R.I.P. Andy Paley

Andrew Sandoval just broke the news via a tribute on social media.

Paley was original part of the power pop duo the Paley Brothers with his brother Jonathan. Following their disbandment, he became a staff producer at Sire Records, producing albums for Brian Wilson (like his 1988 eponymous solo album), Jonathan Richman, NRBQ, John Wesley Harding, the Greenberry Woods, and Jerry Lee Lewis, several of which are reviewed here on TP. He also worked as a film composer, writing songs and scores mostly for animated productions like The Ren & Stimpy Show, Digimon, SpongeBob SquarePants and Camp Lazlo.

EDIT: His wife was documenting his treatment in a public Substack, and it's pretty horrendous how the hospital treated him.

[heathercrist.substack.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2024 05:31AM by belfast.

Aww sad to hear. The Paleys were just two young good looking guys playing no stress power pop. TP did cover them several times in the magazine but they likely didn’t hit the record guides (thus reviews section here).

Oh, that is sad. I know only a few of his songs but they have been anthologized and appeared in a number of my power pop compilations.

So sad to hear about Andy Paley, he was very active in the college music scene by way of producing music for, among others , The Mighty Lemon Drops and Richard X. Heyman, who I am big fans of. If recollection serves, he also worked with well-established artists such as Elton John and Madonna.

All the obituaries are focusing on the music he composed for Spongebob Squarepants, which I am sure Andy was proud of, but I would rather see a hefty applause for his more "serious" work on collaborations with all the talented musicians he worked with through the years. Almost reminds me of the 19th century author Edward Bulwer Lytton, who was one of the most successful writers of the century but today is usually only remembered for that one line in one of his books: "It was a dark and stormy night..."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2024 02:59AM by Fleeingbandit.

Nice piece in LA Times: [www.latimes.com]

I had no idea his production career was so prolific.

Welcome surprise to see the New York Times recognizing Paley's life and passing.

Also Lenny Kaye, who as detailed in Paley's wife's Substack was with Paley when he died, posted this on Instagram.