Hal Willner, RIP

[Michedelic]

Visionary music producer...

Hal Willner Dead: 'SNL' Music Mainstay, Record Producer Had COVID-19 — Variety

 

[GregC]

I'd heard his name before, but wasn't aware of his resume until Questlove, who got to know him personally from hanging out on the SNL set, paid tribute today. Seems like a really interesting guy who had an incredible passion for music. RIP.

 

[Michedelic]

I'd heard his name before, but wasn't aware of his resume until Questlove, who got to know him personally from hanging out on the SNL set, paid tribute today. Seems like a really interesting guy who had an incredible passion for music. RIP.

There wasn't anyone else like him; not only, as an extension of his SNL work, did he oversee the eclectic but short-lived Night Music TV show, but aside from those tribute projects, produce some great individual artist albums, Marianne Faithfull's "Strange Weather", one of my favorite works of the late 80's(she herself is hospitalized in London with Covid right now)is an example, plus titles by Bill Frisell, Neville Brothers, Lou Reed, and so on. Those concept albums, as I usually liked everyone that he would herd together to do, were always a treat; stuff you'd never think of, yet he did. He was brilliant in the way he'd pair the right artist with the right material. Although that Disney album was special, the one that really impressed me was the Edgar Allen Poe collection, primarily a spoken word affair. In spite of the dark content, it contained a bit of humor. Christopher Walken reading "The Raven"? Hilarious.