Keith Olsen died
 

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ac...ions-has-died/

Acclaimed Producer KEITH OLSEN, Who Has Worked With OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE And SCORPIONS, Has Died
March 9, 2020
Play Scorpions
on Amazon Music Unlimited (ad)

Acclaimed American producer Keith Olsen, who has worked with such artists as OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, SCORPIONS and WARRANT, has passed away.

Olsen's death was confirmed by SCORPIONS, who wrote on their Facebook page earlier today (Monday, March 9): "We just learned about the passing of our dear friend and producer Keith Olsen. Keith produced many iconic albums, including our album 'Crazy World'. Keith was a wonderful guy, and the making of 'Crazy World' was such an inspiring journey, containing outstanding songs like 'Wind Of Change' and 'Send Me An Angel', which had the Keith Olsen touch, on every single note. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family. RIP, Keith. You live on in the music."

According to Wikipedia, Olsen was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and went to school in Minneapolis, where he developed an appreciation for classical, pop, and jazz music. He gained production experience working in recording studios in the Minneapolis area, and musical and touring experience playing upright bass in jazz and folk bands. He subsequently played bass as a member of the MUSIC MACHINE, which had a hit with the single "Talk Talk". During this time he began collaborating with Curt Boettcher, producer of THE ASSOCIATION's single "Cherish", and met another early influence, Brian Wilson of THE BEACH BOYS, who taught him "to envision everything about a production as you hear the song the first time."

After moving to Los Angeles, he was instrumental in launching the careers of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. He helped them to secure a record deal, produced their first album, "Buckingham Nicks", and let them live in his house, employing Nicks as a housekeeper for a while. After introducing them to Mick Fleetwood, he went on to produce FLEETWOOD MAC's eponymous 1975 album, which reached No. 1 in the U.S.

Through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Olsen earned more than 39 gold, 24 platinum, and 14 multi-platinum album certifications as the producer on over 100 albums, including BAD COMPANY, EUROPE, 38 SPECIAL, SAMMY HAGAR, FOREIGNER, JOURNEY, LOVERBOY and LOU GRAMM. He was also involved in several movie soundtracks, including "Footloose", "Vision Quest", "Tron", "Flashdance" and "Top Gun".

Tags: scorpions

Posted in: News

Keith Olsen passed away
 

Another loss in the FM circle.

Reports are appearing that Keith Olsen (producer of BN album and the FM with album) has died.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/keith-olsen-dead/

Acclaimed record producer Keith Olsen has died.

Though he may best be remembered for his work alongside Fleetwood Mac, the prolific music veteran teamed with a long list of artists over the course of his career, contributing to many legendary releases. Olsen's age and cause of death have not been revealed.

The Scorpions, whose 1990 LP Crazy World was produced by Olsen, were among the first to report the producer’s death. In a post to the band’s official Twitter page, the group called their fallen collaborator a “wonderful guy” who will “live on in the music.”

Born in Sioux Falls, S.D., Olsen cut his teeth in the Minneapolis music scene. He collaborated with a variety of acts from the area, eventually becoming the bass player for the Music Machine, a group best-known for their 1966 hit “Talk Talk.”

By the late ‘60s, Olsen relocated to Los Angeles, eventually becoming an engineer at the iconic Sound City Studios. "I had enough electronic training in college to know what's going on underneath the desk, enough musical training to know what should be going on top of the desk and on the other side of the glass,” the producer would later recall. “And then these opportunities to go start working with some bands started coming in.”

The first of those opportunities came with a couple of fledgling musicians, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Olsen produced the duo’s self-titled 1973 LP, noting how special the artists sounded together. "There was a timbre that happened when the two voices would join that was unique,” Olsen explained. “You never heard that before. And I don't think you've heard it since. Those two voices sing like that and sound like that for a reason-they were meant to sing together."

In 1974, Mick Fleetwood chose Sound City to record the next Fleetwood Mac album. While visiting the studio, Olsen played Fleetwood a track from the Buckingham Nicks LP. “He put on a song called 'Frozen Love' from the Buckingham Nicks album, just to demonstrate his own prowess in the studio, and what the studio sounded like,” Buckingham recalled. “So Mick is sitting there listening to this song, and uh, one thing led to another and Stevie and I, very shortly, were members of the band."

Olsen would go on to produce Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled LP. The album, featuring such classic hits as “Rhiannon,” “Say You Love Me” and “Landslide” would hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart, eventually selling more than seven million copies in the U.S..

Fleetwood Mac’s massive success opened doors for Olsen, making him one of the most in-demand producers in music. Over the ensuing years, he’d work with a bevy of vaunted artists, including Heart, Whitesnake, Santana, Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon, Ozzy Osbourne, Bad Company, Joe Walsh and Jethro Tull.

Notable releases among Olsen’s impressive resume´ include the Grateful Dead’s Terrapin Station (1977), Foreigner’s Double Vision (1978), Pat Benatar’s Crimes of Passion (1980), Sammy Hagar’s Three Lock Box (1982), Osbourne's No Rest for the Wicked (1988) and Whitesnake's self-titled 1987 album, which featured the smash hits "Here I Go Again" and "Still of the Night."

According to his website, Olsen produced more than 120 albums in total, with 24 earning platinum certification or better. The site goes on to note that “sales from Keith Olsen’s work exceeds 125 million units at retail, equaling more than a billion dollars in business.” The producer also earned six Grammy awards over the course of his career.

(Tweets)
David Coverdale ✔
@davidcoverdale
Keith Olsen...R.I.P. Dear Friend...
View image on Twitter
3:39 PM - Mar 9, 2020
73 people are talking about this


Rick Springfield ✔
@rickspringfield
1) My amazing and talented friend Keith Olsen has passed away. Such a gifted producer. And later on a wonderful guy. Ha, ha... he could be a bit of a pistol in the studio but that was part of his talent. Sticking to his guns when some whiny artist (me) would say, "I don’t think
View image on Twitter
5:53 PM - Mar 9, 2020
19 people are talking about this


Rick Springfield ✔
@rickspringfield
2) that works." He didn't produce all those hits for all those musicians for no reason. He had a golden ear and helped so many people reach their potential. I remember playing him my demos and he picked “Jessie’s Girl” out of a batch of 15 songs and said "This is a hit.”
5:54 PM - Mar 9, 2020

Rick Springfield ✔
@rickspringfield
3) I doubted him and thought there were better songs in my demo reel. Proof right there of his gift. May God give your spirit the peace and joy and the rest it deserves. You were a star maker in so many ways. God bless your memory my friend. ♥️
5:54 PM - Mar 9, 2020

Scorpions
3 hours ago
We just learned about the passing of our dear friend and producer Keith Olsen ....
Keith produced many iconic albums, including our album Crazy World ... Keith was a wonderful guy, and the making of Crazy World was such an inspiring journey, containing outstanding songs like "Wind of Change" and "Send me an Angel", which had the Keith Olsen touch, on every single note .... our hearts and prayers go out to his family .... RIP Keith .... You live on in the Music .... ‪Scorpions‬

looks like I must have been typing up my post while you posted.

Sad news.

The FM circle continues getting smaller.

Featured prominently in this documentary on Sound City Studios. Stevie, Lindsey, and Mick are also included: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kREXK5sVjQ4

Great song

prior to the firing, you'd wonder if Stevie and Lindsey would possibly communicate with each other about this. Clearly not now. It does raise the question of how they will handle things when the first of the Rumours 5 goes.... will we see people banned from any memorial services, or people feeling they would like to go but can't? :shrug:

Very sad. Does anyone know if he was sick or this was unexpected.
He had just released his book

Very sad to read this. :distress:

Very surprising and sad news. I wonder what we will hear from the Mac?

frankly - that there are all these nice immediate reactions and messages from Scorpions, Rick Springfield and others on social media about Keith, but nothing from the Mac, Stevie or Lindsey just shows the sad state of these people.

ok, yes, Lindsey is not using his social media since heart attack, so maybe he can be given some slack. maybe.

but Mick, Stevie, and Fleetwood Mac are using it whenever they have something to sell. yet nothing about probably the most significant person responsible for their coming together and success they had since 1975.

Honestly, these people nowadays are t*****s.
It makes me begin to question why I ever really liked them.
Can I love their music but no longer like them.....yes.

Very sad to hear about Keith.

Very sad, indeed. Sort of a 'swing and a miss' with B/N album. (even though I love the album and the production)


I love the white album. The re-do of Crystal shows his vision and adding Christine into the mix making them the super power that they are today.

Those hits rose up the charts slowly but surely.

Of course you can. Lot of people love Maradona's soccer play but can't stand the guy.

That’s a tough one....”The hand of God”..??

Yep. Where's Mick?? He wants all the credit for "finding" S&L but Keith played a crucial role in that. And as others have said, then producing the white album which was the biggest album they'd had since Peter. And not a single tweet, when they have social media people??

I've always wondered what the story was behind them not continuing to work with Keith on the follow up to the white album. Was he not available to do Rumours or did they think Ken and Richard had some magic Keith didn't have??:shrug:

In Mick’s first book the last mention of Keith is “So in February 1975, we went over to Sound City to record, with Keith Olsen as engineer”.

Before that the first mention of Richard Dashut is where he is telling the Buckingham Nicks story: "Eventually one of the partners got a deal with Polydor Records, and that's how Stevie and Lindsey came to record their album, Buckingham Nicks, at Sound City, Keith Olsen's studio in the Valley.The assistant engineer on those recording sessions was Richard Dashut. Eventually he became Fleetwood Mac's esteemed coproducer and one of my dearest friends. He enters our tale here in his role as Lindsey's main conspirator in the studio".

It seems Richard introduced Ken to the band: "I wasn't sure I could handle it, so I brought in a friend, Ken Caillat from L.A., to help me, and we started coproducing. Mick gave me and Ken each an old Chinese I Ching coin and said, good luck."


Not enough info to fill the blanks, about Keith.

Without Keith Olsen, there would have been no Rumours lineup. It's that simple. He and his studio brokered the way for Buckingham Nicks to join them. He also happened to produce some of the most iconic FM songs in their entire catalog. "Rhiannon," "Say You Love Me," and "Over My Head all benefit greatly from the production, where the bass and drums are featured prominently in the mix, where less is more in every aspect of the arrangements.

this sadly was lost with each progressive album, to the point where you can hardly hear John in most mixes. A shocking (and welcome) exception to this finally was on the SYW version of Smile At You.

Bob Brunning:

'...the band had dispensed with the services of Keith Olsen, the producer responsible for Buckingham Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie favoured a rhythm section sound for the new album which emphasised their playing more than Keith liked, so they decided to use Richard Dashut and his colleague, Ken Caillat.'

I don't think there was any major falling out, though who knows, there might have been. Normally Mick likes keeping with what (and who) he knows.

I think Ken addresses Keith’s departure from the picture prior to Rumours in one of his books (I guess the book about Rumours), but damned if I can remember. Brunning’s explanation sounds legit. The decision boiled down to a preference for a certain kind of mix. Or maybe they wanted a producer-slash-engineer, someone to hang out with them for months.

I cannot get past this sickening display of disrespect and callousness. We know that they're all very old. Is it possible--PLEASE tell me it's possible--that none of the five have said anything because they think social media is the wrong forum for acknowledging the passing of a very special person; indeed, one of the most significant figures in their lives AND in the legend of the band. What other explanation can there be? It's sad and unconscionable.

I think it’s very personal and none of them need to make a “public” comment about their dear friends passing.

Why does every single thread have to contain hateful comments? This is why so many members no longer frequent the ledge. RIP Keith 😓

didn't stop them (Stevie) from commenting on Tom Petty's death. Or Prince's death. oh....wait....we could cash in on those and get attention for ourselves:nod: Or even Glen Frey's passing for that matter.

we just don't comment on anything to do with people below a certain level of fame. we are, after all, LEGENDS.

Exactly!

Sleazy Nicks only cares about what garners her media attention. #legend? #pos

I agree. The people in this band are old school and don't have active twitter accounts that post daily feelings like the generation of today.
Its crazy to judge someone because they did not post their feelings on twitter.

There is enough to attack this band on lately but this is not one of them.

I agree. Did I expect a public comment from the band (/members)? Yes. Are they obligated? No. Should they be judged for not posting on social networks? No. My opinion.

Further to some of the above, per his autobiography years later, on the passing of his former producer Jack Nitzsche (who co-produced his biggest-selling album Harvest), Neil Young issued no public statement but sent condolences and flowers privately.

We don't know what anyone has done privately and, in some sense, something private is more meaningful because there is no public credit as such to be gained from it.

I love how most posters after you ignored the facts that you so aptly reminded us of. Yes, band members publicly expressed how sad they were about Petty, Prince or Frey. Keith Olsen was a huge producer behind the scenes but doesn’t have the same level of fame so nothing to cash out for those sad humans in FM there.

There is a difference that is not being mentioned beyond no one having active twitter accounts (except for maybe Lindsey).
When Petty died, the world got Stevie's thoughts and words because she was at events and people shoved a microphone in her face asking her about Petty. She was not on tour that she could make stage statements. This band just got home and on hiatus.
Petty was a huge star. Few people in the media even know who Keith Olsen is.
I am sure they care but deal with it in their own way.
Good grief, Mick's mom died while the band was on tour. Mick never mentioned it and neither did the band. Do we really think they did not care because they did not put out public statements? Society today seems to demand instant statements as well as want to cancel people for misstatements.

Chill everyone.

https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/...producer-dies/

R.I.P. Keith Olsen, Producer of Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions Albums Dies

Olsen famously introduced Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to Mick Fleetwood

Keith Olsen, who produced notable albums by Fleetwood Mac, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Rick Springfield, and many more artists, has passed away. At this time, no cause of death has been revealed.


The news of Olsen’s passing was reported by Scorpions, who wrote on Facebook, “We just learned about the passing of our dear friend and producer Keith Olsen. Keith produced many iconic albums, including our album Crazy World.”


The veteran hard rock band added, “Keith was a wonderful guy, and the making of Crazy World was such an inspiring journey, containing outstanding songs like ‘Wind of Change’ and ‘Send Me an Angel,’ which had the Keith Olsen touch on every single note.”

Olsen, who was born in South Dakota, first made a name for himself as the bassist in the proto-punk garage band The Music Machine, who scored a hit in 1966 with the song “Talk Talk”. After the band broke up in 1969, he turned his attention toward production.

He proved to be a key figure in the career path of Fleetwood Mac. First he produced the 1973 album Buckingham Nicks, the self-titled effort from Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. After that, he introduced the pair to Mick Fleetwood, who brought them in as members of Fleetwood Mac, ushering in a new era of the band. Olsen then produced Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled effort, a seven-times platinum LP that contains such classics as “Rhiannon” and “Landslide”.

Olsen also made a name for himself in the world of hard rock. In addition to Scorpions’ Crazy World, he produced such albums as Whitesnake’s multiplatinum 1987 self-titled LP; Ozzy Osbourne’s No Rest for the Wicked; Foreigner’s Double Vision; Heart’s Passionworks; and countless others.

Rick Springfield also paid tribute to Olsen, crediting him with identifying his biggest hit early on in the recording process. “My amazing and talented friend Keith Olsen has passed away,” wrote Springfield on Facebook. “He didn’t produce all those hits for all those musicians for no reason. He had a golden ear and helped so many people reach their potential. I remember playing him my demos and he picked ‘Jessie’s Girl’ out of a batch of 15 songs and said, ‘This is a hit.’”

Olsen also produced some notable film soundtracks, including Flashdance and Footloose, and mixed the Top Gun soundtrack.

See Keith Olsen performing bass on “Talk Talk” with his band The Music Machine in the video below.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/fle...ith-olsen-dead

Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne and Scorpions producer Keith Olsen dead
By Scott Munro (Classic Rock) 2 days ago

Acclaimed producer who also worked with artists including Whitesnake, Heart, Foreigner and Emerson, Lake & Palmer has died

Acclaimed music producer Keith Olsen has died.

The news was confirmed by Scorpions, who worked with Olsen on their Crazy World album in 1990.

The band say: “We just learned about the passing of our dear friend and producer Keith Olsen. Keith produced many iconic albums, including our album Crazy World.

“Keith was a wonderful guy, and the making of Crazy World was such an inspiring journey, containing outstanding songs like Wind Of Change and Send Me An Angel, which had the Keith Olsen touch on every single note.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family. RIP Keith. You live on in the music."

Olsen was behind the desk for the 1973 Buckingham Nicks album which led to Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joining Fleetwood Mac. Olsen would go on to produce Fleetwood Mac’s second eponymous album in 1975.

He also worked with a range of other artists in the rock and metal world, including Ozzy Osbourne on No Rest For The Wicked, Whitesnake’s 1987 and Slip Of The Tongue, Heart’s Passionworks, Foreigner’s Double Vision, Magnum’s Goodnight LA, Emerson, Lake & Palmer's In The Hot Seat, and Sammy Hagar on his 1982 album Standing Hampton and its follow-up Three Lock Box.

Whitesnake’s David Coverdale paid tribute to Olsen on Twitter, saying simply: “Keith Olsen. RIP dear friend.”

Rick Springfield, who worked with Olsen on the hit single Jessie’s Girl in 1981, said: “My amazing and talented friend Keith Olsen has passed away. Such a gifted producer. And later on a wonderful guy. Ha, ha!

“He could be a bit of a pistol in the studio but that was part of his talent. Sticking to his guns when some whiny artist – me – would say, ‘I don’t think that works.’

“He didn't produce all those hits for all those musicians for no reason. He had a golden ear and helped so many people reach their potential. I remember playing him my demos and he picked Jessie’s Girl out of a batch of 15 songs and said, ‘This is a hit.’

“I doubted him and thought there were better songs in my demo reel. Proof right there of his gift. May God give your spirit the peace and joy and the rest it deserves. You were a star maker in so many ways. God bless your memory my friend.”

No cause of death has been revealed.

Um, it wasn't the press putting up huge backdrops of Petty during an entire tour. Or telling stories about Prince on tour.

And clearly enough people knew who Keith was that there are articles about him in not just trade publications but popular music publications and websites. He helped make many, many bands hits. They all were able to take one minute out of their day to publicly acknowledge him.
And is that the criteria for acknowledging the death of people who played a critical role in making you a star? They have to be famous enough to be acknowledged??

Mick's mother wasn't in the business. Neither were Stevie's mom and dad. Yet she acknowledged their passing and included mentions of them in her shows. Keith produced Rhiannon and Landslide, and actually helped work on them for the planned second BN album. So yeah, it would seem fitting that she could make an Instagram or Twitter or website mention of his passing. (If she were on tour I'd expect her to say something about him before performing either one of those songs and thanking him)

I am very surprised no one in the band has mentioned Keith's passing. I would have thought Stevie or Lindsey would have said something. Keith produced Buckingham/Nicks and also The White Album. He was very important in their early start and them joining Fleetwood Mac.

Gotta hand it to Ken Caillat: in both of his recent books, he adds a remembrance page and lists the Mac family who have died. I don’t think I’d have known otherwise that people such as Gabrielle Arras, Curry Grant, and Greg Thomason had died.

According to that logic, you have no right to criticize anyone in the Mac for not giving public statements. The next time they tour and if they give statements like Stevie did over a year after Prince's death from the stage and Petty tribute 2 years after Petty's death then we can call it even ;) People are flaming them for not tweeting and giving instant public statements. That's different than stage tributes years later. Keith pretty much always spoke highly of the band. I don't need public statements to know they cared for Keith. But I guess some do.

This conversation sort of reminds me of the twitter batter between Perez Hilton and Kris Jenner the night that Kaitlyn came out. Perez freaked out and blasted Kris because she was the only person not publicly saying anything of support. Eventually Kris fired back a big F. U. Perez how she and her former husband had private words that the world did not need to hear. But yes she did support Kaitlyn.

This instant twitter world is destroying the world. We even had democrat candidates for president answer debate questions in 8th grade Spanish to please only the twitterverse. Whether Mick's mother was in the business or not is not the point. Mick did not feel the need to talk to the fans that night from the stage, tweet anything or put out statements. The point is the same. You should not have to constantly put out statements about your feelings on current events or other issues. If you want to, I respect that too but I surely am not going to flame anyone for it. I respect privacy.

It has nothing to do with social media. It has to do with having a modicum of class. Someone who was critical in your career and becoming a star dies, it is not unheard of now nor was it unheard of twenty years ago, to issue a short statement thru your management or PR or whomever saying "we were saddened to learn of the passing of Keith Olsen. Keith played an instrumental role in the early years of our music, producing the BN album and the first FM 5 album. We send our condolences to his family at this time". I mean jeebus that's actual boilerplate statement verbiage right there.

No one expects them to carry on for years (which SN did about Tom, which is sort of understandable, and about Prince which is just kinda weird). Again, Rick Springfield issued a nice statement, the Scorpions, and a bunch of other bands. It's respectful to his family who are justifiably proud of his accomplishments. Mick should say something like "I'll always be grateful to Keith for introducing me to Lindsey and Stevie" and either Stevie or Lindsey should say something about "Keith was pivotal in making our first ever album and our joining FM". Short, sweet, respectful. I'm disappointed in all of those three for saying nothing.

Curry Grant is dead? Does he know? Is he really gone?

He was tagged in a post 21 days ago. I mean, if I was dead, I'd probably like to know!:lol:

[QUOTE=HomerMcvie;1256778]Curry Grant is dead? Does he know? Is he really gone?[/


Thanks, Homer.....
I’m watching a god awful news programme about the virus, and you made me smile...