Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. (March 25, 1931 – September 6, 1978) was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Simon and Garfunkel and The Velvet Underground. He worked for Columbia Records, then went to Verve Records. Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. ... Simon and Garfunkel are an American popular music duo comprising Paul Simon and Arthur Art Garfunkel. ... This article is about the American rock band. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ...

Starting out

Wilson was born in 1931 to Tom and Fannie Wilson. He grew up in Waco, Texas, where he attended A.J. Moore High School, and was a member of New Hope Baptist Church. Tom was known by his initials, T.B. in his youth. While attending Fisk University, Wilson was invited to Harvard where he became involved with the Harvard New Jazz Society and radio station WHRB; to the latter he later credited all of his success in the music business. For information on the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Texas, please visit Waco Siege. ... Fisk University is a historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. It was established by John Ogden, Reverend Erastus Milo Cravath and Reverend Edward P. Smith and named in honor of General Clinton B. Fisk of the Tennessee Freedmens Bureau. ... WHRB is the student-run radio station of Harvard College. ...

He was virtually the only African-American record producer working in mainstream American popular music, and was most productive in the 1960s, though he made his first mark in the mid-50s. Having a goal in mind of setting up a record label and recording the most advanced jazz musicians of the day, he formed a label called Transition Records. The label did release several albums, including the Sun Ra's Sun Song (which was Ra's first LP, though a second LP for Transition was unreleased until 1968) and the album Jazz Advance by Cecil Taylor. However, the label eventually folded, and most of their material was sold to Delmark Records, a small Chicago-based label. Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sonyr Ra [1]; born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher who came to be known as much for his cosmic... Cecil Percival Taylor (born March 15 or March 25, 1929 in New York City) is an American pianist and poet. ... Growing up in Wichita, Kansas, Delmark founder Bob Koester got hooked on jazz after hearing artists like Lionel Hampton. ...

Columbia Records

As a staff producer at Columbia Records Wilson was one of the "midwives" of folk-rock. Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ...

He produced Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 debut LP Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. which included "The Sound of Silence". Seizing on local radio interest in the song in Florida and inspired by the huge success of The Byrds' folk-rock version of Bob Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man", Wilson took the duo's original acoustic track and, without Simon or Garfunkel's knowledge, overdubbed electric instruments, turning the track into a #1 pop hit, helping to launch the folk-rock genre. Simon and Garfunkel, who had already split, re-united after the hit and went on to greater success. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is an album by Simon and Garfunkel released October 19, 1964. ... The Sound of Silence is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel to popularity. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... The Byrds (formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964) were an American rock band. ... Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... Mr. ...

Wilson's other major achievement was his work with Bob Dylan, producing Bringing It All Back Home. Wilson is credited as one of the producers of Highway 61 Revisited, even though he only produced one song, Dylan's 1965 single "Like a Rolling Stone," where he allowed musician Al Kooper to play the signature organ part, even though up to that point he had only been a guitarist. Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... Bringing It All Back Home is Bob Dylans fifth studio album, released in 1965 by Columbia Records. ... Highway 61 Revisited is Bob Dylans sixth studio album, released in 1965 by Columbia Records. ... Music sample: Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone ( file info) — 30 seconds (of 6:10) Problems listening to the file? See media help. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

After working with Wilson, both Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel went on to work with another Columbia staff producer, Bob Johnston. Johnston produced several albums for both acts. Bob Johnston (born 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a noted record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel. ...

Verve Records

In 1966 he signed the Mothers of Invention to Verve Records and was credited as producer on the group's seminal debut album Freak Out! although it is widely believed that Frank Zappa, the leader of the group, did most of the real production work. Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993) was an American rock/jazz fusion musician, composer, and satirist. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... Freak Out!, released June 27, 1966 on MGM/Verve Records, is the debut album of The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. ... Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. ...

For Verve Wilson also produced The Velvet Underground, featuring Lou Reed, John Cale, and Nico. Another of his Verve production credits was The Blues Project, which featured Al Kooper as vocalist and keyboardist. In fact, Kooper had met and joined the Blues Project after the band had auditioned for and been rejected by Columbia Records, where Kooper had been playing in Bob Dylan's band, which was being produced by Wilson. This article is about the American rock band. ... Lewis Allan Lou Reed[1] (born March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... John Davies Cale (born March 9, 1942) is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. ... For the prequel to Ico, see Shadow of the Colossus. ... One of the first album-oriented, underground groups in the United States, the Blues Project offered an electric brew of rock, blues, folk, pop, and even some jazz, classical, and psychedelia during their brief heyday in the mid-60s. ...

Wilson was also credited with producing the first album by Soft Machine. For the book by William S. Burroughs, see The Soft Machine. ...

While it is undeniable that on most of his notable productions, the lion's share of the creative work is attributable to the primary artists, composers and instrumentalists on these recordings, it stands to reason that it is more than mere coincidence that Wilson was a supervising presence at the birth and blossoming of some of the major breakthroughs in American music in the mid-20th Century. From his championing of the innovative early work of Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor and Frank Zappa, to his shepherding of Bob Dylan from standout folk singer to full-fledged legend and voice of a generation; from his resuscitation of a dying Simon and Garfunkel duo, leading them to stardom and making possible the exploration of their unique musical world to his helming the session that yielded "Like a Rolling Stone", often cited as the single greatest song of the Rock 'n' Roll era,Tom Wilson was a crucial force. Though he rarely receives notice comparable with these mammoth achievements, Wilson clearly belongs in the discussion (along with luminaries such as Phil Spector, George Martin, Brian Wilson and Teo Macero) of the most important and influential producers of the 1960s. Harvey Philip Spector (born December 26, 1939) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. ... Sir George Henry Martin CBE (born 3 January 1926 in Highbury, London, England) is sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle—a title that he owes to his work as producer of almost all of The Beatles records. ... Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, California), is an American pop musician, best known as the lead songwriter, bassist, and lead singer of the American rock band The Beach Boys. ... Teo Macero (Born October 30, 1925) is a jazz saxophonist and record producer. ...

Selective discography

• Sun Ra: Sun Song
• Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance
• 1961 Sun Ra: The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra
• 1964 Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin'
• 1964 Bob Dylan: Another Side of Bob Dylan
• 1965 Simon and Garfunkel: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
• 1965 Simon and Garfunkel: "The Sound of Silence" single
• 1965 Bob Dylan: Bringing It All Back Home
• 1965 Bob Dylan: "Like a Rolling Stone" single
• 1966 Mothers of Invention: Freak Out!
• 1966 Eric Burdon & The Animals Eric Is Here
• 1967 The Blues Project: Projections
• 1967 The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground and Nico (as post-production editor, remixer)
• 1968 The Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat

Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sonyr Ra [1]; born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher who came to be known as much for his cosmic... Cecil Percival Taylor (born March 15 or March 25, 1929 in New York City) is an American pianist and poet. ... Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sonyr Ra [1]; born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher who came to be known as much for his cosmic... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... Another Side of Bob Dylan is Bob Dylans 4th studio album, released in 1964 by Columbia Records. ... Simon and Garfunkel are an American popular music duo comprising Paul Simon and Arthur Art Garfunkel. ... Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is an album by Simon and Garfunkel released October 19, 1964. ... Simon and Garfunkel are an American popular music duo comprising Paul Simon and Arthur Art Garfunkel. ... The Sound of Silence is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel to popularity. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... Bringing It All Back Home is Bob Dylans fifth studio album, released in 1965 by Columbia Records. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for four decades. ... Music sample: Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone ( file info) — 30 seconds (of 6:10) Problems listening to the file? See media help. ... Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993) was an American rock/jazz fusion musician, composer, and satirist. ... Freak Out!, released June 27, 1966 on MGM/Verve Records, is the debut album of The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. ... Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941, in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne) was the lead singer of The Animals and later of War. ... One of the first album-oriented, underground groups in the United States, the Blues Project offered an electric brew of rock, blues, folk, pop, and even some jazz, classical, and psychedelia during their brief heyday in the mid-60s. ... ... This article is about the American rock band. ... The Velvet Underground and Nico is The Velvet Undergrounds debut album, originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records. ... This article is about the American rock band. ... White Light/White Heat is The Velvet Undergrounds second album. ...

References

• http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-709334/Tom-Wilson