Andrew Douglas Paley (born November 2, 1952) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
songwriter,
record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed
the Paley Brothers
The Paley Brothers were an American power pop duo formed in 1976 by brothers Andy and Jonathan Paley. After releasing one studio album and EP, they disbanded in 1979, although the brothers continued to collaborate on other projects. They are cha ...
, a 1970s
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...
duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, Andy was a staff producer at
Sire Records
Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
History Beginnings
The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...
, producing albums for artists such as
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
,
Jonathan Richman,
NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...
,
John Wesley Harding
''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk ...
,
the Greenberry Woods, and
Jerry Lee Lewis. He has also worked in film and television, composing scores and writing songs mostly for cartoons such as ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show'', ''
Digimon
, short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a "Digi ...
'', ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character an ...
'', and ''
Camp Lazlo
''Camp Lazlo'' is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray for Cartoon Network. The series follows Lazlo, an anthropomorphic spider monkey that goes to a camp called "Camp Kidney", a Boy Scout-like summer camp in Pimpleback M ...
''.
Personal life and early career
Andy is the son of Henry Paley, a college administrator and lobbyist, and Cabot Barber Paley, a teacher and therapist.
He is the third of five children and grew up near
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City. ...
.
His younger sister Sarah is married to former U.S. senator
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vie ...
. In 2010, he married Heather Crist in a ceremony officiated by Kerrey.
He began performing in his early teens as a drummer and singer for local Albany-area bands before moving to Boston. He was a founding member and the drummer of the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
,
Massachusetts band, Catfish Black, which also included future
Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
members
Jerry Harrison and Ernie Brooks. The band was renamed the Sidewinders and was later joined by
Billy Squier
William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American rock musician and singer who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", " I ...
. The band performed around Boston and in NYC at venues like
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decem ...
. They released an album, produced by
Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye ('' né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.
Early life
Kaye was born to Jewish parents in the Washington Heights area of upper ...
, which featured songs written and sung by Paley. The Sidewinders broke up in the mid-1970s. Paley then played on
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer and journalist living in Paris.
Biography
Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island ...
's album ''Night Lights'', and performed with
Jonathan Richman after the break-up of the original
Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
.
The Paley Brothers
Andy went on to form The Paley Brothers
with his younger brother Jonathan, a guitar/bass player and singer who also was part of the early Boston punk scene and had played with Boston and NYC bands such as Mong. They disintegrated as an act in 1979 when Jonathan joined the
Nervous Eaters
The Nervous Eaters, one of Boston's first punk/ new wave bands forming in 1973, debuted in early 1977 with Steve Cataldo on vocals and guitar, Robb Skeen on bass, and Jeff Wilkinson on drums. They had used the name some years earlier, but had not p ...
. Although the Nervous Eaters collapsed after
Ric Ocasek
Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...
, who had produced their demo, was not permitted to produce their second album,
the Paley Brothers did not reform. Said Jonathan, "It was more of an evolution. Andy went on the road with
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''.
Called the "punk poet ...
's band and got into production work; I went and sailed around the world."
[Quoted by Gene Sculatti in liner notes for "The Paley Brothers: The Complete Recordings"]
Collaborative work
In 1979, Andy Paley played guitar on Jonathan Richman's album ''Back in Your Life'', and continued to perform on and off with Richman and later incarnations of the Modern Lovers, and produce many of their recordings, through the 1980s. He produced Richman's 1985 album ''
Rockin' and Romance''. Andy then focused on songwriting, session work and record production while working with
Madonna,
k.d. lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the so ...
,
Mandy Barnett
Amanda Carol Barnett (born September 28, 1975) is an American country music singer and stage actress.
Early life and music career
Barnett has been singing since she was a child, performing at churches, local venues, as well as at Dollywood. In ...
,
Jerry Lee Lewis,
Elton John,
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...
,
Little Richard and many others.
Brian Wilson
In 1988, Paley produced and co-wrote songs on Wilson's solo comeback album ''
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
'', and continued to work with him on unreleased material in the 1990s.
Wilson described Paley as a multi-instrumentalist with "a lot of talent for anything you can think of. ... He's the most frighteningly talented person that I've met, and the most serious about music."
Film and television work
He produced the soundtracks for ''
Dick Tracy'' (1990) and ''A Walk on the Moon'' (1999) and wrote the original music for ''Traveller'' (1997, starring Bill Paxton). In 2009 he contributed to the soundtrack of ''
World's Greatest Dad
''World's Greatest Dad'' is a 2009 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, and Alexie Gilmore. The film was released on July 24, 2009, on video on demand prov ...
'', directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams. He also wrote the musical score for Season One of Showtime's ''
The L Word
''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ile ...
''.
Paley also scored for cartoons such as ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show'',
and later wrote and produced the music for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. Its ...
's ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character an ...
''. He and
Tom Kenny
Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in '' SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...
– the voice of SpongeBob – co-wrote the ''
It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Album
''It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Album'' is a soundtrack album to the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' stop motion Christmas special " It's a SpongeBob Christmas!". It is also the fifth soundtrack to the series. It was released on November 6, 2012. The tra ...
'' (2012). Paley and Kenny are also both members of Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas. He leads the Andy Paley Orchestra, which provides the music for ''
The Thrilling Adventure & Supernatural Suspense Hour'', a theater group in
Los Angeles that performs original stage productions in the style of old radio melodramas. Additionally he provides music for The Dana Gould Hour podcast.
Discography
Albums produced
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paley, Andy
Living people
Record producers from New York (state)
The Modern Lovers members
Musicians from Albany, New York
Musicians from Washington, D.C.
Songwriters from New York (state)
Songwriters from Washington, D.C.
American male songwriters
American multi-instrumentalists
1952 births