Bob Thiele

Bob Thiele (1922 to 1996) was an American record producer, bandleader and occasional songwriter whose work shaped a large part of the classic jazz catalogue of the mid twentieth century. Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, he hosted a jazz radio show at fourteen, played clarinet and led a band around New York. At seventeen he founded the Signature label, recording Lester Young, Erroll Garner and, in 1943, Coleman Hawkins. He joined American Decca in 1952, ran its Coral subsidiary and produced Buddy Holly's New York sessions, then headed Impulse! Records from 1961 to 1969, where he is best known for his association with John Coltrane and for recording Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp and Albert Ayler. He also produced B. B. King's Lucille and BluesWay sessions with John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. His most successful song, What a Wonderful World, was co-written with George David Weiss and recorded by Louis Armstrong. He later founded Flying Dutchman, Doctor Jazz and Red Baron, and published a memoir in 1995.