Bob Blank is an American music producer and prolific sound engineer who ran Blank Tape Studios which opened in New York in 1976. Artists he has worked with include,

James Chance James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953 – June 18, 2024), was an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance played a combination of improvisational jazz-like musi ...

, Kid Creole,

Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American ...

, Lizzy Mercier-Descloux,

Sandra Feva Sandra Feva (born Sandra Arnold, May 14, 1947 – June 26, 2020), also known as Sandra Richardson, was an American soul singer, composer, and backing vocalist. Background She was born in Los Angeles, California, the oldest of five siblings, but gr ...

Instant Funk Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, " I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)". History Instant Funk came out of Trenton, New Jersey consisting of Raymond Earl, drummer Scotty Mill ...

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

Nelson Ned Nelson Ned d'Ávila Pinto (2 March 1947 – 5 January 2014) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter. He built a career as a singer and composer of sentimental, suffering songs, rising to popularity in Brazil and Latin America in 1969 and becoming known ...

, Jimmy Sabater,

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

and more.

Background

Bob Blank had an interest in electronics, and at the age of twelve, he built a high-frequency radio transmitter which didn't go down well with the Federal Communications Commission. He was a guitarist, and at age eighteen he was in a local band. They made a record which was his first recording experience. He originally wanted to be a session guitarist but following his move to New York, he realized that he didn't have what it took to get in. He stayed in the music scene and started record producing and sound engineering. Working as an engineer on "To Be with You" by Jimmy Sabater proved successful as the song became a disco hit. Encouraged by the success of that he started his own studio which was called Blank Tapes. Many disco and funk recordings were done there, and it was part of the "mutant disco scene". Artists such as

, Paquito D'Rivera, Lizzy Mercier-Descloux, Kid Creole and

had either worked with him or had their recordings produced by him. The Vinyl Factor refers to Blank as a legendary disco producer. Blank worked with a great number of artists during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was referred to as a studio dynamo by ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' magazine. He worked on recordings which include "Planet Rock" by

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...

and "Ain’t Nobody" by

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

August Darnell Thomas August Darnell Browder (born August 12, 1950), known professionally as August Darnell and under the stage name Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently ...

said that Blank's studio was a haven for creative artists, and he would try things that other engineers wouldn't dare. Along with Darnell, as a producer, Blank was connected to the ZE record label which released recordings by the Aural Exciters etc. One album featured

Taana Gardner Taana Gardner (born September 3, 1960) is an American disco and post-disco singer who found her success through West End Records since 1979. She is also a former member of the Aural Exciters. Early life Born in Newark, New Jersey (where she c ...

Personal life

His former wife is Lola who had performed with

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

. According to an article in the ''

Schenectady Gazette ''The Daily Gazette,'' from 1902 to 1989 ''Schenectady Gazette,'' is an independent, family-owned daily newspaper published in Schenectady, New York, Schenectady, New York state, New York. ''The Daily Gazette'' also owns and operates ''The Amste ...

'', they originally met in 1979 while posing for a Kid Creole & the Coconuts album. Blank was dressed in safari attire with a pith helmet and having a fierce expression on his face. Lola was wearing a tiny leopard print dress, looking like Jane of the

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

films. Having a passion for ballroom dancing, Blank has been successful competing in events with his partner Martha Estevez. He was a winner in the Senior Latin World Championships in Paris, France in 2014. He was a featured dancer in ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and young mother who suspects that something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives fro ...

'' which starred Nicole Kidman and

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

. Both Blank and Martha Estevez also were featured in ''Serena’s Song'', a 2011 short which starred

Michael O'Keefe Michael O'Keefe (born Raymond Peter O'Keefe Jr.; April 24, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Danny Noonan in '' Caddyshack''; Ben Meechum in '' The Great Santini,'' for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Bes ...

and

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed List of Margot Kidder performances, several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her bes ...

and was featured at the 2011 Long Island International Film Expo.

Career

1970s - 1980s

While working at Delta Recording Corp. in New York in 1974, Blank produced "Happy Birthday, My Darling" for

and an LP for Luis Ramirez. Blank was the engineer on the self-titled album by Latin music ensemble Orquesta Cimarron which was released on TR Records TR 115X in 1975. It was reviewed in the 17 January 1976 issue of ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

''. The album was produced by Marty Sheller and arrangements by Pupi Lagarreta, Marty Sheller, Harry Shields, Sonny Bravo, Ron Davis and Wilfredo Mullings. The good mixing by Blank was noted. In 1978, Instant Funk's single, " I Got My Mind Made Up" was released. The work in the mix by DJ Larry Levan and Bob Blank resonated throughout Manhattan and it became a hit on the R&B and disco charts, making it to no. 1 and no. 20 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. Working with

, Blank co-produced her '' Queen of Siam'' album which was released in 1980 on ZE ZEA 33006. It was reviewed in the 1 March 1980 issue of ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

''. The reviewer called it an interesting album. Blank was the engineer on "Jam to Remember" by Just Four which was released on Brad Osborne's Grand Groove record label in 1982. Working with Tony Camillo, Blank co-produced Sandra Feva's single, "Here Now". It was released on Catawba /Macola MRC -0961 in 12" format. A recommended single in the 27 December 1986 issue of ''Billboard'', the reviewer said it was "big, voiced chanteuse tears into a splashy, dramatic ballad".

1990s - 2020s

According to 2010 article by ''Clash'', Blank was recording sound-alike tracks for library music and karaoke formats. It was announced by ''The Quietus'' in an article published on 3 March 2021 that alternative mixes by Bob Blank for Sun Ra's 1978 album '' Lanquidity'' would be part of CD release and CD and 4-LP box set to be released on the

Strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

label on 28 May that year.

Blank Tape Studios / Blank Productions

In May 1978,

Musique Musique is the French word for music. Musique may also refer to: Music *Musique (disco band), a 1970s studio band produced by Patrick Adams *Musique, a British dance act consisting of Moussa Clarke and Nick Hanson best known for their 2001 song ...

recorded their debut album, ''Keep on Jumpin' '' at Blank Tape Studios. The album which was produced by Patrick Adams had its release in August that year. On the week of 7 October, the single, " In the Bush" / "Keep on Jumpin" was at no. 1 on the ''

'' Disco File Top 20 chart. It was also on the Discofile Hit Parade, on DJ Danny Krivit's playlist at Trude Heller's in New York, DJ Jeff Tilton's playlist at the Boston, Boston in Boston, and DJ Jonathan Fearing's playlist at the Xenon in New York. " Catch the Beat" by rapper

T-Ski Valley T-Ski Valley is an American rapper who had several hits during the 1980s. His song " Catch the Beat" was an early rap favorite in the US in 1981. He had a hit in the UK in 1983 with " Valley Style" which spent six weeks in the UK disco chart, and ...

was recorded at Blank Tape Studios. It came about as a result of a young man by the name of Tyrone who was hired to work at Brad Osborne's store. Osborne booked some recording time for Tyrone at Blank Tape Studios. The result of this was the single, "Catch the Beat" by Tyrone, now going by the name of T-Ski valley. The Brad Osborne production was released in the US on Grand Groove GG 7701. It became an underground hit, and was in the East Coast Dance Music Top Ten for the week of 1 August 1981. It was reported by ''Billboard'' in the magazine's 4 March 1989 issue that Blank Productions had Peter Moffit there, mixing his second self -produced jazz album. It was cited for release that month and Arthur Russell was finishing off his album there. Blank was working on two songs for

Amy Keys Amy Keys (born September 15, 1967) is an American singer and songwriter. Keys was signed to the Epic Records label and a solo album and several singles were released in 1989. She worked on Walt Disney movie soundtracks and as backing vocalist on st ...

which were produced by Paul Simpson. Blank had also worked on a live recorded CD by

Paquito D'Rivera Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras (born 4 June 1948), known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established him ...

which featured a 16-piece string section and jazz combo.

Discography

* ''The Blank Generation (Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1987)'' -

STRUT053LP, DJhistory.com STRUT053LPAllMusi9c
The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1987
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References

External links

* Discogs
Bob Blank
* AllMusic
Bob Blank
* Imdb
Bob Blank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blank, Bob American audio engineers American record producers American music industry executives American ballroom dancers American guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people