Why didn’t Herb produce Carpenters?

TjbBmb

Well-Known Member
So Herb signed the Carpenters, gave them Close to You, and suggested Hal Blaine replace Karen on drums.

Why didn’t he produce them?
 
Herb has said that although he appreciated Richard & Karen's abilities and especially Karen's voice, their music was not the type that particularly interested him. Wasn't the story that their tape came to Herb's attention because Jack Daugherty was a friend of John Pisano's?
 
Herb wasn't big into production anyways. You'd see his name maybe on an artist's first album for the label, but it's not like he'd produce all of their records.
 
One of the exceptions would be Gino Vannelli where Herb had as a condition for signing him, that he should produce his first album.

- greetings from the north -
Martin
 
He also produced the WINGS album for Michel Colombier about a year after Carpenters CLOSE TO YOU. And let's not forget that he's credited with "Shaker" on the OFFERING album.
 
One of the exceptions would be Gino Vannelli where Herb had as a condition for signing him, that he should produce his first album.

- greetings from the north -
Martin
That seemed common--Herb would produce an artist's first album. Or if he had a strong personal attachment like with Stan Getz's Apasionado.
 
Herb wasn't big into production anyways. You'd see his name maybe on an artist's first album for the label,
It was also a financial thing. Herb would get paid as the producer if an album was a big seller, AND seeing his name there was a sales driver.

In his BBC interview, he says that he produced "the first couple" of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 albums and "especially" the first one, but beyond that it was mostly left to Sergio... yet each of the band's seven albums says "Produced by Herb Alpert & Sergio Mendes" on it.

As for how he got wind of the Carpenters, accounts vary.

On the BBC interview, a guy named Bob Grace says that Herb heard them singing in Disneyland. (Incorrect)

On the same program, Herb, himself, says the tape was presented to him by Jack Daugherty.

In the Wikipedia entry on Daugherty, it says that he was friends with John Pisano (TJB guitarist), and after being encouraged by Daugherty, it was Pisano who first got Herb to listen to the Carpenters' demo tape.

On another interview (I think the one with Bob Edwards), Herb says that a guy approached him and said "....hey, wanna hear a tape?"

As far as the album credits go, the way I always figured it is, Richard was the one turning the knobs and making most of the production decisions (later on with help from Karen), but Daugherty got credit as producer on the first few LPs mainly because he's the one credited with getting them their recording deal.
 
I remember from the Carpenters bio, Richard came to resent Daugherty's name on the records since he had so little input in the production tasks. If I remember, their parting was less than amicable...
 
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