Andy Paley

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American songwriter (1952–2024)

title: "Andy Paley" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1951-births", "2024-deaths", "record-producers-from-new-york-(state)", "the-modern-lovers-members", "musicians-from-albany,-new-york", "songwriters-from-new-york-(state)", "songwriters-from-washington,-d.c.", "american-male-songwriters", "american-multi-instrumentalists", "deaths-from-cancer-in-vermont", "deaths-from-throat-cancer-in-the-united-states", "people-from-halfmoon,-new-york", "people-from-grand-isle,-vermont"] description: "American songwriter (1952–2024)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Paley" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American songwriter (1952–2024) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameAndy Paley
landscape
birth_nameAndrew Douglas Paley
birth_date
birth_placeWashington, D.C., U.S.
originHalfmoon, New York, U.S.
death_date
death_placeColchester, Vermont, U.S.
genre
occupation
instrument
spouseHeather Crist
past_member_ofThe Paley Brothers
website
::

| name = Andy Paley | image = | image_size = | landscape = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Andrew Douglas Paley | native_name = | native_name_lang = | alias = | birth_date = | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | origin = Halfmoon, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Colchester, Vermont, U.S. | genre = | occupation = | instrument = | spouse = Heather Crist | past_member_of = The Paley Brothers | website =

Andrew Douglas Paley (November 1, 1951 – November 20, 2024) was an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, Paley was a staff producer at Sire Records, producing albums for artists, such as Brian Wilson, Jonathan Richman, NRBQ, John Wesley Harding, the Greenberry Woods, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also worked in film and television, composing scores and writing songs mostly for animated series, such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, and Handy Manny.

Early life and career

Andrew Douglas Paley was born in Washington, D.C., on November 1, 1951, the son of Henry Paley, a college administrator and lobbyist, and Cabot Barber Paley, a teacher and therapist. He was the third of five children and grew up in Crescent, New York, near Albany.

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Paley began performing in his early teens as a drummer and singer for local Albany-area bands before moving to Boston. He was a founding member and the drummer of the Boston, Massachusetts band, Catfish Black, which also included future Modern Lovers members Jerry Harrison and Ernie Brooks. The band was renamed the Sidewinders and was later joined by Billy Squier. The band performed around Boston and in New York City at venues like Max's Kansas City.

The Paley Brothers

Main article: The Paley Brothers

Paley went on to form The Paley Brothers with his younger brother Jonathan, a guitar/bass player and singer who also was part of the early Boston punk scene and had played with Boston and New York bands such as Mong. They disintegrated as an act in 1979 when Jonathan joined the Nervous Eaters. Although the Nervous Eaters collapsed after Ric Ocasek, who had produced their demo, was not permitted to produce their second album, the Paley Brothers did not reform. Said Jonathan, "It was more of an evolution. Andy went on the road with Patti Smith's band and got into production work; I went and sailed around the world."

Collaborative work

In 1979, Andy Paley played guitar on Jonathan Richman's album Back in Your Life, and continued to perform on and off with Richman and later incarnations of the Modern Lovers, and produce many of their recordings, through the 1980s. He produced Richman's 1985 album Rockin' and Romance. Paley then focused on songwriting, session work and record production while working with Madonna, k.d. lang, Mandy Barnett, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Brenda Lee, Little Richard, and many others.

In 1988, Paley produced and co-wrote songs on Wilson's solo comeback album Brian Wilson, and continued to work with him on unreleased material in the 1990s. Wilson described Paley as a multi-instrumentalist with "a lot of talent for anything you can think of. ... Andy Paley is the most frighteningly talented person I’ve ever worked with, and he has an unparalleled seriousness about music."

Film and television work

Paley produced the soundtracks for Dick Tracy (1990) and A Walk on the Moon (1999) and wrote the original music for Traveller (1997, starring Bill Paxton). In 2009, he contributed to the soundtrack of World's Greatest Dad, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams. He also wrote the musical score for the first season of Showtime's The L Word.

Paley also scored for cartoons such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, and later wrote and produced the music for Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants. He and Tom Kenny – the voice of SpongeBob – co-wrote the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Album (2012). Paley and Kenny were also both members of Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas. He led the Andy Paley Orchestra, which provided the music for The Thrilling Adventure & Supernatural Suspense Hour, a theater group in Los Angeles that performs original stage productions in the style of old radio melodramas. Additionally he provided music for The Dana Gould Hour podcast.

Personal life and death

Paley and his wife, Heather Crist Paley, have twin sons and lived in Grand Isle, Vermont.

In July 2024, Paley was diagnosed with throat cancer. Though he was successfully treated and had been cancer-free from September, it was found to have returned on November 7, after he was admitted to a hospital in Burlington, Vermont. Heather Crist Paley wrote on her blog that her husband's health steadily deteriorated over the following days, and he was eventually admitted to a hospice facility in Colchester, Vermont. He died there on November 20, at the age of 73.

Discography

Albums produced

References

References

  1. "Andrew Douglas Paley". [[SESAC]].
  2. Williams, Alex. (November 27, 2024). "Andy Paley, Whose Imprint Was All Over Pop Music, Dies at 73". [[The New York Times]].
  3. Wood, Mikael. (November 21, 2024). "Andy Paley, who produced for Brian Wilson and composed for 'SpongeBob SquarePants,' dies at 73". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  4. (April 17, 1984). "Henry Paley obituary". New York Times.
  5. (February 9, 2010). "Cabot Paley Obituary". New York Times.
  6. Vincent M. Mallozzi. (June 25, 2010). "Heather Crist, Andrew Paley". New York Times.
  7. Christgau, Robert. (1981). "[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]". [[Ticknor & Fields]].
  8. Tim Sendra. "Paley Brothers | Biography".
  9. Ginger Coyote. (2010). "Jonathan Paley Interview". Punk Globe.
  10. Quoted by Gene Sculatti in liner notes for "The Paley Brothers: The Complete Recordings"
  11. (April 22, 1995). "From Brian Wilson to Jerry Lee Lewis, Andy Paley's Career Defies Description". [[Nielsen Business Media, Inc.]].
  12. (November 27, 2024). "Andy Paley, Multi-Instrumentalist and Songwriter, Dies at 70". The New York Times.
  13. (June 1998). "Brain Wilson: Endless Bummer".
  14. "Podcast".
  15. Crist, Heather. "Heather Crist Substack".
  16. (November 20, 2024). "Andy Paley, Brian Wilson Collaborator, 'Spongebob' Composer and Veteran Producer, Dies at 72". Variety.

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1951-births2024-deathsrecord-producers-from-new-york-(state)the-modern-lovers-membersmusicians-from-albany,-new-yorksongwriters-from-new-york-(state)songwriters-from-washington,-d.c.american-male-songwritersamerican-multi-instrumentalistsdeaths-from-cancer-in-vermontdeaths-from-throat-cancer-in-the-united-statespeople-from-halfmoon,-new-yorkpeople-from-grand-isle,-vermont