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, you may not know 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 Two of our conversation, Richard picks up where he left off after departing Sire Records and embarking on one of the most remarkable second acts in music history.
As a producer, Richard helped define the sound of New York's emerging punk and new wave movement, producing landmark recordings by Blondie, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and later guiding The Go-Go's to international superstardom with their groundbreaking debut album, Beauty and the Beat.
He reflects on working with artists who would go on to become cultural icons, the creative instincts that allowed him to recognize greatness before the rest of the world, and the producer's role in capturing an artist's true identity on record.
But Richard wasn't finished reinventing himself.
Long before most of the music industry understood the coming digital revolution, Richard co-founded The Orchard, helping create the company that transformed digital distribution for independent artists and labels around the world. His vision once again placed him at the forefront of one of the biggest changes in the history of the music business.
This conversation is a masterclass in creativity, innovation, and lifelong reinvention from a man whose fingerprints can be found on virtually every era of modern popular music.
