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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZPETER AND GORDONBritish pop duo: Peter Asher (b 22 June '44, London) and Gordon Waller (b 4 June 1945, Braemar, Scotland; d 17 July 2009, Norwich CT) were school friends who both sang and played guitars, Peter and Gordon modelled their duo on the Everly Brothers and were nothing if not well-connected: Asher's sister Jane was Paul McCartney's girlfriend; the gift of a Beatle song ensured a no. 1 UK/USA with their first release 'World Without Love' '64. Further top 40s included McCartney's 'Nobody I Know' and 'Woman'; also Buddy Holly's 'True Love Ways', Phil Spector's 'To Know You Is To Love You'. As with Chad and Jeremy, their success lasted longer in the USA, where they seemed archetypal fresh-faced English boys; they split amicaby '68. Waller made news with an Elvis Presley impersonation while playing Judas in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Asher became head of A&R at the Beatles' Apple label, where he signed James Taylor, the singer/ songwriter then living in London, moving with Taylor to Los Angeles '69 when the flop of his debut album coincided with Allen Klein's purge of Apple staff (one of the problems with the Apple label was that if the record wasn't by the Beatles nobody played it). After helping Taylor through a bout of mental illness, Asher produced his first three albums for WB; Sweet Baby James '70 and Mud Slide Slim '71 both went platinum. Asher also managed the Section, Taylor's backing musicians, who made three low-key albums in that decade. He found the Midas touch with former Stone Poney Linda Ronstadt, producing her albums from Don't Cry Now '73 onwards. His influence (similar to '60s pairings of George Martin/Cilla Black, Chris Andrews/Sandie Shaw, Mickie Most/Lulu) yielded a long series of hit albums with his choice of material (from the Everly Brothers '74 to Elvis Costello '78) crucial in maintaining her popularity. He also produced Ronstadt's one-time beau J. D. Souther, Bonnie Raitt, John Stewart and others, gathering awards for production, notably a Grammy for work with Ronstadt '77. He exerted a consistent influence on '70s West Coast pop, which was not unlike an update of the Peter and Gordon sound. |