NEW YORK 鈥� Twenty-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt, whose extraordinary career as a recording engineer and producer included albums by Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and many other of the top performers of the past 60 years, has died at age 91.
Schmitt's family announced on Facebook that he died Monday, without identifying a specific cause. Schmitt lived in the Los Angeles area. A relative, who did not want to be identified, confirmed Schmitt鈥檚 death to The Associated Press.
鈥淭he world has lost a much loved and respected extraordinary individual, who led an extraordinary life,鈥� the Facebook posting reads in part. "The most
He won his first Grammy in 1963, collecting 19 more competitive awards as well as the honorary Recording Academy Trustees Award in 2006. Schmitt worked on more than 150 gold records, in a wide range of styles. He engineered Henry Mancini鈥檚 鈥淢oon River鈥� and Sam Cooke鈥檚 鈥淎nother Saturday Night,鈥� Steely Dan鈥檚 鈥淎ja鈥� and Madonna鈥檚 鈥淭his Used to be My Playground.鈥� He engineered Natalie Cole鈥檚 blockbuster 鈥淯nforgettable鈥� album and Barbra Streisand鈥檚 鈥淭he Way We Were.鈥� He produced 鈥淰olunteers鈥� and several other Jefferson Airplane albums, helped produce Neil Young鈥檚 鈥淥n the Beach鈥� and more recently Dylan鈥檚 鈥淪hadows in the Night鈥� and McCartney鈥檚 鈥淜isses on the Bottom.鈥�
Brian Wilson, whose album of Gershwin songs was remixed by Schmitt, was among those Wednesday offering tributes, tweeting 鈥淎l was an industry giant and a great engineer who worked with some of the greatest artists ever, and I鈥檓
Schmitt's other credits included Sinatra鈥檚 final studio recordings, 鈥淒uets鈥� and 鈥淒uets II,鈥� and Charles鈥� final album, 鈥淕enius Loves Company,鈥� which won Grammys in 2003 for best album and for best record, the Charles-Norah Jones duet 鈥淗ere We Go Again.鈥� Years earlier, he engineered the duet album 鈥淩ay Charles and Betty Carter,鈥� a personal
鈥淎t that point, Ray was having a major drug problem,鈥� he told Billboard in 2018. 鈥淪o every time (there was) a 10-minute break, they would take him off into the bathroom, and God knows what happened, what went on. It was sad to see that, but when he opened his mouth and sang, and (with) Betty, I mean, I got goosebumps. It was just unbelievable.鈥�
Schmitt was married twice, and had five children, eight grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
Born in Brooklyn, he was the nephew of recording engineer Harry Smith and as a boy would take the subway into Manhattan and head for his uncle鈥檚 studio, where anyone from Sinatra to Art Tatum might be in session. After serving in the Navy, he found work through his uncle at Apex Studios, where one of his first assignments was recording Duke Ellington. He would also soon befriend Tom Dowd, who as an engineer for Atlantic Records later worked on classic songs by Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and many others.
鈥淎l was an obvious music enthusiast,鈥� Dowd told Billboard in 2002. 鈥淗e liked a lot of records and a lot of artists 鈥� not just popular artists but the 鈥榖ubbling under鈥� artists too-and was sensitive to music, whether it was jazz or gospel or blues or pop.
鈥淗e had quick hands and quick ears. They ran through the song once, maybe twice, and he had it down in his mind and in his hands and was able to fly with it right away. His
He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950s and became a staff engineer for RCA Records. Schmitt received his first Grammy in 1962, for engineering Mancini鈥檚 鈥淗atari鈥� and was still winning them in his 80s, including one for McCartney鈥檚 鈥淜isses On the Bottom鈥� and another for a concert version of McCartney鈥檚 record, 鈥淟ive Kisses.鈥�
His memoir 鈥淎l Schmitt On the Record,鈥� published in 2018, included tributes from Dylan, Young (鈥淎l is the master,鈥� he wrote, 鈥淚 love it when he gets pissed off), Streisand and the Airplane鈥檚 Jorma Kaukonen, who remembered Schmitt鈥檚 skill and patience with 鈥渢his bunch of musical anarchists.鈥�
Schmitt had his own stories to tell. He became close to Cooke and dined with him just hours before the singer was shot and killed in 1964 at a Los Angeles motel. He remembered Natalie Cole crying in the studio while making 鈥淯nforgettable鈥� as she worked on 鈥渄uets鈥� with her father, the late Nat 鈥淜ing Cole,鈥� whose vocals were joined to hers thanks in part to the studio tricks of Schmitt.
He learned to work with, and work around, the musicians, whether the Airplane鈥檚 indulgence of drugs and sonic effects or Sinatra鈥檚 request that he sing in front of the studio band and not in the recording booth, despite such enticements as cigarettes and a bottle of Jack Daniels. He got to work with the singer through his friendship with 鈥淒uets鈥� producer Phil Ramone.
鈥淚 did an interview with a magazine where they asked me if I had any regrets in my career,鈥� he wrote in his memoir. 鈥淚 answered that I had one regret: that I hadn鈥檛 worked with Frank Sinatra. Three weeks later, I got the call from Phil Ramone.
鈥淭hat happened with Paul McCartney, too; somebody asked me who I hadn鈥檛 worked with that I鈥檇 like to, I said, 鈥楶aul,鈥� and shortly after that it happened 鈥� I did a record with Paul! Bob Dylan, too; I鈥檝e pretty much gotten my bucket list done now.鈥�
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
