk-rock, and Wilson's initial exposure to wider fame derived from his work with Bob Dylan. Wilson produced three of his seminal albums from the 1960s, The Times They Are a-Changin', Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Bringing It All Back Home, along with Dylan's ground-breaking 1965 single, "Like A Rolling Stone."

He produced Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 debut LP Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. which included "The Sounds of Silence". Seizing on local radio interest in the song in Florida and inspired by the huge success of The Byrds' folk-rock version of Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man", Wilson took the duo's original acoustic track and, without Simon or Garfunkel's knowledge, overdubbed electric instruments, turning the track into a #1 pop hit, helping to launch the folk-rock genre. Simon and Garfunkel, who had already split, re-united after the hit and went on to greater success.

After working with Wilson, both Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel went on to work with another Columbia staff producer, Bob Johnston, who produced several albums for both acts.

[edit] Verve Records

In 1966 he signed the Mothers of Invention to Verve Records and was credited as producer on the group's seminal debut album Freak Out! although it is widely believed that Frank Zappa, the leader of the group, did most of the real production work.

For Verve Wilson also produced The Velvet Underground, featuring Lou Reed, John Cale, and Nico. Another of his Verve production credits was The Blues Project, which featured Al Kooper as vocalist and keyboardist. In fact, Kooper had met and joined the Blues Project after the band had auditioned for and been rejected by Columbia Records, where Kooper had been playing in Bob Dylan's band, which was being produced by Wilson. Wilson was also credited with producing the first album by Soft Machine.

Wilson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1978.

[edit] Achievements

 This article contains weasel words, vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (November 2008)

While it is undeniable that on most of his notable productions, the lion's share of the creative work is attributable to the primary artists, composers and instrumentalists on these recordings, it stands to reason that it is more than mere coincidence that Wilson was a supervising presence at the birth and blossoming of some of the major breakthroughs in American music in the mid-20th Century. From his championing of the innovative early work of Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor and Frank Zappa, to his shepherding of Bob Dylan from standout folk singer to full-fledged legend and voice of a generation; from his resuscitation of a dying Simon and Garfunkel duo, leading them to stardom and making possible the exploration of their unique musical world to his helming the session that yielded "Like a Rolling Stone", often cited as perhaps the single greatest song of the rock 'n' roll era, and his subsequent production work on the innovative and highly influential first two albums by the Velvet Underground, Tom Wilson was a crucial force.

Though he rarely receives notice comparable with these achievements, Wilson clearly belongs in the discussion (along with luminaries such as Phil Spector, George Martin, Brian Wilson and Teo Macero) of the most important and influential producers of the 1960s. He has been said to have had the skill of "putting the right people together for the right projects".[4]

If for nothing else, Tom Wilson should be remembered as the person that gave Dylan his rock and roll sound....indeed, as the person that first got Dylan to "plug in" (on Bringing It All Back Home). Something that Dylan has long acknowledged (1969 Rolling Stone Interview, Jann Wenner : "There's been some articles on Wilson and he says that he's the one that gave you the rock and roll sound . . . and started you doing rock and roll. Is that true?" Dylan :"That is true. He did. He had a sound in mind".).[cite this quote]

"Tom Wilson was a great guy. He had vision, you know? And he really stood by us ... I remember the first thing that we recorded was 'Any Way the Wind Blows,' and that was okay. Then we did 'Who Are the Brain Police?' and I saw him through the glass and he was on the phone immediately to New York going, 'I don't know!' Trying to break it to 'em easy, I guess." "Wilson was sticking his neck out. He laid his job on the line by producing the album." - Frank Zappa [5]

[edit] Selected discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Szwed, John (1997). Space is the Place. Payback Press. ISBN 0-86241-722-8. , page 154
  2. ^ Szwed, p159
  3. ^ Szwed, p185-186
  4. ^ Langhorne, Bruce. "Bruce Langhorne Interview by Richie Unterberger". http://www.richieunterberger.com/langhorne3.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-24. 
  5. ^ Kurt Loder, Bat Chain Puller, 2002, Rowman & Littlefield ISBN 9780815412250
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