Terry Melcher Dead At 62

[admin]

From AOL

Terry Melcher, the record producer and songwriter son of Doris Day, who aided the careers of Ry Cooder, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, has died aged 62.

Melcher, the son of actress Doris Day, died at his Beverly Hills home after a long battle with melanoma. Melcher co-wrote the hit song "Kokomo" for the Beach Boys. The song was used in the movie "Cocktail" and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1988 for best original song. He also performed on the Beach Boys album "Pet Sounds."

In the early 1960s, Melcher began singing as a solo act and later paired with future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston to form the group Bruce & Terry. The pair had several hits, then went on to form the Rip Chords, which recorded the 1964 hit "Hey, Little Cobra."

In the mid-1960s, Melcher joined Columbia Records as a producer. Working with the Byrds, he produced their top-selling version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and other hits, including "Turn, Turn, Turn." Melcher also produced hit songs for Paul Revere and the Raiders and worked with Gram Parsons, the Mamas and the Papas, and Ry Cooder. He served as the executive producer of his mother's CBS show, "The Doris Day Show," from 1968 to 1972 and co-produced her mid-1980s show, "Doris Day's Best Friends." Melcher also helped run his mother's charitable activities, including the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

In 1969, his name became linked with the grisly Charles Manson murders. Melcher once rented the home where actress Sharon Tate and a group of her friends were murdered by Manson followers.
Rumours circulated that Melcher, who knew Manson, was the real target because he had turned Manson down for a record contract. Los Angeles police discounted the rumours. Melcher had since moved to Malibu, and police established that Manson knew of his new address.

[doctorwho]

I think I remember his name appearing in the credits of the Moby Grape/Grape Jam double LP set, c. 1970. Very sad to hear of his passing.

[360dave660]

from what I have read about the LA scene of this sixties, Terry Melcher was won of the real pillars of that sound and period there.

[mgauction]

The original target for the Charles Manson clan who turned down Charlie's demos.

[chingnchime]

A lot of people don't realize he not only produced, but sang ALL the back-up harmonies on many of the Paul Revere and the Raiders songs. Now, some of you may laugh, but they had some excellent pop singles like HIM OR ME, GOOD THING, KICKS, HUNGRY and others in the '66-'67 period. All the titles I mentioned include Melcher on harmonies. He was also lead singer on HEY, LITTLE COBRA. Lots of work w/ the Beach Boys, too.The man was very smart, and lived fairly anonymously. I wish he'd written a book!

[emswife]

Terry Melcher was an unsung hero of the California scene, where his work did much to shape the "West Coast" sound including "folk-rock" or "country/folk/rock"... believe he even did some work with Buffalo Springfield and maybe even early POCO...

And hopefully you weren't dissing Paul Revere and the Raiders... they are about the only pop group of any note to come from my home state... Idaho. Mark Lindsay was a bakery delivery boy and was delivering hamburger buns to Revere Dick's (Paul Revere) drive-in when Revere signed him up. They did some great stuff and got their own weekly show on ABC... not many American 60's groups can claim that... not even the much touted Beach Boys.

[rictified]

I like a lot of their stuff.