MUSIC MAN: Famous record producer, Norbert Putnam has worked with all of the greats. The Delta will benefit next from this enormous talent.

Norbert Putnam
Grenada resident brings his wellspring of knowledge to young musicians at the new Delta Music Institute at Delta State University

by ROBERT McFARLAND, JR.
DBJ Contributing Writer

Norbert Putnam has enjoyed a long and successful career in music and audio. His incredible career has included playing bass as a session musician, to founding and owning legendary studios, to credits as a multi-Platinum producer for artists including Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett, Dan Fogelberg and many others.

Putnam grew up outside of Florence, Ala., and fell into playing the bass in the mid-’50s at the urging of a friend who was forming a band covering the music of Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. The friend knew that Putnam’s father, a part-time bluegrass musician, had an upright Kay string bass. After being told that “anybody can find three chords,” Putnam decided to give it a shot.

Putnam began working with a group of Muscle Shoals players who would also go on to great success: pianist David Briggs, drummer Jerry Carrigan and singer/songwriter Dan Penn. Their group, Dan Penn & The Pallbearers, along with members of another band called The Fairlanes (which contained future producers Rick Hall and Billy Sherrill), formed the nucleus of the early hit-making scene in Muscle Shoals, Ala. During the early ’60s, Putnam played bass on classic hits by Arthur Alexander, Joe South, Tommy Roe, The Tams and others, and his band opened for The Beatles at their first concert in Washington, D.C.

In 1965, the promise of greater money and opportunity lured Putnam and some of his band mates to Nashville. Putnam quickly became one of Nashville’s most in-demand session bassists, particularly for the more pop, rock and R&B-oriented material. His credits include thousands of records by artists including Elvis Presley, The Monkees, Linda Ronstadt, Tony Joe White, the Beau Brummels, the Manhattan Transfer and Henry Mancini.

In 1970, Putnam and David Briggs started Quadraphonic Recording, and, within three years, Quadraphonic became one of the hottest studios in the country. Sessions recorded at Quadraphonic included hit records like Neil Young’s Harvest, Dobie Gray’s Drift Away and Putnam’s very first production, the million-selling version of “Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by Joan Baez. A long run of successful Putnam-produced projects followed.

By 1980, Putnam and Briggs had sold their interest in Quadraphonic, which continues to be a successful operation. Putnam then acquired a large Victorian home in Franklin, Tenn., called The Bennett House and built a studio in it. Like Quadraphonic, it became so successful that people lined up to get in.

Tired of flying to New York and L.A. for mastering, Putnam hooked up with Nashville mastering engineer Denny Purcell, and they started Georgetown Mastering, which, to this day, is one of the finest mastering facilities in North America.

Putnam eventually sold his interests in the still-successful Bennett House and Georgetown Mastering and took a break, pursuing his passion for restoring Victorian and antebellum homes, perfecting his golf game and taking on the occasional project. He eventually settled in a large, 1880 Italianate home in Grenada, Miss.

Since moving to Grenada, Norbert has been very involved in the community and he and his wife now consider it home. “When we bought this home, it was going to primarily be another restoration project, which is something we both love to do. After living here in Grenada for a while, we both fell in love with the town and with the Delta” Norbert said.

“I was approached by Fred Carl (Viking Range Inc.) and Collier Parker (Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, DSU) about the idea of helping design a recording studio for a new program at Delta State. I agreed to work on the project and now it’s turned into something really amazing. I began thinking it was just going to be one regular studio, but after seeing the space we had to work with and speaking with many others interested in helping the project, its grown into what I believe will be the best recording arts program offered by any University in the world” Norbert stated.

The mission of the DMI is to provide a musical education that is as diverse as the music of the Delta. This program will offer students the utmost in modern recording studios and digital-editing laboratories to record and engineer music. Laptops and software programmed for each student will enable the learning experience to be both portable and wireless.

In addition to having the advanced recording and editing facilities at his or her disposal, the DMI student will have instruction designed by some of the most recognized and awarded producers and music engineers in the recording industry. Grammy and Oscar winners, some who have produced for the likes of Steely Dan, Jimmy Buffet, Joan Baez and Neil Young, have agreed to serve in advisory positions that will help make the DMI’s recording curriculum the most advanced of its kind.

Collier Parker, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Delta State, stated “It is a tremendous coup for us to have Norbert because of his stellar reputation in the industry.”
He continued “Along with more students, we hope it will bring worldwide attention to DSU and we hope it will have spin-offs involving film and other industries that will enhance the university. It will also bring visitors and guest speakers who want to see what’s going on at this school in Mississippi’s Delta” Parker finished.

Combine the mentoring provided by Executive Director Putnam and a state of the art recording studio with the musical tradition of the Mississippi Delta and you have an opportunity to create the finest music production/engineering program in the world, centered in the Mississippi Delta.
The success of the Delta Music Institute will greatly impact enrollment at DSU, and the attention that comes with providing a world-class, trend-setting education that resonates throughout the music industry will be a great boon to the region. This is just the latest chapter in the life of Norbert Putnam, a consummate musician/producer. DBJ