Rock-music arranger Shel Talmy, 87, died on Nov. 13—he arranged and produced such hits as “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks and “My Generation” by the Who. Talmy was a Quiz Kid at age 13, and worked at ABC till his eyesight failed and he moved from TV to music. He moved to England and joined Decca in 1962, and was soon arranging for the Kinks, the Who, David Bowie, Manfred Mann, and many lesser-known artists. Talmy said that “I liked the artists that I produced – a lot, or else I wouldn’t produce them, and what I wanted to do was enhance what they do already. I just wanted to make it better, more polished, put the best frame around it I could . . . I’m a hands-on producer, meaning that I always work with the artist on choosing material, doing the arrangements, getting musicians if necessary, choosing the studio and being there for the entire production on through the mixes and mastering.”
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