Henry Lewy (May 31, 1926 – April 8, 2006),[1] bornHeinz Lewy,[2] was a German-born Americansound engineer and record producer, who was best known for his work on many critically acclaimed and successful rock andfolk albums of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly those byJoni Mitchell,Leonard Cohen,Neil Young,Crosby, Stills and Nash,Joan Baez,Stephen Bishop, andJudee Sill.[3]
Lewy was born to a Jewish family inMagdeburg, Germany, where his father owned afarm machinery business. The family left Germany in 1939, traveling to England and Canada, before settling at first inSavannah, Georgia, and then in Los Angeles, California. Henry Lewy graduated fromHollywood High School in 1945 and served in theUS Army before working in radio stations inSan Diego,Las Vegas and Los Angeles as an audio engineer and announcer.[4]
During the 1950s he studied engineering and travelled in South America, joining a circus as an engineer for a time before returning to work at the Electrovox Studios in Los Angeles. He then moved toLiberty Records, where he worked withRoss Bagdasarian on records byThe Chipmunks. He also worked atGold Star Studios withJackie DeShannon andLeon Russell, and withBones Howe on records byThe Mamas and the Papas andJohnny Rivers.[4][5]
In 1967 he moved toA&M Records, where he worked on hit records bySérgio Mendes andBoyce and Hart. While working with Crosby, Stills and Nash, he was introduced by Crosby to Joni Mitchell, thus beginning a long collaboration with the singer-songwriter. Lewy collaborated with Mitchell on the engineering and production ofClouds,Ladies of the Canyon,Blue,Court and Spark,The Hissing of Summer Lawns,Hejira,Wild Things Run Fast, and other albums, from the 1960s to the 1980s, includingCareless, the debut album byStephen Bishop which Lewy co-produced. He also worked in a similar capacity withNeil Young (Harvest, 1972),Judee Sill (Heart Food, 1973),Joan Baez (Gracias a la Vida, 1974),Hoyt Axton (Southbound, 1975),Bill Hughes (Dream Master, 1979),[6]Leonard Cohen (Recent Songs, 1979),Minnie Riperton (Minnie, 1979),Joan Armatrading (How Cruel,1979),Van Morrison (Common One, 1980),The Long Ryders (Native Sons, 1984) andJennifer Warnes (Famous Blue Raincoat, 1986).[7][5]
Lewy retired in the late 1980s, and in later years lived inPrescott, Arizona. He died there in 2006 at the age of 79, after a period of declining health which included a stroke and heart surgery.[1][4]
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