Roy Joel Cicala (March 28, 1939 – January 22, 2014) was an American producer, engineer, songwriter and musician. His body of work includes over 10 Platinum Records for producing, writing, engineering and management for talent from the 1970s through to 2014.

Biography

Roy Cicala was born ''Roy Joel Cicala'' in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

.https://saplantstudio.wordpress.com Since his 1968 start at Record Plant Studios in New York, he recorded and produced some of the greatest artists of modern music, including Cab Calloway,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, Aretha Franklin, Four Seasons, Madonna,

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, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Frank Sinatra, Dire Straits, Jimi Hendrix,

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, Chick Corea,

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, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Liza Minnelli,

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, Patti La Belle,

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, Frank Zappa, Lou Reed,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, Santana, Sarah Vaughan, Charles Mingus and many others. Cicala began working freelance engineering jobs in New York when he took over

Record Plant Studios The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

piloting mega-albums hits as chief engineer. He was an engineer on the first album ever recorded at Record Plant Studios, ''

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'' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in 1968. Through the years, he worked on hundreds of albums. During the 1970s, house engineers

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

and Roy Cicala gave many local bands their start by donating session time and materials to upcoming artists, engineering and producing their demo tapes. While at Record Plant, Cicala was involved with a wide range of projects, including doing the remote work for the " Live Aid" concert in 1985. Record Plant closed in 1989. Cicala first worked with John Lennon just before

The 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 developmen ...

broke up in 1970. Cicala did engineering work for Lennon and Ono on various albums, including ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'', ''

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''.

Works

;Selected engineering, production and Record Plant NYC credits *The Jimi Hendrix Experience: ''

'' – 1967-68 * Frank Sinatra: ''Watertown'' - 1969 * Four Seasons: "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" - 1969 *John Lennon: ''Imagine'' – 1971 *John Lennon & Yoko Ono: ''Sometime in New York City'' - 1972 *John Lennon: ''Mind Games'' - 1973 *John Lennon: ''Walls and Bridges'' -1974 * Aerosmith: ''Get Your Wings'' – 1973-74 * Bruce Springsteen: ''Born to Run'' – 1974-75 *Aerosmith: ''Toys in the Attic'' – 1975 *John Lennon: ''Rock and Roll'' - 1975 *Bruce Springsteen: ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' – 1977-78 *

Patti Smith Group 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 ...

: ''

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'' – 1978 *

: ''Lodger'' – 1979 * Jerome T. Youngman & Hooks: ''Young and Boring'' – 1980 *John Lennon & Yoko Ono: ''Double Fantasy'' - 1980 * AC/DC: ''Who Made Who'' - 1986 *

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: ''

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'' - 1997 *Forgotten Boys: ''Louva-a-Deus'' – 2007 *

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: ''The King of In Between'' – 2011
Optic Yellow Felt
''Optic Yellow Felt'' - 2011 *The Moondogs: "Black & White Woman" - 2013 ;Selected live engineering, production and Record Plant Remote credits * George Harrison & Friends,

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, Madison Square Garden - August 1, 1971 * Elton John, Concert on the Great Lawn in

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- September 13, 1980 * Live Aid - a multi-venue rock music concert. July 13, 1985. ;Selected songwriting credits * John Lennon: ''Incantation'' - 1974 ;Other credits * John Lennon: ''Walls and Bridges'': Strings and Remixing * Johnny Rivers: " Secret Agent Man" - Theme to the American Broadcast of the British series ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

''. Cicala had been working in Brazil since the 1970s in various engineering and production capacities. He was producing and managing major label artists like Charlie Brown Jr. at the newly launched Record Plant South. He sat on the advisory board for a New York City-based start-up founded by his nephew Craig Alberino.

References

* John Blaney, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, ''Lennon and McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography of Their Solo Work'' (Paperback), Jawbone Press (March 28, 2007). , * Richard, Burgess, ''The Art Of Music Production'' (Paperback), Omnibus Press; 3rd edition (May 1, 2005), , * Maureen Droney, ''Mix Masters: Platinum Engineers Reveal Their Secrets for Success'' (Paperback), Berklee Press; Pap/Com edition (January 1, 2003). , * Mark Cunningham, ''Good Vibrations: A History of Record Production'' (Sanctuary Music Library) (Paperback), Alan Parson (Introduction), Brian Eno (Introduction) Sanctuary Publishing, Ltd; 2 edition (September 1, 1999). , * David Simons, ''Studio Stories: How the Great New York Records Were Made: From Miles to Madonna, Sinatra to the Ramones'' (Paperback), Backbeat Books (November 19, 2004). , * Albert Goldman, ''The Lives of John Lennon'' (Paperback), Chicago Review Press; New Ed edition (September 1, 2001) # Language: English # , * Billy James, ''A Dream Goes on Forever: The Continuing Story of Todd Rundgren'' (Paperback), Golden Treasures Pub (December 2002). , *

Bruce Spizer David "Bruce" Spizer (born July 2, 1955) is a tax attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana, who is also recognized as an expert on the Beatles. He has published thirteen books, and is frequently quoted as an authority on the history of the band an ...

, ''The Beatles Solo on Apple Records'' (Hardcover), Allan Steckler (Foreword), Four Ninety-Eight Productions (April 30, 2005). , * Richard Williams, ''Phil Spector: Out Of His Head'' (Paperback), Omnibus Press; Revised edition (August 1, 2003). , * Michael J. Hockinson, ''The Ultimate Beatles Quiz Book II'' (Paperback), St. Martin's Griffin (November 13, 2000). , * Dan Muise, Rory Gallagher, Steve Marriott, and Rick Derringer, ''Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer, Trower: Their Lives and Music'' (Paperback - April 2002), Hal Leonard; 1 edition (April 2002). , * Yoko Ono, ''Memories of John Lennon'' (Hardcover), Harper Entertainment (November 29, 2005). ,
Matt Gallagher, "Garland Jeffreys 'The King of In Between'"
''Mix Magazine'' (July 1, 2011).

External links

Shelly Yakus Interview on Pro Sound's Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicala, Roy 1939 births 2014 deaths Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Record producers from Connecticut Record producers from New York (state) American audio engineers American expatriates in Brazil American male songwriters Engineers from Connecticut Songwriters from New York (state) Songwriters from Connecticut