Monday, June 23, 2008

Harry Hinde Record Producer Passes

I was very saddened to hear of the passing of my good friend, Harry Hinde, after a long battle with cancer. Harry was a veteran record producer. Originally from Toledo, Ohio, he made his mark in Canada producing many artists including Charity Brown, the first Shania Twain album, The Raes, Ginette Reno, country star Ronnie Prophet, R&B/Rock act Copper Penny, and more. Harry was a huge fan of The Funk Brothers, Motown's amazing studio session players, and he became longtime friends with their bass player Bob Babbitt. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob on a few occasions with Harry. He even had Tom Baird, a music arranger with Motown, on several sessions for Charity Brown. I first came to know Harry when I was A&R Director for A&M Records and he was producing Charity Brown for our label. The three of us enjoyed working together on her projects very much. He and I spoke together on the phone about six weeks or so ago, when he was home from the hospital for the weekend, and we had a great visit. Harry was a really nice guy and a talented producer. I am glad to have known him and really enjoyed working with him for many years.

Rest well Harry, you deserve it.

Michael

In tribute to Harry, please enjoy our Song of the Week video clip.