Bob Esty

**EricHG23** · January 23rd, 2006, 11:11 PM

Bob Esty never seems to get deserved credit IMHO.

I first became aware of him because of his Cher disco albums (I know I know...) Ya Prisoner is a pretty rough album (though I love the title track, Holding Out for Love and the cover of course) but Take me home is pretty solid with the album version of the title song--and the slightly pitched/speeded up 12" version (which i prefer) being one of the classiest, cheasy eurodisco hits.

Anyone have a complete discography for him? I know he worked a lot with Paul Jabara--on his second album (love the full mix of Pleasure Island with the whole breakdown) as well as on songs for other artists. In fact Bob seemed to have disappeared around 1990 but just before he did a Hi NRG song for Raquel Welch--This Girl's Back in Town--which was a cover of an earlier Paul Jabara song (and is a guilty pleasure of mine).

Anyway, I know that he was largelyr esponsible for the sound of two absolute classics--Donna Summer's Last Dance and Acts I, III and IV of her Once Upon a Time album. Here's a quote on that (from http://www.angelfire.com/de/moroder/esty.html)

"The "Once Upon A Time" project:

I had some e-mail correspondence with Bob Esty in whitch he told me very interesting and inside info.

Bob Esty wrote:

Yes, I did the double LP "Once Upon A Time".
We used the Munich Machine rhythm players (including the incredible drummer Keith Forsey) and the Munich Symphony. Giorgio stayed away from the studio for the entire project and left me to format the order of the record. He left me alone and let me do whatever I wanted. His partner Pete Bellote was in the studio for the guitar overdubs and later co-wrote lyrics with Donna.
Giorgio had given me a tape of himself at an electric piano singing "la, la, la" the melody and giving some chord changes in his playing. I then did a demo of the entire album w/synthesizers in L.A. After that, I flew to Munich to stay at the Arabella Haus where Giorgio's studio Musicland was.
Everything you hear instrumentally was completed before Donna heard it. I had sung the melody for her on the tape and she took it from there. It took about 4 weeks to do all the music, then Donna flew in from her tour of Italy and wrote the words to the songs. I didn't know what the lyrics were until she sang them. Then we added background vocals and Giorgio mixed it. During this process, I did the Roberta Kelly LP "Gettin' the Spirit" which had the song "O Happy Day". I added a gospel choir and some overdubs in L.A. then it went to Munich for Giorgio to mix it.

I asked Bob to tell me how he met Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer,

He friendly wrote:

I met Giorgio Moroder when I did "Last Dance" (summer of 1977). Neil Bogart (president of Casablanca Records) was the force behind doing the song. He thought it was a "hit".
Paul Jabara had "trapped" Donna in a bathroom in Puerto Rico to make her listen to the song idea. She said OK, and Paul and I finished the song and I developed the way the song was to be done: slow intro, fast, then slow again, then fast. It was to be the first time to my knowledge a disco track did this.
Giorgio was initially against the song because it wasn't his, and, vocally, Donna would be singing "full voice" (not high and breathy). This was not like "I Feel Love" and the other previous tracks. Also, we were to use a full orchestral arrangement, not electronic.

We recorded the entire track in one day at Record Plant. Giorgio was not involved in the recording of the track except we had Jurgen Koppers (his engineer) at the console. Mr. Moroder was present at the end of the instrumental session when Donna sang her vocal (2 times only, as was her habit). Donna and I had made a "demo" of the entire full length version with piano and voice, so she knew the arrangement and the song before the vocal session.
I mixed the song with Bob Stone at Larrabee Studios and it was done. After hearing the final product, Giorgio asked me to arrange "Once Upon A Time". This double LP was released before "Last Dance" because the movie "Thank God It's Friday" came out some months later. "

End quote. That same page lists a number of his other credits I knew--I know he worked on Main Event for Cher. I also know he did some stuff I love with DC Larue (I only have his 12" collection but I love all three Esty tracks best--Real Thing, Hot Voodoo Drums and Boogie Rhythm, and of course Let them dance) and of course co produced Roberta Kelly's disco/gospel album with Moroder (which in terms of production is similar to Once Upon a Time).

Anyone know of some other classics or underated gems by him? I know he did the ROller Boogie soundtrack which I'v enever been able to find as well as It's raining Men of course...?

**remicks** · January 24th, 2006, 04:10 AM

*****

You will not be disappointed with:

Andy Williams
LOVE STORY/ WHERE DO I BEGIN

****

**EricHG23** · January 24th, 2006, 05:30 AM

I have two versions of Love Story of different lengths--love it even if it is pretty uber chease. It's Esty?

E

**buckaroo** · January 25th, 2006, 06:54 AM

Originally Written by EricHG23

... I know he did the ROller Boogie soundtrack which I'v enever been able to find as well as It's raining Men of course...?

And the film is bloody good too :lol:

**Disco Funk** · January 25th, 2006, 08:40 PM

I haven't been inspired to look out for his stuff, so I can't help you on the discography. I did like his production of 'Take Me Home' by Cher, but I think the quality of the recording had to do with the well-written song and the tight West Coast session musicians who all played the same style on other Los Angeles area recordings around that time. The mid-70s Motown cuts are prime examples.

Disco Funk