Ted Templeman

A Platinum Producer's Life in Music

By: Ted Templeman, Greg Renoff

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Crafting smash hits with Van Halen, the Doobie Brothers, Nicolette Larson, and Van Morrison, legendary music producer Ted Templeman changed the course of rock history.

This autobiography (as told to Greg Renoff) recounts Templeman's remarkable life from child jazz phenom in Santa Cruz, California, in the 1950s to Grammy-winning music executive during the '70s and '80s. Along the way, Ted details his late-'60s stint as an unlikely star with the sunshine pop outfit Harpers Bizarre and his grind-it-out days as a Warner Bros. tape listener, including the life-altering moment that launched his career as a producer: his discovery of the Doobie Brothers.

Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music takes us into the studio sessions of number one hits like "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers and "Jump" by Van Halen, as Ted recounts memories and the behind-the-scene dramas that engulfed both massively successful acts. Throughout, Ted also reveals the inner workings of his professional and personal relationships with some of the most talented and successful recording artists in history, including Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Lowell George, Sammy Hagar, Linda Ronstadt, David Lee Roth, and Carly Simon.

©2020 Ted Templeman (P)2020 Tantor

Gotta ask

No disrespect and I really mean that but why can’t audible get a reader who can pronounce an “s?”

Borrrrring

Talks way too much about Nicolette Larson and the Doobie brothers, and his own boring band but not enough about what the readers really want to hear, Van Halen. Dude just sounds like an absolute square. I dont know if it's the narrator himself, but Ted just comes off like a smarmy, passive aggressive simp.

Ted is a Treasure

First of all, Ted should give himself more credit. All through the book, Ted is ready to self examine and find his faults or deficiencies. He’s a humble dude. I appreciate that he’s not a loudmouth or too full of himself, but the dude is a LEGEND. With that said, this book isn’t tough to get through, it has a great flow to it and thankfully Ted’s done the work he’s done. Big credit to the author Greg Renoff, as with his work in Van Halen Rising, this book is full of insights and appears to be ridiculously well researched. (If you’ve not listened to VH Rising, do, it’s such a well put together story.). I’m quite sure I’ll listen again, as reading and listening during COVID-19 has made me (and you) a book worm. Just such a good read, I want to read again and listen again. Enjoy.

More than just Van Halen

If you love books about music and production...this is a great read. Couldn't put this down, one I started it. Ted's early history and formative years are just as interesting as his work with Van Halen and The Doobie Brothers.

Well worth a listen.

I knew the name, and now I feel like I have some insite into the person. Ted's account of the quality of the musicians he worked with really raises my level of respect for them. I would have been really interested to hear Teds take on the current music industry thats more interested in singles than a relationship that can grow a musician or band. i'd describe the current state of the music industry as tragic, and overwhelmingly full of talentless "artists" that are fully created in a studio artificially.

Fantastic...

I absolutely loved this book. What a life this man has lived and what gifts he has given us. Great insight into the characters and talents of people he worked with.

The narration is superb. Probably my favorite non-author narration ever.

Highly recommended if you are into music and even more so if you appreciate good sounding records.

An Amazing Recollection of So Many Musical Greats

A fantastic telling of the story of one of Rock n’ Roll’s most renowned producers.
The text gives the listeners the impression of sitting down face-to-face with the man himself.
Sean Runnette’s reading keeps the listener engaged with exceptional emphasis on the subject’s emotion throughout the story.

An amazing journey with a hall of fame cast

If you're a musician or work closely with them, this is a must, regardless the genre of music you prefer. This is a story about a man's love for music, his desire to make it great along with an uber famous cast of friends. It's not a book filled with the salacious details of rock and roll, although there are moments of how that effected the process. This is a book about friendship, music and a man taking the music and musicians he loved and injecting them into those he saw great promise in. More than not he was right and that's why he's one of the greatest and why you should read this. The outline and flow is great and the delivery is superb..

Ted Templeman is an Excellent read

I listened to this because I am a Van Halen fan since 1978 and had just listened to Renoff’s Van Halen rising. Here you get more of the inside scoop on VH from TT’s perspective. But the book is about so much more than VH. In fact, VH material only comprises maybe 20% of the story. The rest is mostly about the other bands and artists he worked with and is thoroughly fascinating as he goes into great detail about the recording process, his relationships with the artists, his achievements and failures. I found myself listening to every song as he would talk about producing them. And along the way I discovered many “nuggets” about these songs I had not previously known. What a great story and so well written. Highly recommended!

not what I expected...

Clearly, Ted Templeman is an immensely talented guy and serious cat, musically. Not to mention, the producer behind Van Halen's best albums, Dave Lee Roth's best solo record, and the unsung Montrose album.

But the rest of his story? Well... I couldn't care less about his early career as fledgling musician, Doobie Brothers' producer, and Warner Bros exec. And this book lingers loooooong on these elements of his background.

Now, to be fair, these are important aspects of his life. But if, like me, you're only really interested in Van Halen, I don't recommend this book.

Excellent

Didn’t quite know what to expect despite knowing a lot of the album’s produced by ted. Well I wasn’t disappointed . It’s a great listen with some wonderful stories regarding van halen , the doobies and a great insight into the recording technique’s used in the 70s. Recommended.

Fascinating look at a life in music

As a Doobie Brothers fan I found this book full of fascinating insights into how their albums were made, but the whole story is riveting. Ted comes across as a very talented, personable and generous guy, a feeling enhanced by the voicing brought to his story by its reader. Anyone with an interest in how great records were/are produced and in the artists Ted worked with will enjoy this book. Thanks to everyone involved in its writing and in its presentation on Audible!

What a read!

I'd initially purchased this book for the Van Halen content. And boy does it deliver on that front. But this guy has led some life in Music. What a story.

I'd recommend this to any music fan. Ted comes across as someone with a true passion for music who has worked with many of the great artists.

On the Van Halen front, it's really gives you everything you'd ever want to know.

Brilliant!