Hal Willner RIP

Hal, Lou, Rufus, Van Dyke:

 

Thank you.

 

went to high school with hal , we weren't great friends by any means but remember having a few "discussions" about music over lunch in the cafeteria. as a big lou reed fan i knew about his work with lou reed , and other production credits. was not aware of his huge role with SNL. RIP hal.

 

Joan Jett on Twitter

 

Judd Apatow on Twitter

Penn Jillette on Twitter

Judd Apatow on Twitter

 

Tributes paid to Lou Reed producer Hal Willner, who has died aged 64

Hal Willner Appreciation: Producer and 'SNL' Veteran Kept Music Weird, and Very Cool

SNL writers lead tributes to 'unique' music producer Hal Willner

Jimmy Fallon Breaks Down Over COVID-19 Death Of SNL’s Hal Willner – Deadline

Hal Willner: A Tribute The Wild Card Producer — Kerrang!

 

RIP, Hal. Love Stay Awake.

 

The last time he tweeted, he sent love to John Prine. Now they’re both gone.
Hal Willner on Twitter

 

In honor of Hal, I changed my avatar to this:

 

Debbie Harry + Various Artists: La Dolce Vita Suite, by Corbett vs. Dempsey

 

From the Weird Nightmare liners...

"And to all who passed through this...-cough-...nightmare and got old with me, a.k.a. Sue Jacobs and friends.
WE'LL SELL DOZENS!
I'll be seeing you,
Hal Willner
New York
1992"

RIP, Mr Willner

 

You were almost guaranteed to have moments you just adored and stuff you never wanted to hear again on any Hal project. He was fearless, truly. His Monk and Weill project are, IMO, his strongest. His song/artist pairings on the Disney one are challenging and often succeed in a major way. My favorites are Todd on Call From The Grave (damn, that guitar), Lou on September Song, Joe Jackson on Round Midnight, Lobos on the Monkey Song, and Buster on Castle in Spain. At the time, when he got Fagen out to do a Monk tune was a real coup. I will miss his style and adventurousness.

 

I'm the only one who mentionned here this great album produced by Hal Willner. Maybe too European for my fellow American members, but would like to post it for the members here for giving it a try:

It's Gavin Friday's album 'Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves'. Here one of the songs.

 

And I've been having this on repeat since yesterday:

 

When my kids were young, they listened to those awful ‘Wee Sing’ cassettes when they were in my wife’s car, and ‘Stay Awake’ while in mine. We all loved that album, but they kind of got spooked by Tom Waits ‘Heigh Ho’. Both grew up to be fans of Waits.

Willner’s albums are the epitome of the word ‘album’ as far as I’m concerned - awesome collections of music put together so artfully.

 

well, if we're putting up samples.......
This is just perfection of what smokey, atmospheric late night jazz is:

 

A great loss to the music world, I was so sad to learn of Hal Willner’s passing today. I had the good fortune to attend one if his Harry Smith Project concerts in Los Angeles. The terrific CD/DVD box set made from those shows in L.A. and New York gets lots of play.



The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited

 

I knew the name from Stay Awake and The Carl Stalling Project(s), I've just come to find out his involvement with SNL. A very talented man. Rest in peace.

 

Night Music/Sunday Night may have been his biggest triumph.

 

Good call.

 

Some more tributes, by U2 and Elvis Costello. Especially the Elvis Costello on is very touching.
U2: U2 > News > 'One of the greatest music men…'
Elvis Costello: Official Site

 

One of my wife's favorites!
Did not know he produced it!

 

Really a sad sad news!
His tribute albums are full of creativity and originality.
R.I.P.

 

And,as mentioned in the John Prine thread,Seth Meyers included Hal and John-both Seth & Jimmy are SNL alumni. One hopes that the mentioning of these guys will find some new ears. Especially Willner,as he was a behind- the- scenes guy.
I'm reminded in times like these of the final words from Bang The Drum Slowly,the 1973 baseball film that features a young Robert DeNiro. The narrator,Michael Moriarity,upon reflecting on the death of his misunderstood gone-too-soon friend, says: "He wasn't a bad fellow. No worse than most and probably better than some. And not a bad ballplayer,neither,once he they gave him the chance...when they laid off of him long enough. From here on in,I rag nobody." I've borrowed that line in eulogies for two friends who were also the best baseball pals in my life. Both gone too soon and gone over 20 years. These guys were such baseball fans,they got to officiate at a meaningless spring training game. They got to call the stolen base,wild pitch,was it an error decisions for major league players getting ready for real baseball. When I went with them one spring,the radio guys hollered at my friends,welcoming them back for another year,like it wouldn't be complete without them,too. Those ending words seem appropriate for these guys,too.