Theodore Gene Keep (20 January 1924 – 21 May 2007) was an American audio engineer and

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 ...

. As a co-founder of Liberty Records, he was the namesake of the character of Theodore from

The Alvin Show ''The Alvin Show'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 196 ...

and ''

The Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...

'',.

Biography

Early life and education

Theodore Gene Keep was born 20 January 1924 in San Francisco, CaliforniaState of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995.'' Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. to Ethel Willard and Malcolm Charles Keep. By 1940, the family lived in the Sawtelle neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Career

He was a co-founder of Liberty Records. In his role as chief of engineering at the label and afterward, Keep introduced a number of innovations to commercial

sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...

. During the 1950s, Keep provided the synchronization process that allowed

Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. Ross S. Bagdasarian (; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, best known for creating the cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmu ...

to combine his speed-doubled voice technique with full orchestration on "

Witch Doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in regions which use traditional healing ...

" and the series of

Chipmunks Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

recordings. For the latter, Keep received Grammy Awards in 1959 and 1960. Keep's Liberty Studios was the first commercial recording studio to employ solid state mixing equipment, retaining its claim as "the world's only

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...

ized recording studio" into 1960. Keep also brought innovations to

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

. Working with the Richard Marino Orchestra, Keep combined custom-built synthesizers and

audio signal processing Audio signal processing is a subfield of signal processing that is concerned with the electronic manipulation of audio signals. Audio signals are electronic representations of sound waves— longitudinal waves which travel through air, consist ...

circuits to achieve the unique sounds on the 1961

exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny Exotica (Martin Denny album), album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon Wa ...

album ''Out of This World''. This release built upon Keep's stereo mix experimentation that lent a surreal quality to the early

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

recordings. He is also credited with supplying electronic effects on the spooky LP ''Fantastica: Music From Outer Space'', by Russ Garcia and His Orchestra. In 1962, Keep loaned to a friend, trumpeter

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, a tape he had made of bullfight crowds in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Alpert used the sound effects as the basis for '' The Lonely Bull'', the first hit recording for Alpert's

Tijuana Brass Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
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. Keep is also known for lending his name to the character of Theodore from

and ''

'', and for choosing

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

to record the ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'' theme. Into the 1960s through 1980s, Keep chose to focus on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and film audio as a head mixer at CBS Studios. Among the better-known soundtracks he recorded were the John Williams compositions for ''

The Towering Inferno ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The Towe ...

'' and ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

''. In addition to the music industry, Keep formed businesses in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

including an answering service and the '' Hi-Desert Star'' newspaper.

Personal life

Keep was married three times: Dorothy Patapoff (1953), Jolene Maddin (1957), and Kathleen Stuart (1963 – 1979). He had three children with Stewart: Ted Keep, Jr., Darry L. Keep, and Genie Keep. Keep died 21 May 2007, in Bullhead City, Arizona.

Awards and honors

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

of the United States. Keep has won 2 Grammys from 5 nominations. , - , 1959 , "

The Chipmunk Song "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" is a novelty Christmas song written by Ross Bagdasarian (under the stage name of David Seville) in 1958. Bagdasarian sang and recorded the song, varying the tape speeds to produce high-pitched "chi ...

" , Best Engineered Record, Non-Classical , , - , 1960 , "

Alvin's Harmonica "Alvin's Harmonica" is a song from the fictional musical group, Alvin and the Chipmunks, which also features additional vocals by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. who plays David Seville in the song. The song was released as the second single from the group ...

" , Best Engineering Contribution – Novelty Recording , , - , rowspan="2", 1961 , " Alvin for President" , Best Engineering Contribution – Novelty Recording , , - , ''

Let's All Sing with The Chipmunks ''Let's All Sing With the Chipmunks'' is the debut album of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It is an interactive children's novelty album. The songs on the record are a mixture between cover versions of children's songs in the public domain and custom ...

'' , Best Engineering Contribution – Novelty Recording , , - , 1962 , ''

'' , Best Engineered Recording – Novelty ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keep, Theodore 1924 births 2007 deaths American record producers American audio engineers