Ted Templeman

March 2, 2020
In no-frills prose, music producer Templeman offers behind-the-board glimpses at the musicians he’s produced, including Eric Clapton, the Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison, and Van Halen. Templeman grew up in a musical family in Santa Cruz, Calif., graduated high school in 1960, and attended Cabrillo Junior College. For the next decade he played in various bands and worked for Warner Brothers, where producer Lenny Waronker taught him the art of production. In 1970, he discovered a demo tape from the Doobie Brothers and, after hearing them live, signed them to Warner (they got a $20,000 advance and “partied away half of it, and the other half went for equipment”). Following the success of the Doobies’ eponymous first album, Templeman was promoted to A&R executive producer. Templeman is an entertaining storyteller, and he matter-of-factly talks of working on Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, which taught him to value and capture spontaneous performances; producing Clapton’s album Behind the Sun, when Templeman suggested he switch to a Stratocaster guitar from his Gibson to get a better tone; and recording Van Halen’s “You Really Got Me,” during which Templeman heard guitarist Eddie Van Halen warm up with a guitar exercise that became the song’s intro, “Eruption.” Classic rock fans will dig Templeman’s insider view of the music business.