Sandy Pearlman

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Sandy Pearlman
| Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape = Yes
Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Samuel C. Pearlman
Born = birth date and age|1943|8|8
USA
Occupation = Music producer
Years_active = 1978 – present
Associated_acts = Blue Öyster Cult
The Clash
The Dictators
Cosmic Free Way
Pavlov's Dog
Shakin' Street
Jenifer McKitrick
Dream Syndicate
URL =

Sandy Pearlman (born Samuel C. Pearlman, August 8, 1943) is an American music producer, manager, poet, and songwriter. He is best known for his work with the band Blue Öyster Cult, though he also produced bands such as The Dictators, Cosmic Free Way, The Clash, Pavlov's Dog, Shakin' Street, Jenifer McKitrick, and Dream Syndicate (of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene).

Biography

Pearlman graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1966, where he had been Student President. He was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in the History of Ideas, and completed graduate work at Brandeis University. He was also a New School Fellow in Sociology and Anthropology.

During this time he wrote a series of poems called "Imaginos", whose characters and lyrics would feature in his later career.

In 1967 he was one of the original rock music critics for "Crawdaddy!" magazine, along with Paul Williams, Jon Landau and Richard Meltzer. He is widely regarded as the originator of the term "heavy metal music". [Pearlman has said he used it about the Byrds, "Artificial Energy" on 1968's "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" in an article in Crawdaddy sometime between 1968 and 1971, though a source in writing has not yet been found. See http://ebni.com/byrds/lpnbb.html Others credited with originating the term include Lester Bangs, and Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground] [ [http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/kadler/public_html/rmcguinn/fannotes.html Fan Memories ] ] [ [http://www.breathingprotection.com/sandy_pearlman.htm Producer - Sandy Pearlman ] ] [ [http://njdvls27.tripod.com/history.html History of Rock - history ] ] Pearlman is also hailed (or blamed) by The Village Voice for creating "the "Triumph of the Will" guitar sound."

He came up with the name for the band "Blue Oyster Cult", based on a group in one of his Imaginos poems. He also originated the name of the pre-BOC band "Soft White Underbelly", taking the phrase from a speech by Winston Churchill in World War II.

In 1976, Pearlman produced BÖC's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and a character representing Pearlman was portrayed by Christopher Walken in the "Saturday Night Live" parody skit of the making of the song. [ [http://www.breathingprotection.com/sandy_pearlman.htm Producer - Sandy Pearlman ] ] However the name mistakenly used for the character was that of Bruce Dickinson, another record producer who later compiled BÖC remastered reissues but never produced any in-studio tracks and had nothing to do with the original recording. [ [http://www.pauseandplay.com/boc.htm Blue Öyster Cult ] ] [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46074-2005Jan28.html Blue Oyster Cult, Playing Along With 'More Cowbell' (washingtonpost.com) ] ]

He is considered an important figure in the development of commercial American rock music, and his intervention in British punk. He was drafted in by record company CBS to produce "Give 'Em Enough Rope", The Clash's second album. His production, which gave The Clash's music a more widely recognizable "rock" sound to appease the American arm of the record company, remains controversial.

In 1989 he took over as president of the alternative record company 415 Records and established a production and distribution deal for the label with MCA Records. In the late 1990s, he served as the vice-president of e-music.com. He also served as vice-president of marketing for MoodLogic.com from 2000-2003.

Pearlman is presently an adjunct Professor of music theory at McGill University in Montreal, in the programs in sound recording and music technology. As a public speaker, Pearlman lectures on the future of the music industry, strategies for remonetizing music downloads, and the history of heavy metal music.

Awards

Pearlman was the recipient of more than 15 gold and platinum records.

References

External links

* [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=blue+oyster "The Village Voice"] , BÖC reviews by Robert Christgau
* [http://members.aol.com/bocfaqman/boc_faq.html Blue Oyster Cult FAQ]

Persondata
NAME=Pearlman, Sandy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Samuel C. Pearlman (real name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American music producer
DATE OF BIRTH=August 8, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH=United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=