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Andy Paley

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Andy Paley
Birth nameAndrew Douglas Paley[1]
Born(1952-11-02)November 2, 1952
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OriginAlbany, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 20, 2024(2024-11-20) (aged 72)
Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
GenresPower pop, film score
Occupation(s)Songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist
Instrument(s)Keyboards, piano, organ, guitar, drums, harmonica, accordion, ukulele, banjo, autoharp, string bass, vibraphone, marimba, vocals
Years active1960s–2024
Websiteandypaley.com[dead link‍]

Andrew Douglas Paley (November 2, 1952 – November 20, 2024) was an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, Paley was a staff producer at Sire Records, producing albums for artists such as Brian Wilson, Jonathan Richman, NRBQ, John Wesley Harding, the Greenberry Woods, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also worked in film and television, composing scores and writing songs mostly for cartoons such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, Digimon, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Camp Lazlo.

Personal life and early career

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Andy was the son of Henry Paley, a college administrator and lobbyist,[2] and Cabot Barber Paley, a teacher and therapist.[3] He was the third of five children and grew up near Albany, New York.[3] His younger sister Sarah is married to former U.S. senator Bob Kerrey. In 2010, he married Heather Crist in a ceremony officiated by Kerrey.[4]

"These snappy, hard-hitting songs are what rock and roll used to sound like back when singles were singles and boys would be boys."

—Review of The Sidewinders in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[5]

Paley began performing in his early teens as a drummer and singer for local Albany-area bands before moving to Boston. He was a founding member and the drummer of the Boston, Massachusetts band, Catfish Black, which also included future Modern Lovers members Jerry Harrison and Ernie Brooks. The band was renamed the Sidewinders and was later joined by Billy Squier. The band performed around Boston and in New York at venues like Max's Kansas City. They released an album, produced by Lenny Kaye, which featured songs written and sung by Paley. The Sidewinders broke up in the mid-1970s. Paley then played on Elliott Murphy's album Night Lights, and performed with Jonathan Richman after the break-up of the original Modern Lovers.[6]

The Paley Brothers

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Main article: The Paley Brothers

Paley went on to form The Paley Brothers[7] with his younger brother Jonathan, a guitar/bass player and singer who also was part of the early Boston punk scene and had played with Boston and New York bands such as Mong. They disintegrated as an act in 1979 when Jonathan joined the Nervous Eaters. Although the Nervous Eaters collapsed after Ric Ocasek, who had produced their demo, was not permitted to produce their second album,[8] the Paley Brothers did not reform. Said Jonathan, "It was more of an evolution. Andy went on the road with Patti Smith's band and got into production work; I went and sailed around the world."[9]

Collaborative work

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In 1979, Andy Paley played guitar on Jonathan Richman's album Back in Your Life, and continued to perform on and off with Richman and later incarnations of the Modern Lovers, and produce many of their recordings, through the 1980s. He produced Richman's 1985 album Rockin' and Romance. Paley then focused on songwriting, session work and record production while working with Madonna, k.d. lang, Mandy Barnett, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Brenda Lee, Little Richard and many others.

Brian Wilson

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See also: Brian Wilson (album), Sweet Insanity, and Andy Paley sessions

In 1988, Paley produced and co-wrote songs on Wilson's solo comeback album Brian Wilson, and continued to work with him on unreleased material in the 1990s.[10] Wilson described Paley as a multi-instrumentalist with "a lot of talent for anything you can think of. ... He's the most frighteningly talented person that I've met, and the most serious about music."[11]

Film and television work

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He produced the soundtracks for Dick Tracy (1990) and A Walk on the Moon (1999) and wrote the original music for Traveller (1997, starring Bill Paxton). In 2009 he contributed to the soundtrack of World's Greatest Dad, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams. He also wrote the musical score for Season One of Showtime's The L Word.[citation needed]

Paley also scored for cartoons such as The Ren & Stimpy Show,[12] and later wrote and produced the music for Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants. He and Tom Kenny – the voice of SpongeBob – co-wrote the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Album (2012). Paley and Kenny were also both members of Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas.[citation needed] He led the Andy Paley Orchestra, which provided the music for The Thrilling Adventure & Supernatural Suspense Hour, a theater group in Los Angeles that performs original stage productions in the style of old radio melodramas. Additionally he provided music for The Dana Gould Hour podcast.[citation needed]

Death

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In July 2024, Paley was diagnosed with throat cancer. Though declared cancer-free since September, it was found to have returned on November 7 after being admitted to a hospital in Burlington, Vermont. On November 11, 2024, Paley woke up in the middle of the night with extreme shoulder pain that soon spread to his whole body. He was discharged from the hospital on November 14 to be eligible for an oncologist appointment. On November 17, he was brought to the emergency room for low blood oxygen. The following day, an oncologist declared the cancer too advanced to treat and he was re-admitted to the hospital. On November 20, he was moved to a respite house.[13] He died later that day.[14]

Discography

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Albums produced

References

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  1. ^ "Andrew Douglas Paley". sesac.com. SESAC.
  2. ^ "Henry Paley obituary". New York Times. 1984-04-17. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  3. ^ a b "Cabot Paley Obituary". New York Times. 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  4. ^ Vincent M. Mallozzi (2010-06-25). "Heather Crist, Andrew Paley". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via Robertchristgau.com.
  6. ^ Tim Mitchell, There’s Something About Jonathan, 1999, ISBN 0-7206-1076-1
  7. ^ Tim Sendra. "Paley Brothers | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  8. ^ Ginger Coyote (2010). "Jonathan Paley Interview". Punk Globe. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  9. ^ Quoted by Gene Sculatti in liner notes for "The Paley Brothers: The Complete Recordings"
  10. ^ Verna, Paul (April 22, 1995). "From Brian Wilson to Jerry Lee Lewis, Andy Paley's Career Defies Description". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 88–89. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. ^ Bonzai (1996). "Brian Wilson interview". The Mix. 20 (20). Mix Publications.
  12. ^ Lester, Paul (June 1998). "Brain Wilson: Endless Bummer". Uncut.
  13. ^ Crist, Heather. "Heather Crist Substack".
  14. ^ Merlis, Bob; Aswad, Jem (November 20, 2024). "Andy Paley, Brian Wilson Collaborator, 'Spongebob' Composer and Veteran Producer, Dies at 72". Variety.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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