SHEL TALMY,
1937-2024

Producer Shel Talmy, who helped shape the sound of the British Invasion through his work with bands like The Who, The Kinks and The Easybeats, died Wednesday of complications from a stroke. He was 87 years old.

Talmy, a native of Chicago, moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and began his career as an engineer with ABC television but soon moved into music production, working closely with studio legends The Wrecking Crew.

He didn’t really make his mark, however, until moving to the U.K. in late 1962 and diving headlong into the burgeoning rock scene there. Ever the raconteur, he told journalist Richie Unterberger, “I went to see everybody that I could see in town [L.A.] and I said, 'There's going to be a big explosion of British bands. All I need is $5,000 and I can tie up every British band there is." I could have gotten the Stones for about $500, The Beatles for maybe $1,000, and everybody else for about $100 each. And they said, 'Sure kid,' patted me on the head, and that was the end of that.”

He did manage to click with a band called The Ravens, who’d soon be re-christened The Kinks. Talmy brought them to Pye Records in London, where he’d produce such groundbreaking early hits as “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All Night." He'd go on to produce seven albums for the band, generating later classics like "Waterloo Sunset."

His reputation spread quickly, drawing the attention of musicians like Pete Townshend, who allegedly wrote “I Can’t Explain” as an appeal to get Talmy into the studio with The High Numbers, who’d soon be rebranded as The Who. Talmy ended up working with the band for years, putting his stamp on songs like “The Kids Are Alright” and the era-defining “My Generation.”

Talmy was also behind the board for other British hitmakers of the era, notably Chad and Jeremy, The Creation and Aussie expats The Easybeats, for whom he produced the oft-covered “Friday on My Mind.”

An early supporter of David Bowie, Talmy contributed to some mid-'60s sides for him and, later in the decade, for Manfred Mann, Pentangle and Roy Harper. Talmy stayed active into the '70s, working with a wide array of acts, including The Blues Project, Band of Joy and punk pioneers The Damned.

Dave Davies of the Kinks paid tribute to his friend, writing, "I really loved the man. He was crucial to the beginning of our career. I send all my love and condolences to his family. He was a really sweet, gentle soul."

Talmy penned a farewell statement some time before his passing, saying he hoped fans and followers would remember him, “preferably with ‘You Really Got Me,’ ‘My Generation' and ‘Friday on My Mind’ or your choice of favorite [Shel Talmy] production cranked in the background.”

He wrote, “Please note that if you’re reading this now, this is my final vignette as I am no longer residing on this plane of existence and have ‘moved on’ to wherever that may be. I’d like to think that I’m thoroughly enjoying my new ‘residence’ and that the countless rumors that there is a big working ‘studio in the sky’ are true and that we are, dare I say, making heavenly music!”

Talmy is survived by his wife, Jan Talmy, brother Leonard Talmy, daughter Jonna Sargeant and granddaughter Shay Berg.