Andy Paley

Producer Andy Paley lent his classic pop sensibility to albums from legends including Brian Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jonathan Richman. He first surfaced as the frontman of the Sidewinders, making his debut on their 1972 self-titled effort; after a few years of relative inactivity, Paley resurfaced in 1976, appearing on Elliott Murphy's Night Lights LP. He next teamed with sibling Jonathan as the Paley Brothers, issuing an acclaimed 1978 eponymous album; that same year, he also appeared with the group Beatles Costello on their sole EP, Washing the Defectives. In 1979, Paley played guitar on Richman's Back in Your Life, beginning a collaboration which continued off and on for years to come. Quiet throughout much of the 1980s, in 1988 he produced the legendary Brian Wilson's comeback solo effort; Paley teamed with the onetime Beach Boy to record another LP during the mid-1990s, but the finished product-though reportedly Wilson's best work since the halcyon Pet Sounds era-remains as yet unreleased. Still, the collaboration brought Paley new visibility, and in short order he collaborated with John Wesley Harding, NRBQ, the Mighty Lemon Drops and, most curiously, Madonna. In 1995, he also teamed with another notoriously tempermental artist, Jerry Lee Lewis, for Young Blood. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide