Renowned Award-winning Production Team Looks Back at “Nick of Time”
Pictured in 1989 (L-R) are Bonnie Raitt, Ed Cherney and Don Was. Photo by Mr. Bonzai.
On Saturday afternoon at this year’s Winter NAMM Show, Don Was and Ed Cherney will join moderator Mr. Bonzai in an exploration of the inception and creation of a great record: “Nick of Time,” which is being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for 2015.
Sat. Jan. 24, 2:00 – 2:50pm “Birth of a Record”: Don Was and Ed Cherney
The Forum (203 A-B) Level Two of the Convention Center
https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2015/hot-zone/birth-record-don-was-and-ed-cherney
Grammy, Emmy and TEC Award-winners Don Was and Ed Cherney have worked together for 25 years on memorable records by Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Ringo Star, Elton John, Iggy Pop, Bette Midler, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr and the Rolling Stones, among many others. Don Was is recognized as one of the most influential producers of recent decades and Ed Cherney’s recordings are the benchmark of true high fidelity.
In 1989, after many years of critical acclaim, but little commercial success, Bonnie Raitt had a colossal hit with the release of “Nick of Time,” which made her a star, topped the Billboard 200 chart, sold five million copies, and won three Grammy Awards, including 1990 Album of the Year.
On behalf of the NAMM Foundation, Don Was will induct Ed Cherney into the TEC (Technical Excellence & Creativity) Hall of Fame during its 30th annual Awards show, being held Saturday evening, January 24th in Anaheim.
Don Was is a Grammy Award-winning producer and President of the legendary jazz label, Blue Note Records. Widely recognized as one of history’s top producers, he has worked with an astounding cavalcade of artists in virtually every musical genre. As a bass player and songwriter, Was formed the group Was (Not Was), noted for their success in the 1980s. He has earned a Grammy for Producer of the Year, a BAFTA for Best Original Score and an Emmy for Music Direction of “The Beatles: The Night That Changed America.”
Ed Cherney hails from Chicago, and developed his chops under the tutelage of the legendary engineer Bruce Swedien, including working on some of Michael Jackson’s biggest selling records. In the year that Cherney won a Best Engineered Album Grammy Award for Bonnie Raitt’s “Longing In Their Hearts,” he was, remarkably, the engineer for three of the five nominated albums in that category. Highly respected by his peers, he’s amassed six GRAMMY nominations and two wins, in addition to seven TEC Award nominations and five wins and three EMMY nominations.
Mr. Bonzai, an award-winning photographer and music journalist, has written over 1,000 articles for magazines in the U.S., Europe and Asia. His photos and stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Mix, EQ, Pro Sound News, Keyboard, Daily Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times. He has authored seven books, including “Faces of Music” (Cengage, 2006) “Music Smarts” (Berklee Press, 2009), “John Lennon’s Tooth” (BookBaby 2012) and “Studio Life” (30th anniversary eBook, BookBaby 2014).
