Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) 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 ...

who mostly works with artists in the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most successful period. ScottLitBioImage

Biography

Litt began as an engineer in the late 1970s, working on recordings by Ian Hunter and

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Th ...

.Ankeny, Jason " Scott Litt Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, retrieved 2010-04-05 He made his debut as a producer with

The dB's The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album, ''Stands for Decibels'', is often acclaimed as one of the greatest "lost" powe ...

''Repercussion'' album in 1982, going on to work with Chris Stamey,

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

, and

Beat Rodeo Beat Rodeo (also known as The Beat Rodeo) was a country rock band from New York City during the 1980s. Career Following the breakup of the Minneapolis-based Suicide Commandos (in which he played bass), Steve Almaas moved to New York, turned to gui ...

. His breakthrough as a producer came in 1987 with R.E.M.'s ''

Document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

'' album. Litt had first worked with the band on the track "Romance" for a film soundtrack,Hogan, Peter (1995) ''The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M.'', Omnibus Press, , p. 45 and went on to enjoy a long and successful association with the band which included production of their albums ''

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

'' (1988), '' Out of Time'' (1991), '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), ''

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'' (1994) and '' New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' (1996). In 1997, R.E.M. and Litt discontinued their collaboration. Apart from R.E.M., the most commercially successful act Litt worked with was

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...

, for whom he mixed the singles " Heart-Shaped Box" and " All Apologies" from the 1993 album ''

In Utero ''In Utero'' is the third and final studio album by American rock band Nirvana. It was released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albin ...

'', and the posthumous release ''

MTV Unplugged in New York ''MTV Unplugged in New York'' is a live album by American rock band Nirvana, released on November 1, 1994, by DGC Records. It features an acoustic performance recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993, for the telev ...

'' (1994). Litt also remixed " Pennyroyal Tea" and the remix was set to be released on the single, but the single was retracted shortly after Kurt Cobain's death. His remix can be found on

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and Kmart versions of ''

'' as well as ''

'', Nirvana's greatest hits collection. In 1999 and the 2000s, Litt worked with Incubus to produce two of their records ''

Make Yourself ''Make Yourself'' is the third studio album by American rock band Incubus, released through Epic Records on October 26, 1999. It is certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and produced three charting sin ...

'' (1999) and ''

Morning View ''Morning View'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Incubus, released October 23, 2001, through Epic Records. A companion DVD, '' The Morning View Sessions'', was released on May 29, 2002. Continuing the move away from nu metal, ...

'' (2001).Incubus feature
, ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'', November 2001, retrieved 2010-04-05 Litt also mixed songs for Hole including "Miss World", "Asking For It", "Jennifer's Body", and "Softer, Softest" off their album ''

Live Through This ''Live Through This'' is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on April 12, 1994, by DGC Records. Recorded in late 1993, it departed from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodies ...

''. He has also worked for Liz Phair,Chonin, Neva (1998)
Liz Phair ''Whitechocolatespaceegg'' Review
, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', July 30, 1998, retrieved 2010-04-05 Juliana Hatfield, the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

, Paul Kelly, New Order, The Replacements,

Patti Smith 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 ...

(''

Dream of Life ''Dream of Life'' is the fifth studio album by Patti Smith, released in June 1988 on Arista Records. Recording and release ''Dream of Life'' was her first album after the dissolution of The Patti Smith Group, and the only album that she made wi ...

''), The Woodentops ('' Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway''),

That Petrol Emotion That Petrol Emotion were a London-based Northern Ireland-originating band with an American vocalist, Steve Mack. It featured the O'Neill brothers from celebrated Derry pop-punk band The Undertones plus ex-members of fellow Derry bands Bam Bam and ...

('' Chemicrazy''),

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

, Days of the New," Scott Litt Credits,

, retrieved 2010-04-05

The Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American rock band from Olathe, Kansas. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album '' Something to Write Home Abo ...

,"THE GET UP KIDS 'On a Wire'", ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', June 28, 2002

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...

Harrington, Richard (2003) "For Once, Marley Isn't Being a Family Man", ''

'', June 6, 2003 and

Alela Diane Alela Diane Menig (born April 20, 1983), known as Alela Diane, is an American singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California. Early life and education Diane was born in Nevada City, California on April 20, 1983. She grew up singing with he ...

. Litt also started his own label, Outpost Recordings, initially in partnership with

IRS Records I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wav ...

employee Mark Williams, and funded and distributed by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

.Morris, Chris (1998)
Flat Duo Jets Fly a New Route
, ''

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 adverti ...

'', September 5, 1998, retrieved 2010-04-05Fletcher, Tony (2002) ''Remarks: The Story of R.E.M.'', Omnibus Press, , p. 291

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Litt, Scott American record producers Living people The Get Up Kids Place of birth missing (living people) R.E.M. personnel 1954 births