Les Fradkin

Les Fradkin (born 1951) is an American MIDI guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, and record producer.

He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania.

In addition to playing MIDI guitar, he plays 12 string guitar, the Starr Labs Ztar, guitar synthesizer, SynthAxe, Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano, bass guitar, and Moog synthesizer.

Fradkin was born in New York City and raised in Riverdale in the Bronx.

He travelled extensively in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean as a youngster.

He began his musical education at the age of 10 being taught the basics of classical piano from his mother, a former concert pianist.

Inspired by seeing the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and hearing "Walk Don't Run '64" by the Ventures on the radio at the age of 13, he began to teach himself guitar.

Other music that inspired him ranged from the British Invasion sounds of the day to American rock acts such as the Byrds, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and Frank Zappa.

But what most held his interest and fascination was the art of record production.

He was particularly interested in how producers such as Les Paul, Joe Meek, and Phil Spector got their sounds and, in 1966, began tape experiments with Sound on Sound with a Panasonic tape recorder he received as a birthday gift.

By 1968, he could edit, splice, and overdub complex recordings at home.

By 1969, he had written a large portfolio of original pop and rock songs and was proficient on guitar, bass guitar, Hammond organ, and piano.

He turned professional that year and signed a staff songwriting contract with April-Blackwood Music, a division of CBS.

This situation did not work out to either April's or Fradkin's satisfaction and April Music gave him his release in early 1970.

Fradkin moved over to MGM Records in August 1970 and signed a staff songwriter agreement with Leo Feist Music and a recording contract with the new MGM/Sunflower Records label headed up by songwriting legend Mack David and industry veteran Danny Kessler.

Fradkin signed as the first artist for Sunflower Records and debuted his first solo single "Song of a Thousand Voices" which was produced by Randy Edelman.

Given front-page coverage in Billboard Magazine and picked for the Top 40, "Song of a Thousand Voices" surfaced as a regional hit in September 1970.

By October 1970, he co-produced, co-wrote, and sang another Sunflower regional hit single "Hippie Lady" under the pseudonym the Yummies.

In early 1971, "Song of a Thousand Voices" was translated into French by Hubert Ithier and recorded by the French songstress Mireille Mathieu as "La Chansons Des Souvenirs" for her "Love Story" Extended Play single on the Philips label.

It was also released as a 45RPM single.

Both versions became substantial hits in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Israel.

"Song of a Thousand Voices" has also been covered in a Spanish language hit version "Donde?" by Latin Pop star Roberto Jordan originally released on the RCA Victor label.

By 18 years of age, Fradkin was proficient on many instruments and this led to him finding extensive session work in studios in New York City and London, playing Mellotron, Hammond organ, bass, guitar, and piano.

In 1972 and 1973, Fradkin produced sessions sponsored by Bell Records for the baroque pop group the Left Banke, famous for their hit "Walk Away Renee".

From 1973 through 1976 and again between 1981 through 1987, Fradkin signed on as a producer and songwriter with Gene Schwartz for the Laurie Records label.

Fradkin produced many artists for Laurie including Mara Lynn Brown, Tom Selden, New Hope, Barry Winslow of the Royal Guardsmen, actress Nell Carter, chanteuse Valerie Tyler, pop stylist Barbara M., and a comedian Marty Brill, who released an LP called The Missing Tapes.

22 singles and 4 albums for the Laurie label in all.

But the most prolific artist he produced for Laurie and, perhaps, the most notable was the pop rock group, California.

Fradkin was an original member/singer/guitarist/keyboardist for the California group on Laurie Records in the US and RCA Records in the UK for its entire existence from 1973 through 1985.

By 1973, Fradkin had diversified his producer portfolio and made an agreement to license several of his productions to the Indie label ESP-Disk.

His production of "Give a Damn" by Paul Thornton (recorded at A-1 Sound Studios in New York City with Herb Abramson and Jonathan Thayer as co-engineers), saw release on the fourth Godz album Godzundheit, and Fradkin guested as bass player on a solo album by Godz member Jim McCarthy entitled Alien.

Steve Martin Caro and George Cameron, both of the Left Banke also participated in these sessions, all recorded at A-1.

1974 saw the debut album on ESP-Disk by Thornton, Fradkin & Unger.

The group's other members were Paul Thornton, an original member of the Godz on acoustic guitar and Bob Unger, bassist.

Their album was called Pass On This Side and featured cover art consisting of a "do-it-yourself" blank black cover with a die cut sheet of stickers that buyers could arrange any way they pleased.

California had several chart records including the 1981 release "Summer Fun Medley"-a medley of Beach Boys hits, "Jeans On", "He's Almost You" (charting in the United Kingdom), and an appearance on the Dick Clark American Bandstand television show.

And their single cover of "See You in September" saw honorary placement in the famous Laurie collectors series Collector Records of the 50s and 60s - Vol. 14.

Fradkin wrote many of the B-sides of California's singles and Steve Martin Caro and George Cameron of the Left Banke were original members of California on the group's early releases.

Although left unreleased at the time, one song, "I Could Make It Last Forever", appears on Fradkin's 2006 release Goin' Back.

A machima video of the song was produced and directed by Charlemagne Fezza and it appears on YouTube.