• Source: Bill Schnee

William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated and awarded albums. He has won two Grammys, an Emmy for Outstanding Sound for a Television Special, and a Dove Award. In a 45+ year career of very diverse artists, Schnee has received over 135 gold and platinum records and has recorded/mixed over 50 top twenty singles.




Early life


Schnee was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where he lived until he was 13. At that time, his family moved to California. Early musical training was in trumpet, saxophone and piano. In 1964, his senior year at Glendora High School, Schnee started a band, The LA Teens, writing songs and playing organ. Immediately after graduation, The LA Teens were signed to Decca Records. When their single releases had little success, the band was dropped, however, they were immediately signed by Mike Curb to work with producer/engineer Richie Podolor. While learning his craft, Schnee attended California State Polytechnic University, majoring in Business. Schnee then started law school at Loyola University, but took a leave of absence in the second semester to continue playing and recording music. Three years after being produced by Podolor, Schnee's big break came when he was hired to engineer in Podolor's studio. On Schnee's third day, Podolor put him in to record two tracks and some overdubs for Three Dog Night. Schnee never returned to law school.




Career


Schnee was instrumental in launching Sheffield Lab Records and the modern era direct to disc audiophile recordings, when in 1973 he engineered Lincoln Mayorga & Distinguished Colleagues - The Missing Linc, Volume III, and in 1975 he produced and engineered the Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker album, I've Got the Music in Me. These audiophile albums were recorded in real time directly to the phonograph record cutting lathe. Schnee went on to produce several more of the direct to disc albums, including James Newton Howard and Friends, The Drum Record, and The Track Record.
Schnee has recorded and mixed with a wide variety of artists that include Steely Dan, Chicago, Ringo (with all the Beatles), Natalie Cole, Rod Stewart, Dire Straits, Whitney Houston, Carly Simon, The Pointer Sisters, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Barry Manilow, Michael Bolton, The Jacksons, Mark Knopfler, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Marvin Gaye, George Benson, Bette Midler, and Amy Grant. As a producer, Schnee has worked with Boz Scaggs, Joe Sample, Thelma Houston, Kiki Dee, and launched the careers of Huey Lewis and the News and Pablo Cruise. Schnee has also mixed the bulk of the Japanese mega-star Kazumasa Oda's albums.




Recording studio


In 1981, Schnee opened Schnee Studio in North Hollywood. Schnee and his fellow engineers built all of the equipment for the studio, including the discrete recording console and custom tube microphone preamps. The studio has an extensive collection of vintage tube microphones.
In 2015, Schnee Studio was sold and merged to become Studio 6 of the adjacent Larrabee Sound Studios.




Awards


Schnee has been nominated eleven times in the category of Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, winning twice.




= Grammy Awards

=
1977 Aja – Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
1981 Gaucho – Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical




= Emmy Award

=
1992 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing For a Variety, Music series, or Special for "Unforgettable, With Love" by Natalie Cole.




= Dove Award

=
1995 Praise and Worship Album of the Year for Promise Keepers, Raise the Standard.




Selected works


Over the course of his career, Schnee has worked on over 600 albums
*Grammy Nominated for Best Engineered Album – Non Classical




= Scores for movies and television

=




References






External links


Official website
Bill Schnee at IMDb
Bill Schnee Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2021)

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Kazumasa Oda
• Bill Schnee
• Schnee
• Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
• Middle Man (album)
• Hard at Play
• Hits! (Boz Scaggs album)
• Huey Lewis and the News (album)
• Amandla (album)
• No Secrets (Carly Simon album)
• Other Roads