Bill Szymczyk
Bill Szymczyk | |
---|---|
engineer | |
Years active | 1967–present |
Labels |
William Frank Szymczyk (
Unlike many music producers, Szymczyk has no background as a musician. He was originally a
Early life
Bill Szymczyk was born in Muskegon, Michigan on February 13, 1943.[1] His mother worked as a nurse, and his father held several jobs, including factory worker and maintenance at a school.[2] Growing up, his first introduction to music and electronics was when he built his own crystal radio from a kit. Using his radio, he became a fan of blues and R&B while listening to a station out of Nashville, Tennessee.[3]
He joined the United States Navy in 1960, where he worked as a sonar technician. While the Navy he took his first course in radio and television production. Upon leaving in 1964, and without much of an idea of what to do for a post-military career, he enrolled at New York University's Media Arts School.[3]
Professional career
Szymczyk began working at a firm which produced demo recordings for
He left the Hit Factory and took a job at
Szymczyk was moved several times while working for ABC Records; first to
After producing the James Gang's first three albums, he followed singer-guitarist Joe Walsh when he left the band, first as a solo artist with the Szymczyk-produced albums Barnstorm (the first recorded at the Caribou Ranch studio) and The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get and later with the Eagles. His most prolific collaborations have been with Walsh; the two have made over 15 albums together in many settings. Walsh himself moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1971 in order to work with Szymczyk and the location would inspire one of Walsh's biggest solo hits, 1973's "Rocky Mountain Way". Besides work with Walsh in his band The James Gang and as a solo artist, he also brought Walsh in to work on several albums he was doing with other musicians, using him as a session player for the B. B. King album Indianola Mississippi Seeds and the Michael Stanley albums Michael Stanley and Friends and Legends. It was at Szymczyk's suggestion that the Eagles bring in Walsh to give them a "rock" edge; Walsh has remained a core member of the band to this day.[5][6][7][8]
His long relationship with the Eagles began with their 1974 album
Among the other acts he worked with extensively through the 1970s include
His workload tailed off in the mid-1980s, due mostly to his own financial success.
He now lives in Little Switzerland, North Carolina with his wife Lisi. The couple have two sons, Michael and Daniel, and have become involved in their local community, having raised money for a local shelter for victims of domestic violence, among other charity work. He still works as a producer, but is more selective about projects he works on.[2]
Production style
Szymczyk's has frequently been noted as the sort of producer who pushes bands to expand their musical horizons; he has been brought in with the specific intent of changing a band's sound. He himself has credited this tendency to his lack of musical knowledge, stating: "I'm a professional listener. I listen and I react. I never was a musician, so I don't bring any preconceived prejudices to the table; I don't favour the guitar over the keyboard, and so forth. I just listen and try to figure out if I have anything I can bring to a song."[3]
For his work with the Eagles, he has been cited for his innovative mixing of drums, laboriously working to get the right microphones and placements for just the right sound. Rather than recording harmony vocals individually, and mixing them together later, as was common, Szymczyk preferred to capture the Eagles singing in ensemble, often spending many hours to record each phrase "just right".[3]
For the Elvin Bishop hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," it was Szymczyk who suggested the inclusion of the song on Bishop's Struttin' My Stuff album, feeling the blues-oriented album lacked a pop single. The song would go on to become Bishop's biggest hit.[11] Such a pattern was repeated throughout his career. The Eagles brought him in to refine and improve their "rock" sound,[3] and all of their biggest selling albums and songs were Szymczyk-produced. Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash has called him "my all time favourite producer". While the two did not always get along during recording, usually over Turner's bass-playing style, Turner does credit Szymczyk with giving the band a more commercial sound on one of their most successful albums, 1974's There's the Rub.[12]
Selected discography
All credits as producer unless otherwise noted.
B. B. King
- Live & Well(1969)
- Completely Well (1969)
- Indianola Mississippi Seeds (1970)
- Live in Cook County Jail (1971)
Silk/Michael Stanley/Michael Stanley Band
- Smooth as Raw Silk (1969)
- Michael Stanley (1972)
- Friends and Legends (1973)
- You Break It... You Bought It (1975)
- Ladies Choice (1976)
- Stagepass (1977)
The James Gang
- Yer' Album (1969)
- James Gang Rides Again (1970)
- Thirds (1971)
- James Gang Live in Concert (1971)
Joe Walsh
- Barnstorm (1972)
- The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (1973)
- So What (1974)
- But Seriously, Folks... (1978)
- You Bought It – You Name It (1983)
- Ordinary Average Guy (as engineer) (1991)
- Songs for a Dying Planet (1992)
- A Future to This Life: Robocop – The Series Soundtrack (1995)
- Joe Walsh's Greatest Hits – Little Did He Know... (remastering) (1997)
Eagles
- On the Border (1974)
- One of These Nights (1975)
- Hotel California(1976)
- The Long Run(1979)
- Eagles Live (1980)
- Long Road Out of Eden (2007)
The J. Geils Band
- The Morning After (1971)
- Bloodshot (1973)
- Ladies Invited (1973)
- Nightmares...and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle (1974)
- Hotline (1975)
- Blow Your Face Out (live, 1976)
Jo Jo Gunne/Jay Ferguson
- Bite Down Hard (1973)
- Jumpin' the Gunne (1973)
- All Alone in the End Zone (1976)
- Thunder Island (1978)
- Real Life Ain't This Way (1979)
Others
- Ford Theatre - Time Changes (1969)
- Danny Holien - Danny Holien (as producer and engineer) (1971)
- Edgar Winter Group - They Only Come Out at Night(as technical director) (1972)
- Johnny Winter - Still Alive and Well (as technical director) (1973)
- Rick Derringer - All American Boy (1973)
- Wishbone Ash - There's the Rub (1974)
- Johnny Winter - Saints & Sinners (as engineer) (1974)
- Elvin Bishop - Struttin' My Stuff (1975)
- Rick Derringer - Spring Fever (1975)
- REO Speedwagon - This Time We Mean It (as executive producer) (1975)
- Elvin Bishop - Hometown Boy Makes Good! (1976)
- Outlaws - Hurry Sundown (1977)
- Outlaws - Bring It Back Alive (live, 1978)
- Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Against the Wind (1980)
- The Who - Face Dances (1981)
- Shango(1982)
- Melvil James - "The Passenger" (1987)
- Dishwalla - Dishwalla (2005)
- Brian Vander Ark - Brian Vander Ark (2008)
- Brian Vander Ark - Magazine (2011)
- Tide Brothers - “High Water Mark” (2016)
- Michael Szymczyk - "Retro Magnetic" (2019)
- Kona - "Mondays In April - Live at The Bootleg Theater" (as mixer) (2022)
References
- ISBN 0-415-93835-X. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Keel, Beverly (December 8, 2005). "Life in the Slow Lane". American Profile Magazine. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Daley, Dan (November 2004). "Bill Szymczyk". Sound on Sound. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ a b Daley, Dan (February 1, 2005). "Classic Tracks: B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone"". Mix Magazine. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- Denver Post (reprinted at Joe Walsh Online). Archived from the originalon July 4, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ Grundy, Stuart and John Tobler (1983). "Joe Walsh Interview". BBC Publications (reprinted at Joe Walsh Online). Archived from the original on June 28, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ "Eagles' Complete Discography: Don Henley Looks Back". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
- ^ Merchant, Teri (May 8, 2008). "Sign The Petition -- Vote For The Outlaws To Be Inducted Into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame". Southern Fried Magazine. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ a b Buskin, Richard (September 2010). "Classic Tracks: The Eagles 'Hotel California'". soundonsound.com. SOS Publications Group.
- ^ "Elvin Bishop interview". Songfacts. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ "Questions and Answers with Martin Turner". Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash official website. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
External links
- Bill Szymczyk at AllMusic
- Bill Szymczyk Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2016)