Lou Reizner (born

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

1934, died

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

26 June 1977) was a record producer, A&R executive and head of

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

European operations. He produced

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

's first two solo albums, the

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

version of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

, and

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

's ''

Journey to the Centre of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

''. As an A&R executive, he signed

Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...

and arranged a US deal for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Early career

Born in Chicago, Reizner started off as a singer and recorded a 7-track EP of classic cowboy songs entitled 'Chante Cow-Boy' for the French label Le Chant Du Monde, before going to work for Mercury Records. He produced Dick Campbell's debut album ''Dick Campbell Sings Where Its At'' in 1965, using

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 ...

and

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

, who had previously backed

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, to give a Dylanesque sound. Reizner was a keen talent spotter, and moved to England in 1966 where he produced

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958. He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of t ...

. Allmusic Biography of Lou Reizner by Bruce EderRetrieved 10 February 2010 He gave the Greek Rock band Aphrodite's Child their name. He signed and produced The Eyes of Blue, introducing them to

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

and collaborated with them on the soundtrack of the film ''The Toy Grabbers'' (released in the US as "Mother"). He also arranged for the Eyes to score the music to, and appear in, the film "Connecting Rooms", and used them as a backing band, when, having signed

Buzzy Linhart William Charles "Buzzy" Linhart (March 3, 1943 – February 13, 2020) was an American rock performer, composer, multi-instrumentalist musician and actor. Early life Linhart was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio ...

, he produced his album ''Buzzy'' in 1968. The same year, he produced the Buddy Miles Express debut album ''Expressway to Your Skull''. In October 1968 he signed

to his first solo contract and produced his first two albums '' An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down'' (called ''The Rod Stewart Album'' in the US) and ''

Gasoline Alley ''Gasoline Alley'' is a comic strip created by Frank King and distributed by Tribune Content Agency. It centers on the lives of patriarch Walt Wallet, his family, and residents in the town of Gasoline Alley, with storylines reflecting traditio ...

''. He signed

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

(a precursor to

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

) and was executive producer on their 1969 recordings, although, other than a US single "Earth" they were not released until 1998, long after his death. He also signed

to Mercury Records in 1968, and arranged a US contract for

. He even co-wrote, sang on and produced two tracks for the film ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, rece ...

'' (another Quincy Jones film), which were issued as a single in 1969. In 1970 he signed Strawberry Dust and co-produced their album ''Women and Children First'' with

John Weathers John Patrick 'Pugwash' Weathers (born 7 February 1947) is a retired Welsh rock drummer, best known for playing with the progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Early life Born in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales, he moved to Swansea until, aged ...

, renaming the band Ancient Grease for the album release. The album and band failed but the band later evolved into

Racing Cars Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. Reizner's output was extremely varied. In 1971 he produced Brazilian Tropicalismo artist

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

's third self-titled album (his '' 1971 album'' or ''A Little More Blue''); ''Third of a Lifetime'' by hard rock band Three Man Army; Wishful Thinking's album ''Hiroshima'' and its title song "

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

", (which became a hit for Sandra in Germany in 1990), and Dave Morgan's solo album ''Morgan''.

Symphonic rock

He then conceived and produced the orchestral version of

''. Tommy was recorded by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

with the

English Chamber Choir The English Chamber Choir is a choir based in England. History The English Chamber Choir came into existence in 1972; its earliest engagements included Haydn's ''Nelson Mass'', Fauré's ''Requiem'' and Kodály's ''Laudes Organi'' with H ...

, conducted by

David Measham David Michael Lucian Measham (1 December 19376 February 2005) was a British-Australian conductor and violinist. Measham was born in Nottingham, England, to a musical family. His father, Lester, had trained as an opera singer and his mother, J ...

and arranged by

Will Malone Wil Malone (born 1952, in Hornsey, North London) is a British music producer and arranger, who has worked with artists including Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Todd Rundgren, The Verve, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode and Italian rocker Gianna Nann ...

. The album was launched at a live performance on 9 December 1972 at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

, London, with The LSO, The ECC, The Who and an all star cast. This, "the orchestrated ''Tommy'' was to be Lou's crowning achievement". The double album was issued in a lavish box set, with a full colour booklet including the story, the lyrics and illustrations of the cast in character, "which was at the time the most elaborate album package yet created", and which won the Best Album Package Grammy in 1974. Whilst still producing hard rock bands such as Three Man Army, Reizner also continued his

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

work, with

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

''. Issued in 1974, this also featured the LSO and the ECC, conducted by Measham and arranged by Malone.

Film soundtracks

The success of these extravagant productions encouraged him to work on the soundtrack to ''

All This and World War II ''All This and World War II'' is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films, in a manner meant by the filmma ...

'', a 1976 film comprising

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

newsreels A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

, set to

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

songs, re-recorded by current artists such as

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

. Although the film fared badly, the soundtrack album charted in the UK and US. The album included

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's version of "

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partners ...

", which had been issued in 1974, and Rod Stewart's version of "

Get Back "Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to ...

" which became a UK hit single. The film also includes a

& Reizner cover of "

You Never Give Me Your Money "You Never Give Me Your Money" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon–McCartney) and documented the financial and personal difficulties facing the band. The song is the fir ...

". Reizner went on to produce the music to the 1977 film '' Black Joy'' featuring

Gladys Knight and the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

and

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

. He was still working prolifically, when he died of colon cancer, in June 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reizner, Lou 1934 births 1977 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago Record producers from Illinois 20th-century American businesspeople American expatriates in the United Kingdom Deaths from colorectal cancer Deaths from cancer in England