Record producer - Definition and Overview

In the music industry, "record producer" designates a person responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. In earlier days, record producers bore the title of A&R men, for Artists and Repertory, which gives a clearer picture of their function: controlling the artists and choosing the material.

In the first part of the 20th century, the record producer's role resembled that of a film producer, in that the record Phil Spector, produced Sonny and Cher records

• David Bottrill, worked with Tool and Mudvayne.
• T-Bone Burnett, producer for Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, The Wallflowers, Counting Crows, Marshall Crenshaw, Sam Phillips, Los Lobos, Bruce Cockburn, Gillian Welch, and the soundtrack for the Coen Brothers film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
• Leonard Chess, producer of "Maybellene", many other rock and roll and blues classics, founder of Chess Records.
• Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, instrumental in bringing pop appeal to hip-hop and rap music.
• Willie Dixon, bass player and major producer with Chess Records.
• Jermaine Dupri, hip-hop and R&B producer instrumental in the careers of Kris Kross, Da Brat, Bow Wow, and Jagged Edge.
• Dr. Dre, influential hip-hop producer most noted for his work with Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and Eminem.
• Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, instrumental in the development of modern R&B and adult contemporary music.
• Brian Eno, producer on some of David Bowie and U2's most artistically successful albums.
• Bob Ezrin
• Milt Gabler, producer of "Rock Around the Clock"
• Nigel Godrich, producer for most of Radiohead's material, and some of Beck's.
• John Hammond, one of the first, with a career that spanned decades, recorded and produced Leadbelly, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen.
• Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, producers of twenty-five Top 10 hit singles on the Motown label in the early and mid-1960s, main creators of the "Motown Sound" with songwriter Edward Holland, Jr..
• Buddy Holly, one of the first recording artists to control his own production
• Jam and Lewis, producers instrumental in the careers of The S.O.S. Band, Janet Jackson, and New Edition.
• Quincy Jones, producer of Michael Jackson's three most successful solo albums, including the current all-time best-selling album, Thriller.
• Robert "Mutt" Lange, produced for Def Leppard, AC/DC, Bryan Adams and the No. 1 selling female singer in history, his wife Shania Twain.
• Bill Laswell, produced for Motorhead, Herbie Hancock, and many others
• John Leckie, best known for his work with Stone Roses, Magazine, and Bill Nelson.
• Steve Lillywhite, producer for U2, Dave Matthews Band, XTC, Morrissey and others.
• Sir George Martin, producer of the Beatles and recordings of the Goon Show. His Goon Show work was what made the Beatles want to work with him.
• Terry Melcher, son of Doris Day, produced many acts on Columbia Records, associated with the Beach Boys, auditioned Charles Manson but turned him down.
• Lester Melrose, pioneer blues A & R man
• Willie Mitchell, producer of numerous 1970s soul hits on Hi Records by several artists, including Al Green, Ann Peebles, Syl Johnson and others; his productions helped to define the Memphis soul style.
• Les Paul, guitarist and technical innovator in both music and recording, created many common techniques, multi-tracking.
• Ralph Peer, pioneer producer, discovered and recorded the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, the singing brakeman
• Lee Scratch Perry, producer for Bob Marley, and influential in the beginnings of Dub
• Nile Rodgers, Chic guitarist and award-winning producer of many hits of the 1970s and 80s; involved in the sales of over 100,000,000 records
• Dan Rothchild, producer for Better Than Ezra's Deluxe, Fiona Apple's Tidal
• Rick Rubin, producer for LL Cool J, System of a Down, Slayer, Danzig and The Black Crowes.
• Phil Spector, responsible for the Wall of Sound production style, now mainly associated with girl groups
• Timbaland, instrumental in the development of hip-hop and R&B music during the latter part of the 1990s.
• Youth
• Norman Whitfield, one of the architects of the Motown Sound and producer of the label's most succesful single (Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"); later noted for his "psychedelic soul" and disco records with The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, and Rose Royce.
• Muff Winwood
• Bob Rock Brought non-mainstream music into the mainstream with bands like Metallica, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue.

For more record producers, see List of record producers and Category:Record producers