A longtime house producer at Warner Bros. Records,
Ted Templeman hit his greatest heights through his extended affiliations with
the Doobie Brothers and
Van Halen. Born October 24, 1944, in Santa Cruz, CA, he began his musical career as a drummer in a variety of local bands; in time he joined the Tikis, who in 1966 evolved into
Harpers Bizarre. Not only did
Templeman assume vocal and guitar duties with
Harpers Bizarre, but he also arranged their tight harmonies, eventually even assisting producer
Lenny Waronker in the studio. After
Harpers disbanded in 1970,
Waronker tapped
Templeman to join the Warner production staff, where his first assignment was to helm
the Doobie Brothers' eponymous 1971 debut LP. Though the album was a commercial failure, the group's follow-up, 1972's
Toulouse Street, went platinum on the strength of the smash "Listen to the Music," and
Templeman continued as
the Doobies' producer throughout the remainder of their career, overseeing hits including "Takin' It to the Streets," "China Grove," "Rockin' Down the Highway," and "What a Fool Believes."
Other artists who benefited from
Templeman's strong, clear production aesthetic most notably included
Van Morrison (the classic LPs Tupelo Honey and Saint Dominic's Preview and the live
It's Too Late to Stop Now),
Little Feat (
Sailin' Shoes),
Captain Beefheart (
Clear Spot), and
Montrose (their self-titled debut). In 1977, he discovered
Van Halen in a Hollywood club, and a year later their hugely successful self-titled LP appeared;
Templeman went on to helm all of
Van Halen's albums through the classic
1984, in the process helping establish the quartet among the world's most popular rock bands. After
David Lee Roth exited
Van Halen,
Templeman also produced his early solo LPs, as well as albums from
Michael McDonald (
If That's What It Takes),
Aerosmith (
Done with Mirrors), and
Eric Clapton (
Behind the Sun). His production pace began to slow down considerably during the late '80s, with newer Warner signings like
the Bulletboys and
Honeymoon Suite failing to repeat the success of their predecessors; by the 1990s,
Templeman's credit appeared only rarely. ~ Jason Ankeny