Jack Daugherty (August 13, 1930 – February 2, 1991) was an American musician, trumpeter and producer who is best known for being the music producer of the band

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...

Life and career

For most of his early professional career, Daugherty had worked as a trumpeter in

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's band. By the 1960s, he had all but retired from the music business, working in public relations at

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the ...

, an aircraft company with a location operating in the Los Angeles area. He went on to produce three albums: ''Jack Daugherty and the Class of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy One'' (referred to by ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' as "a supersession of the finest studio musicians in Hollywood"), on A&M Records, ''Carmel by the Sea'', on the Monterey Label, and ''Romance'', on Columbia Records, Japan, as his last known project.

The Carpenters

Though no longer actively involved in music, Daugherty still kept an open network with other performers throughout the years. One was John Pisano, guitarist of

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 ...

's band

The Tijuana Brass 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 ...

, and still a part of the

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

roster. Daugherty is credited with getting a demo tape of Karen and Richard Carpenter's work to Herb Alpert through Pisano. He produced the Carpenters from 1969 with the release of ''

Offering Offering may refer to: In religion * A religious offering or sacrifice * Alms, voluntary gifts to others, especially poor people, as an act of virtue * Tithe, the tenth part of something, such as income, paid to a religious organization or gover ...

'' and continued until 1972, with the release of ''

A Song for You "A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album '' Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understand ...

''. These early recordings carry the misleading credits "Produced by Jack Daugherty" or "Produced by Jack Daugherty Productions", but in reality, it was Richard who produced the records and did the arrangements and all Daugherty's contributions were limited to were booking musicians, studio time and finding potential songs, although he did offer production advice. Karen and Richard viewed him as an A&R man, not a producer, and furthermore, Richard was enraged when a '' Cashbox'' magazine review praised Daugherty's production abilities. According to Roger Nichols, Richard felt that he was producing the records and Daugherty put his name on them.''Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters'' (1997 TV Movie)

Dismissal and lawsuit against A&M

In 1972, Daugherty had his own secretary at A&M and was paid a $25,000

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. F ...

(US$ in dollars) in addition to

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

from the Carpenters' records, but after he was fired from A&M, Daugherty sued

and

Jerry Moss Jerome S. Moss (born May 8, 1935) is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpet player and bandleader Herb Alpert. Music career After graduating from Brooklyn College with a degree ...

for wrongful termination and he claimed that his termination undermined his credibility in the music industry. He lost the 9-year lawsuit after the courts ruled in favor of both A&M and the Carpenters, but the defense cost the record label $350,000 (US$ in dollars) and $400,000 (US$ in dollars).

Final years

Despite the damaged relationship, Daugherty later set aside his differences with the band and attended the funeral of

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was prais ...

in 1983. He died on February 2, 1991, of complications during coronary bypass surgery.

Controversy over role in Carpenters' recordings

Daugherty's precise role in the Carpenters' recordings has been subjected to some controversy. When Richard was asked at a UK press conference what role Daugherty played in the duo's sound, he responded, "Nothing. That's why he's no longer with us. We produced all these singles. It's a long story, but Jack had nothing to do with anything. He was responsible for getting Herb Alpert to hear our tape, which was very nice, but he wasn't our producer. You'll notice he hasn't had one record on any chart since he left us."Schmidt 2010
pg. 91.
/ref>

Bibliography

* Coleman, Ray. ''The Carpenters: The Untold Story''. HarperCollins, New York, 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daugherty, Jack 1991 deaths Record producers from California The Carpenters 1930 births 20th-century American musicians American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American pianists A&M Records artists American jazz pianists American male pianists American male jazz musicians 20th-century American male musicians