Who was Norman Dolph? Early Velvet Underground producer dies at 83

American music entrepreneur Norman Dolph, who produced and recorded Velvet Underground’s first studio album, has died at the age of 83. In a statement issued on Friday, Planetary Group confirmed that Dolph died on May 11 in New Haven, Connecticut, after a battle with cancer.

The statement read:

“Touring galleries with someone who knew most of the artists personally was a privilege few people are lucky enough to experience.”

Invisible Hands Music owner Charles Kennedy in a statement said:

“I will miss Norman greatly but his friendship and the wisdom he imparted along the way is an endless well that I will cherish forever.”

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Norman Dolph produced and recorded the first album for Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground at Scepter studios. (Image via @thevelvetundergeound/Facebook)

Norman was working at Columbia Records in the late ‘60s and bought Studiotime. He supervised the recording and the remix of the album that went on to become The Velvet Underground & Nico. The album did not rise to fame instantly and was rejected by Dolph’s colleagues at Columbia Records.

The acetate on which the album was recorded was returned to Norman Dolph who gave it to artist Andy Warhol, who had discovered the band and later became their manager. The album later surfaced on eBay and was sold for over $20,000. It is one of the most expensive collectable discs in history.

The album later went on to become one of the most influential and critically acclaimed rock albums.

The tracks Norman recorded at the Scepter Record studios in New York included All Tomorrow’s Parties, European Son, Femme Fatale, Run Run Run, I’ll Be Your Mirror, and The Black Angel’s Death Song. The tracks ended up on the The Velvet Underground and Nico LP and were eventually released on Verve.

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More about Norman Dolph

Norman Dolph was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 11, 1939. The polymath graduated from Yale with an electrical engineering degree in 1960, and moved to New York City. He led one of America’s first mobile discos in the ‘60s where he performed at midnight arts events after which he began his career in record labels.

Dolph began writing lyrics and publishing songs in 1972. He garnered two major chart recordings, including Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me) performed by Reunion, and Stay the Night sung by Jane Olivor. Dolph also authored a column for a success magazine in the 1980s and 1990s.