Legendary Rock Producer Shel Talmy Talks Jewish Roots and Moving to England

If you are a fan of classic rock radio, then you have heard the work of record producer, arranger and songwriter Shel Talmy on countless occasions, possibly even today. The producer of early sessions for the likes of The Kinks, The Who, The Creation and The Easybeats, that is indeed his production on rock classics like “My Generation,” “You Really Got Me,” “All Day And All Of The Night,” and “Tired Of Waiting For You.” Talmy’s discography also includes work with Manfred Mann, The Small Faces (the precursor to the Rod Stewart-fronted The Faces), The Damned, Lee Hazlewood, The Fuzztones, and Davy Jones & The Mannish Boys; said “Davy Jones” was an early moniker for none other than David Bowie.

These days, Talmy keeps busy with Shel Talmy Productions, which continues to license selections from his extensive catalog to film, television and gaming projects. Those following him on Facebook will also notice that Talmy regularly posts rock-related memories and industry-oriented insight.

As especially relevant to this publication, Talmy was raised Jewish and was a graduate of Fairfax High School. We spoke about this and more within our May 13 phone conversation, of which audio is embedded below; apologies for the interview’s rough overall audio quality, as Skype was not having a great day in these parts.

More on Shel Talmy can be found here.