Denny Bruce (born in 1944 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) is an American record producer and artist manager.
While living in Los Angeles in 1965 Denny was hired by
Frank Zappa as a second drummer with
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
. After 6 months he contracted mononucleosis and was forced to leave the group. He was replaced by
Billy Mundi
Billy Mundi (born Antonio Salas, September 25, 1942 in San Francisco – March 29, 2014) was an American drummer best known as a member of The Mothers of Invention and Rhinoceros. He also worked as a session musician. He sometimes used the name To ...
.
Bruce launched a career in artist management and record production with his first artist signed,
Lisa Kindred
Lisa Kindred (1940 – November 11, 2019) was an American folk and blues singer.
Kindred, born in 1940 in Buffalo, New York, was a figure in the Greenwich Village and Cambridge, Massachusetts folk scenes of the 1960s. She played with Bob Dylan, ...
, and soon added
Magic Sam
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
,
Albert Collins
Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...
and
Earl Hooker
Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...
. He later became
A&R consultant to
Blue Thumb Records, working with such artists as
Ike and Tina Turner
Ike or IKE may refer to:
People
* Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname
* Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname
...
,
Charlie Musselwhite
Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...
, and
Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho (born Daniel R. Robinson, Jr., August 31, 1940 – February 28, 1986) was an American acoustic guitarist, pianist and singer.
Biography
Basho was born in Baltimore, and was orphaned as an infant. Adopted by the Robinson family, ...
.
After the death of Magic Sam in 1969, Bruce worked as Tour Manager of
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...
. He formed a production company with Jack Nitzsche and songwriter Gerry Goffin. They worked out of Goffin's new Larabee Studios in West Hollywood.
While working for
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...
he started producing
John Fahey and through Fahey and his label,
Takoma Records
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. , he began his management and producer's relationship with
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
. He produced all seven albums for Kottke on
Capitol Records.
He later teamed up with
Chrysalis Records in 1979 to purchase Fahey's
Takoma Records
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. . Denny brought
Jon Monday
Jon Monday (born 1947 in San Jose, California) is an American producer and distributor of CDs and DVDs across an eclectic range of material such as Swami Prabhavananda, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Huston Smith, Chalmers Johnson, and Ch ...
into the company to continue as General Manager. Monday had been with Takoma since 1970, and was their first full-time employee. Denny signed and produced
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, and signed
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...
,
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...
, and other notable artists to the new Takoma label.
In 1984 he managed "The Blasters" who released the album "Hard Line" on Slash/Warner Bros., as well as the
Gun Club
The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce.
History Early days (1979–1980)
The Gun Club ...
.
He served as pop music consultant to
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
's Department of Fine Arts as well as at the Austin Performing Arts Center in Austin, Texas.
In 2000, Denny and Bill Coben launched
Benchmark Recordings
Benchmark Recordings is a record label that was founded in 2000 by music industry veterans Bill Coben and Denny Bruce.
The initial catalog included the first four albums by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which were originally released in the late 19 ...
with the original four
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
albums and a live album by
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...
. In 2008 Denny retired as president and the company brought in long-time friend of the founders, Jon Monday, to run the label. The company is now co-owned by Bill Coben and
Jon Monday
Jon Monday (born 1947 in San Jose, California) is an American producer and distributor of CDs and DVDs across an eclectic range of material such as Swami Prabhavananda, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Huston Smith, Chalmers Johnson, and Ch ...
.
Credits
*1968 - Playback, Appletree Theatre / The Appletree Theatre, Percussion
*1968 - Head,
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
, Percussion
*1969 - Further on Up the Road, Shakey Jake Harris, Percussion
*1970 - Bad Rice, Ron Nagle, Memorabilia, Photo Courtesy
*1971 - Mudlark,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer, Composer
*1972 - Of Rivers & Religion,
John Fahey, Producer
*1972 - Greenhouse,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1972 - Artist Proof,
Chris Darrow
Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, ...
, Producer
*1973 - My Feet Are Smiling,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer, Composer
*1973 - After the Ball,
John Fahey, Producer
*1974 - Ice Water,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1974 - Dreams and All That Stuff,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1975 - Stranger's Bed, Michael Fennelly, Producer
*1975 - Chewing Pine,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1976 -
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
1971-1976: Did You Hear Me?,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer, Photography
*1976 -
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1977 - I'm with You Always,
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...
, Producer
*1978 - Burnt Lips,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1979 -
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer
*1979 - Slug Line,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*1980 - What's the Word,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer, Liner Notes
*1980 - Two Bit Monsters,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*1980 - Truth Decay,
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...
, Director
*1980 - Ron Cuccia and the Jazz Poetry Group, Ron Cuccia, Producer
*1980 - Rock Therapy, Colin Winski, Producer
*1981 - Eye of the Storm, Max Buda /
Chris Darrow
Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, ...
, Producer
*1981 - Butt Rockin' ,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer, Liner Notes
*1982 - T-Bird Rhythm,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Liner Notes
*1983 - Live Texas Tornado, The
Sir Douglas Quintet
The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American rock band, formed in San Antonio in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record producer Huey Meaux), t ...
, Producer
*1983 - Border Wave, The
Sir Douglas Quintet
The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American rock band, formed in San Antonio in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record producer Huey Meaux), t ...
, Executive Producer
*1984 - Soulful Dress, Marcia Ball, Producer
*1984 - Forget About the Danger, The LeRoi Brothers, Producer
*1985 - Tales of the New West, Beat Farmers, Project Assistant
*1985 - Out of the Blue
ykodisc, Various, Producer
*1987 - The Best of Jerry Butler
hino, Jerry Butler, Liner Notes
*1987 - The Best,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer, Composer
*1989 - Y'All Caught? The Ones That Got Away 1979–1985,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*1989 - Poor and Famous, Beat Farmers, Executive Producer
*1990 - Loud and Plowed and...LIVE!!, Beat Farmers, Producer
*1990 - Alien in My Own Home, Tony Mathews, Art Direction
*1991 - The Essential,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer
*1991 - Listen to the Band,
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
, Percussion
*1991 - Jazzspeak, Various, Overdubs
*1991 - Greetings from Kartoonistan...(We Ain't Dead Yet), Kaleidoscope, Production Coordination, Project Coordinator
*1991 - Essential,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*1992 - Blues Masters, Vol. 4: Harmonica Classics, Various, Producer
*1993 - Slug Line/Two Bit Monsters,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*1994 - Hostage,
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...
, Producer, Editing
*1995 - Blues Masters, Vols. 1–5, Various, Producer
*1996 - Living a Little, Laughing a Little,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*1996 - How I Learned to Stop, Various, Producer
*1996 - Different Tacos,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer
*1996 - Cowabunga! The Surf Box, Various, Producer
*1996 - Butt Rockin'/T-Bird Rhythm,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer
*1997 - The Best of
Michael Bloomfield antasy Michael Bloomfield, Compilation Producer, Reissue Producer, Reissue Compiler
*1997 - Takoma Eclectic Sampler, Various, Producer, Compilation Producer, Reissue Producer, Liner Notes
*1997 - Standing in My Shoes,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Composer
*1997 - Same/What's the Word,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer
*1997 - Chicago Blues Masters, Vol. 3, Various, Percussion
*1998 - Hallelujah! Evolution!, Dr. Stephen Baird, Producer
*1998 - Anthology,
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
, Percussion
*1999 - Unassigned Territory, David Pritchard, Executive Producer
*1999 - Takoma Slide, Various, Producer, Compilation Producer, Liner Notes
*1999 - Takoma Eclectic Sampler, Vol. 2, Various, Producer, Compilation Producer, Reissue Producer, Liner Notes
*1999 - Natural Selection
ebra Various, Executive Producer
*2000 - Let the Boy Jam, Nick Binkley, Producer
*2000 - Is It Over?/They Found Me Guilty, Billy Price Keystone Rhythm Band, Producer
*2001 - Three Piece Suite: The Reprise Recordings 1971–1974, Jack Nitzsche, Producer, Liner Notes
*2001 - Music Box,
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
, Percussion
*2001 - Greatest Hits and More,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*2001 - Girls Go Wild,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer
*2001 - Anthology,
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, Producer
*2003 - The Essential Jimmie Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Producer
*2003 - The Best of the Capitol Years,
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
, Producer
*2003 - Tacos Deluxe,
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
, Producer, Liner Notes
*2003 - Roulettes, The Roulettes, Producer
*2004 - Of Rivers & Religion/After the Ball,
John Fahey / John Fahey & His Orchestra, Producer
*2010 - Perpendicular Worlds, Toulouse Engelhardt, Liner Notes
*2011 - Monkeemania: The Very Best of
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
,
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
, Percussion
*2014 - From His Head to His Heart to His Hands,
Michael Bloomfield, Producer
*2016 -
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
50,
The Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
, Percussion
*2021 - The Jimmie Vaughan Story, Jimmie Vaughan, Producer
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Denny
1944 births
American music managers
Record producers from Pennsylvania
Living people
Businesspeople from Lancaster, Pennsylvania