"The Doobies owe so much to Ted Templeman. He took this little old biker band from San Jose and turned us into a well-oiled machine. He understood that the Doobies had the talent and songs to make great albums -- we just needed someone to help us combine all of our musical components into something special that could connect with the audience. His deep musical roots, and familiarity with so many songs, artists, and styles, enabled us to experiment in the studio in ways we never would have imagined. We had so much fun making those records, and I think they still stand up today." -- Pat Simmons, founding member of the Doobie Brothers, Class of 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee
Crafting smash hits with Van Halen, The Doobie Brothers, Nicolette Larson, and Van Morrison, legendary music producer Ted Templeman changed the course of rock history
This autobiography (as told to Greg Renoff) details Templeman's remarkable life from child jazz prodigy in Santa Cruz, California, in the 1950s to Grammy-winning music executive during the '70s and '80s. Along the way, Ted details his late '60s stint as an unlikely star with the sunshine pop outfit Harpers Bizarre and his grind-it-out days as a Warner Bros. tape listener, including the life-altering moment that launched his career as a producer: his discovery of the Doobie Brothers.
Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music takes us into the studio during the recording sessions for the biggest songs of his career, including No. 1 hits like "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers and "Jump" by Van Halen. Along the way, Ted recounts the behind-the-scenes dramas that engulfed both massively successful acts, as well as the inner workings of his professional and personal relationships with some of the most talented and successful artists in rock music history, including Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Lowell George of Little Feat, Sammy Hagar, Michael McDonald, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, and David Lee Roth and Edward Van Halen of Van Halen.
Ted Templeman is a Grammy-winning producer whose hitmaking work for Warner Bros. Records has generated worldwide sales approaching 100 million albums. Greg Renoff was born in the Bronx, grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the author of Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal. His writing has appeared in Guitar World, LA Weekly, and Vulture, and he and his work have been profiled in Salon, Maxim, and the Boston Herald.
