Wikipedia

Richard Podolor

Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night.

Richard Podolor
Birth nameRichard Allen Podolor
Also known as
  • Dickie Podolor
  • Richie Allen
Born(1936-01-07)January 7, 1936
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 9, 2022(2022-03-09) (aged 86)
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • engineer
  • record producer
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1956–2000s
LabelsDecca
Formerly ofThe Pets

Life and career edit

Podolor was born in Los Angeles on January 7 1936,[1] and learned guitar as a child.[2] He became a session musician at the age of 16, and played on Bonnie Guitar's hit, "Dark Moon", in 1956. He made some recordings as Dickie Podolor in the late 1950s, and toured as a member of the Pets, a group that also included session musicians Plas Johnson and Earl Palmer. He played on the Pets' 1958 hit "Cha Hua Hua". His success as a musician enabled his family to open a recording studio, the American Recording Company, initially run by his brother Don Podolor. Together with drummer Sandy Nelson, Richie Podolor recorded a demo of "Teen Beat", but the song was then taken up and recorded by other musicians with Nelson, becoming a hit in 1959. Because Podolor was not given a co-writing credit for "Teen Beat", Nelson later credited him with co-writing some of his later recordings, including his 1961 hit "Let There Be Drums".[2]

Podolor released recordings for Imperial Records in the early 1960s, using the name Richie Allen (or, on one single, Dickie Allen). His 1960 single "Stranger from Durango" reached No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] His early 1960s albums as the leader of Richie Allen and the Pacific Surfers featured top Los Angeles session musicians including René Hall, Tommy Tedesco, Plas Johnson, Lincoln Mayorga, and Sandy Nelson. Two of these Imperial albums, The Rising Surf and Surfer's Slide, were later reissued on CD.[2]

He continued to record under his own name as well as working as a session musician. By the mid-1960s, he increasingly worked as an audio engineer as well as a musician, on recordings by the Monkees, the Turtles, the Electric Prunes, the Grateful Dead, Donovan, and others. He produced two studio albums for Steppenwolf, engineered all their early hits including "Born to Be Wild",[4] and produced Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not to Come" and "Joy to the World", leading to his work on all subsequent albums by Three Dog Night.[5] Other acts with whom he worked as a producer included Alice Cooper, Iron Butterfly, the Dillards, Chris Hillman, and Black Oak Arkansas.

Podolor passed in his sleep on March 9, 2022, at the age of 86.[6][7]

American Recording Co. edit

In 1959, the Polodor family established the American Recording Co. recording studios in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The studio operated at this location until 1982, then reopened in Calabasas in 1984, where it is still in operation today.[8]

Discography (producer) edit

Three Dog Night edit

Iron Butterfly edit

Blues Image edit

The Dillards edit

  • Roots and Branches (1972) (Anthem Records)

Jellyroll edit

  • Jellyroll (1971) (Kapp US, MCA UK and Germany)

The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band edit

Chris Hillman edit

20/20 edit

  • Look Out! (1981)

Alice Cooper edit

Phil Seymour edit

  • Phil Seymour (1981)
  • Phil Seymour 2 (1982)
  • “Prince of Power Pop” (2017)

Dwight Twilley edit

  • The Luck (recorded 1994, released 2001)

Steppenwolf edit

John Kay & Steppenwolf edit

Alcatrazz edit

London edit

References edit

  1. ^ State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, Ancestry.com. Retrieved 26 January 2016
  2. ^ a b c Dik de Heer, "Richard Podolor", Black Cat Rockabilly. Retrieved 26 January 2016
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 12. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  4. ^ "A TRIBUTE TO RICHARD PODOLOR". steppenwolf.com. March 11, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Gwen Mars Hits Wolf Mountain Next Thursday", The Deseret News, July 28, 1995
  6. ^ "Richie Podolor, Producer of Hits For Three Dog Night, Dies", Best Classic Bands, March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022
  7. ^ "OBITUARY - Richard Allen Podolor - January 7, 1936 – MARCH 9, 2022". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "American Recording Co". Discogs. Retrieved 28 February 2024.

External links edit

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