L.A. To Mexico - Music

Terry Melcher February 8 1942 - November 19 2004 Was An American Musician And Record Producer. Melcher Was Born Terry Jorden In New York City To Trombonist Al Jorden And His Wife Singer/actress Doris Day. In The Early 1960s Terry Melcher And Bruce Johnston Formed The Vocal Duet Bruce & Terry. The Duo Had Hits Like "Custom Machine" And "Summer Means Fun". Melcher And Johnston Also Created Another Band Together The Rip Chords That Had A Top 10 Hit "Hey Little Cobra". By The Mid-60s Melcher Had Joined The Staff Of Columbia Records And Went On To Work With The Byrds. He Produced Their Hit Song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" And Helped Them To Produce Their Remake Of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man". Due To Conflicts With The Band Melcher Was Replaced. He Later Worked With Paul Revere And The Raiders Wayne Newton Frankie Laine Jimmy Boyd Pat Boone Glen Campbell Mark Lindsay And The Mamas & The Papas. Melcher Was Instrumental In Signing Another Near-Legendary L.A. Band The Rising Sons Led By Taj Mahal And Ry Cooder. Melcher Also Performed On The Beach Boys Album "Pet Sounds" As A Background Vocalist And Introduced Brian Wilson To Van Dyke Parks In February 1966 Beginning Their Partnership On The Ill-Fated "SMiLE" Project. He Was Also A Board Member Of The Monterey Pop Foundation And A Producer Of The Monterey Pop Festival In 1967. In The 1970s Melcher Again Became A Producer For The Byrds But The Results Were Not Well Received One Critic Referred To The Album "Byrdmaniax" As "Melcher's Folly". On November 19 2004 Terry Melcher Died At His Home After A Long Battle With Melanoma. He Was 62 Years Old. He Was Survived By His Wife Terese Son Ryan Melcher And His Mother Doris Day. read less