Post by the Scribe on Feb 19, 2021 0:56:23 GMT
“It’s funny with artists, I’ve run into that before. With the Turtles that happened, we had a very successful thing. The last thing I produced for them was ‘Elenore.’ Thereafter, you get this feeling that the group says: ‘Okay, we did this one thing with you, now we want to see if we can do it ourselves. Without you.’ And I always would find that to be true with different people. I worked with Linda Ronstadt, and it was the same sort of way. Although we were going together at the time, and then we broke up after I made an album with her. And then we stopped working together...People look to a different producer after a while....You get that I-want-to-do-it-myself thing going against you if you’re a producer.” - Monkees Hour/Headquarters, 12/5/1987
“She wanted to do country stuff and I was a pop producer at the time. So we wound up with some country stuff and some pop stuff. It wasn’t her breakout album. It was kind of emotional because we were going out at the time.” - Shindig Magazine, September 2014
Chip Douglas on his brief relationship with Linda Ronstadt in 1969
Douglas Farthing Hatlelid (born August 27, 1942), better known as Chip Douglas, is an American songwriter, musician (bass, guitar and keyboards), and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s. He was the bassist of the Turtles for a short period of time and the producer of some of the Monkees biggest hits, including "Daydream Believer" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_Douglas
Douglas was raised in Hawaii and began his musical career with a folk group he formed in high school, "The Wilcox Three", modeled after The Kingston Trio. During a trip to California, they were discovered by a well-known booking agency and signed by RCA/Camden to record an album at their studios in Hollywood. He performed in the group using the name "Chip Douglas", which would be the name he would use for the rest of his career (though he would occasionally use his real name as a songwriter).
(I believe he took the name of one of the sons in the tv series My Three Sons...Chip Douglas)
The Turtles
When the Turtles' bassist Chuck Portz was fired from the band, Douglas was asked to take his place. His first record with them was "Happy Together", which they'd decided to record after hearing a well-worn demo that had been passed on by numerous other artists. Douglas played bass and did the arrangement that was recorded, and it became a huge hit for The Turtles, ousting the Beatles' "Penny Lane" from the #1 single position on the American pop charts.[2]
Seeing the Turtles perform at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go in early 1967, the Monkees' Michael Nesmith approached Douglas and asked if he would like to become the new producer for the band, who were tired of the "manufactured" recording setup they were accustomed to. Douglas answered, "I've never produced a record in my life." Nesmith, who had produced album tracks for the group, but had little influence with their label Colgems Records, assured him, "Don't worry; if you're willing to quit The Turtles, I'll show you everything you need to do."[2][3]
Douglas's final appearances with the Turtles were in February 1967. He was replaced by Jim Pons of the Leaves.
The Monkees
Douglas accepted Nesmith's offer, and joined the Monkees in the studio, first to create a new single with all four Monkees playing. It couldn't be released because of a publishing restriction imposed by Screen Gems (who both produced the Monkees series and controlled their music publishing). Douglas's next Monkees project was their Headquarters album. Recorded over six steady weeks of sessions at the RCA Studios in Hollywood, Headquarters was the first album to feature the Monkees playing on every track. Douglas contributed a song, "Forget That Girl", and joined them on bass guitar in the studio. The album was released in the spring of 1967, and began a steady climb up the charts, eventually reaching #1 on Billboard's album chart, but was displaced by the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Post Monkees
In 1969, Douglas produced the album Hand Sown...Home Grown, the first solo album by Douglas' then-girlfriend Linda Ronstadt.
The Modern Folk Quartet reunited in 1975 and began to perform again, often appearing at the Ice House in Pasadena, California. For several years, they teamed up with ex-Kingston Trio member Dave Guard to back him in his solo act. In the 1980s, the Modern Folk Quartet recorded several albums for a Japanese record company. They also toured Japan, where they remain popular (1988, 1990, 2003, 2005, 2011 and 2016).[5]
Douglas continues to write and produce records in a variety of genres, and divides his time between California and Hawaii.
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