Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
.
Biography
Laguna was born in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, United States, and started playing piano at high school dances from the age of twelve. In the late 1960s, he worked as a songwriter and producer with
Super K Productions
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
Super K Productions was a 1960s American recording production company under Buddah Records, headed by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, whose groups specialized in bubblegum pop. Their biggest success ...
, established at
Buddah Records
Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...
by producers
Jerry Kasenetz
Jerry Kasenetz is an American bubblegum pop producer who worked with Jeffry Katz, the two working together as the Super K Productions company,Clarke, Donald (ed.) (1998) ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Penguin Books, , p. 182 to manu ...
and
Jeffry Katz
Jeffry Katz (born May 20, 1943, Brooklyn, New York) is an American music producer, one of the first exponents of bubblegum pop.
Music career
He is one half of a hitmaking duo with Jerry Kasenetz, the two working together as the Super K Productio ...
, writing songs for such acts as
Tony Orlando
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
,
The Ohio Express
The Ohio Express is an American bubblegum pop band formed in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1967. Though marketed as a band, it would be more accurate to say that the name "Ohio Express" served as a brand name used by Jerry Kasenetz's and Jeffry Katz's ...
and
The Lemon Pipers
The Lemon Pipers were a 1960s American psychedelic rock band from Oxford, Ohio, United States, known chiefly for their song " Green Tambourine", which reached No. 1 in the United States in 1968. The song has been credited as being the first bub ...
, often in association with writers
Bo Gentry
Robert Allan Ackoff (May 30, 1942 – June 30, 1983), known professionally as Bo Gentry, was an American pop singer, songwriter and record producer, most noted for his work with Tommy James and the Shondells in the 1960s.
Biography
Gentry wa ...
,
Bobby Bloom and
Ritchie Cordell
Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt; March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. He wrote and produced several hits for Tommy James and The Shondells, including "I Think We're Alone No ...
. Laguna played keyboards for a time with
Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...
, and played on their 1968 hit single "
Mony Mony"; he also played keyboards on the second Ohio Express album, ''Yummy Yummy''.
Some other credits that Laguna can be seen on include playing on and singing background vocals for "Simon Says", "Goody Goody Gumdrops", "
Indian Giver
"Indian giver" is a pejorative expression used to describe a person who gives a "gift" and later wants it back or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for the item. It is based on cultural misunderstandings that took place between ...
", and most of the 1910 Fruitgum Company's record ''1 2 3 Red Light'', playing on "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin" by the Crazy Elephant,
The Lemon Pipers' "
Green Tambourine
"Green Tambourine" is a song written and composed by Paul Leka (who also produced it) and Shelley Pinz. It was the biggest hit by the 1960s Ohio-based rock group the Lemon Pipers, as well as the title track of their debut album, '' Green Tambou ...
", as well as "
This Magic Moment" and "Walkin' in the Rain" by
Jay and the Americans
Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...
.
One of his most successful writing credits is the tune "
Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", originally a throwaway
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
for
Tony Orlando
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
's group Wind. The tune was covered in the UK by studio musicians calling themselves
Mr. Bloe
Mr. Bloe was the name given to the musicians who performed the single "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", which was a hit in 1970 in the UK for Dick James Music (DJM). These included Harry Pitch on harmonica, and on piano.
Background
The tune "Groov ...
, and reached #2 on the
UK singles chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1970. The original version was reissued in 1970 with "Are You Nuts?" on the B-side, and credited to Cool Heat charted in the U.S. peaking at #89 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Laguna also worked on the soundtrack of the
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
film ''
Lonesome Cowboys
''Lonesome Cowboys'' is a 1968 American Western film directed by Andy Warhol and written and produced by Paul Morrissey. The film is a satire of Hollywood Westerns, and was initially screened in November 1968 at the San Francisco Internationa ...
'', and worked as a producer in Los Angeles with singers
Darlene Love
Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.
She began singing as a child with her ...
and
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...
, formerly of
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...
.
He played or sang on more than 50 ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hits by 1972.[
In the mid 1970s, he worked for a time in Britain, and produced a series of albums with the ]Steve Gibbons Band
Steve Gibbons (born 13 July 1941) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader. His music career spans more than 50 years.
Career The Dominettes
Steve Gibbons started his professional life as a plumber's apprentice in Harborne ...
, as well as their UK hit single "Tulane", a cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of a Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
song. He also worked in Los Angeles, as a writer and producer for Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Gre ...
, on songs by and for Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn
Gregory Stanley Kihn (born July 10, 1949) is an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which scored hit songs in the 1980s, and has written several horror novels.
History
Kihn was born ...
, Earth Quake and others.[ Producer credits with Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers include "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz", "Abdul and Cleopatra", and more.. With Earth Quake and label boss Matthew "King" Kaufman, he recorded a version of ]Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
's " Stairway to Heaven", rewritten with the lyrics to the theme song of the television show ''Gilligan's Island
''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...
''. The record was issued as a single, by Little Roger and the Goosebumps, but the label was threatened with legal action by Led Zeppelin's lawyers and copies were destroyed. It was eventually reissued in 2000 on the compilation CD ''Laguna Tunes''.[
Laguna met, and began working with, ]Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
, shortly after the break-up of The Runaways
The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of ...
in 1979. Working with Cordell and others, he won her a solo record deal and co-produced her solo albums including '' Bad Reputation'' (1980), and ''I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of ...
'' (1981). He established Blackheart Records with Jett in the early 1980s. Journalist Jonathan Gross described Laguna as "Jett's surrogate father/brother/manager/mentor/producer/schlepper/bagman, etc." In 1982 he also produced English band Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band behind 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. They released their debut EP '' Your Cassette ...
's hit version of "I Want Candy
"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat.
Original version ...
". He has continued to work with Joan Jett, as performer, producer and manager, on her later albums and tours, and acted as Executive Producer on the 2010 film ''The Runaways
The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of ...
'', about Jett's earlier band.[David J. Spatz, ''Kenny Laguna, Joan Jett's producer, is a longtime hit maker'']
NorthJersey.com, December 10, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2013
On April 18, 2015, Laguna, along with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, ''RockHall.com/Inductees''
Retrieved August 27, 2019
References
External links
* ttp://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-laguna-mn0000768302 Credits at allmusic.com
Credits at discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laguna, Kenny
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Record producers from New York (state)
Songwriters from New York (state)