Seven-time Grammy-winning music producer Joel Moss has passed away at the age of 79.
Moss, a Hollywood icon, collaborated on hit projects like Omen IV: The Awakening and worked with music icons such as Eagles, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Talking Heads throughout his illustrious career. Among his accolades are a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album for producing the cast recording of In the Heights, a Broadway musical from 2008 depicting life in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
He breathed his last in Saratoga Springs, New York, on Monday, as confirmed by his family, who did not disclose the cause of death. Fondly remembered as “the biggest mensch in the recording industry who created the best sounds in town,” Moss’s journey began in 1969 when he started producing and engineering for artists like Little Richard, Joe Cocker, and Johnny Cash in Los Angeles at just 23 years old. He later became the executive director and chief engineer of The Record Plant Recording Studios, operating out of Paramount Pictures scoring stage.
This platform led Moss to provide scores for notable Hollywood films like Fatal Attraction, Omen IV: The Awakening, and South Pacific. In the 1980s, he pioneered the transfer of analogue recordings to 24-track digital for Talking Heads’ iconic documentary, Stop Making Sense.
In the 1990s, Moss became affiliated with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and established Managra Music, a company specializing in jazz and theater compositions.
Paying homage to Moss, Caffe Lena production company shared on Facebook, “It never ceased to amaze us that a man who produced records for Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, The Talking Heads, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many others, believed so deeply in the Saratoga Springs community and the value of Caffe Lena that he spent his evenings capturing our shows.”
Moss, a Detroit, Michigan native, is survived by his wife, Terri-Lynn Pellegri; daughter Rachael Moss; two grandchildren; brother Gary Moss and sister-in-law Andrea; and sister Karen Hale and brother-in-law Richard, along with numerous nieces and nephews.