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Richard L. Shurman (born May 23, 1950) is an American
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
,
music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
,
music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...
, and backing vocalist. He has produced numerous recordings by notable musicians including
Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...
,
Lurrie Bell Lurrie Bell (born Lurrie C. Bell, December 13, 1958, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American blues guitarist and singer. His father was renowned blues harmonica player Carey Bell. Career Bell started playing guitar at the age of six, ...
, Eddie C. Campbell,
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. ...
, Little Smokey Smothers,
Jody Williams Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of securit ...
, Roy Buchanan, Big Bill Morganfield,
Larry Garner Larry Garner (born July 8, 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States) is a Louisiana blues musician best known for his 1994 album ''Too Blues''., quote: " One music journalist noted "If you define 'blues' by the rigid categories of structur ...
,
Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed a ...
, Hip Linkchain,
Magic Slim Morris Holt (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013), known as Magic Slim, was an American blues singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near Grenada, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, he followed blues greats such as Muddy Waters and H ...
,
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 ...
,
Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...
, Johnny Heartsman, and Fenton Robinson. Shurman has also written many
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...
, and is the publisher of ''Chicago Blues News''. In 2005, he was the recipient of the
Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of t ...
's "Keeping the Blues Alive" award. He co-produced '' Showdown!'', an album which won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1987. Shurman was inducted into the
Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in ...
in 2014 for his multitudinous contributions as a 'non-performer'.


Biography

Shurman was born in
Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the Nuclear weapon, atomic bomb—the primary objective of the ...
, United States, and later resided in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
and
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin b ...
, before relocating to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
after his father secured employment with
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
. There he befriended a number of blues musicians, and started writing articles for the British magazine, '' Blues Unlimited''. Shurman first attended the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
in September 1968. Fearing that his continual attendance at local blues clubs may harm his education, he enrolled at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...
, earning a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in
library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
that enabled him to begin full-time employment in a suburban library back in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. He continued to work full-time in a succession of library jobs. His occasional writing work led Shurman to interview musicians such as Albert Collins, Otis Rush, Jody Williams, Johnny Heartsman, and Lee "Shot" Williams. Shurman befriended many blues figures including Earl Hooker and Johnny Heartsman. His involvement in, and passion for
Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cen ...
, led Shurman into record production work. His most successful period was with
Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...
, often working alongside the label's founder Bruce Iglauer on production duties. Albert Collins was signed by Alligator Records in 1978, on the recommendation of Shurman, whom Collins had met in Seattle.''Albert Collins - Vital Blues Guitar Series''. Transcriptions: Richard DeVinck. Creative Concepts Publishing (California) 1994. . His first release for the label was ''Ice Pickin (1978), which was recorded at Curtom Studios, Chicago, and produced by Iglauer, Shurman and Richard McLeese. Shurman co-produced the album '' Showdown!'', with Iglauer, which won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1987. Shurman has contributed to various publications, including ''
Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...
'', '' Juke Blues'' and '' Block Magazine''. In 1997, Shurman jointly compiled and wrote the liner notes for
Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...
's compilation album, '' His Best''. In 2000, Shurman gave encouragement to
Jody Williams Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of securit ...
to resume performing, and produced Williams' comeback album, ''Return of a Legend'' (2002), on which his bold playing belied his thirty-year break from music.Dahl, Bill (2002). ''Return Of A Legend'' D liner notes In 2010, following the death of Little Smokey Smothers, Shurman and Iglauer jointly penned an obituary which appeared in ''Living Blues''.Dick Shurman & Bruce Iglauer, Obituary in '' Juke Blues'', no.70, 2010, p.60 In 2014, Shurman was inducted as a member of the
Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in ...
. Shurman has annotated many albums and contributed to chapters of books, feature articles and reviews, and for many years had a news column in ''Living Blues''. He is also a member of the
Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and ...
Advisory Committee. His annotation work included the ten disc
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
, '' Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. B.B. King'' (2012). In addition he earlier penned the liner notes for
Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade car ...
's 1991 compilation, ''The Chess Box''.


Selected record production and other work


References


External links


Dick Shurman discography credits at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shurman, Dick 1950 births Living people Record producers from Illinois American photographers American writers about music American music historians American male non-fiction writers American music journalists American audio engineers American blues singers Chicago blues musicians 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians University of Washington Information School alumni People from Los Alamos, New Mexico Engineers from Illinois Historians from Illinois