His work spanned from Elvis Presley, Phil Spector and the Rolling Stones to the Monkees, Neil Young, the Beach Boys, James Brown and Randy Newman. He was a performer (the 1963 instrumental hit "The Lonely Surfer"), a session man (he played keyboards on the Stones classics "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadows?," "Play With Fire" and "Paint It Black"), arranger (working with Spector on "He's A Rebel" and Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep Mountain High), a writer (co-authoring the Searchers' '64 hit, "Needles and Pins" with Sonny Bono), producer (Jackie DeShannon, Bob Lind, P.J. Proby), motion picture score composer ("The TAMI Show," "Performance," "The Exorcist" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), Oscar winner (Best Original Song in ‘82 for co-writing "Up Where We Belong" with soon-to-be wife Buffy Sainte-Marie) and a frequent collaborator with Neil Young, arranging the strings on such records as Buffalo Springfield's '67 hit, "Expecting To Fly" and performing as a sometime member of Crazy Horse. He also drew headlines when he threatened ex-wife Carrie Snodgrass with a gun.
Jack Nitzsche, born Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche on April 22, 1937 in Chicago, IL, was one of the great unsung heroes of rock & roll. He moved to L.A. in 1955 with hopes of becoming a jazz saxophonist, but quit music school to join Specialty Records, where then-A&R exec Sonny Bono hired him as a copyist.
At the time of his death, Jack was working with Louisiana rocker Charles "C.C." Adcock and collaborating on his biography with Jimmy McDonough. He is survived by his son Jack Jr. He will be buried with a memorial service on Wednesday (8/30).
Said McDonough: "Melancholy, bittersweet, ghostly—these are words that come to mind when I think of Jack's sound. But that doesn't quite get it. It was just Jack Nitzsche music, and once you heard it, you were never the same. If Jack's name was on a record, you could count on something moving, something unique. And probably something you'd never heard before."
THE RISE OF CHAPPELL ROAN: BEHIND THE SCENES
Here's how it happened. An oral history by Craig Marks. (8/30a)
A SIZZLING HITS LIST
Hot off the grill. Pairs well with your brewski of choice. (8/30a)
GUY MOOT AND CARIANNE MARSHALL: THE HITS INTERVIEW
Publishing's dynamic duo (8/28a)
THE COUNT: A LABOR (DAY) OF LIVE-MUSIC LOVE
Your other option is staying home and watching college football. (8/30a)
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THE GRAMMY SHORT LIST
Who's already a lock?
COUNTRY'S NEWEST DISRUPTOR
Three chords and some truth you may not be ready for.
AI IS ALREADY EATING YOUR LUNCH
The kids can tell the difference... for now.
ALL THE WAY LIVE
The players, the tours, the enormous beers.
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