About this episode
Richard Gottehrer is one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music—but unless you're a serious student of music history, there's a good chance you've never heard his name.
Over the course of an extraordinary career spanning more than six decades, Richard has reinvented himself time and again -- as a hit songwriter, recording artist, record executive, producer, and digital pioneer. So much so that we had to split this episode into two parts.
In Part One of our conversation, we go back to where it all began.
Growing up in the Bronx, Richard broke into New York's legendary Brill Building songwriting scene, where he co-wrote timeless hits including "My Boyfriend's Back" and "I Want Candy." He later stepped into the spotlight as a member of The Strangeloves, whose recording of "I Want Candy" became a garage rock classic.
Richard also discovered a teenage guitarist and vocalist named Richard Zehringer, who played with a local Ohio band called Rick and the Raiders. After changing his name to Rick Derringer and renaming the band The McCoys, Gottehrer and his Strangeloves bandmates produced their #1 smash, "Hang On Sloopy.”
Richard also shares the story behind the founding of Sire Records, the groundbreaking label he co-created with his lifelong friend Seymour Stein. Together they built one of the most influential independent labels of all time, helping launch artists who would forever change the sound of popular music.
Part One concludes with the remarkable story of one of Sire's earliest breakthrough successes: the international hit "Hocus Pocus" by the Dutch band Focus.
This is the fascinating origin story of a man who would go on to help shape virtually every corner of the modern music business. And it's only the beginning.
Part Two picks up with Richard's departure from Sire Records, his landmark production work with Blondie, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and The Go-Go's, and his remarkable reinvention as the co-founder of The Orchard, the company that revolutionized digital distribution for independent music.
