Published
Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 21:00
- He leaves behind a lasting influence on disco, R&B and early hip-hop.
Patrick Adams, a record producer behind multiple disco and R&B classics, has passed away at the age of 72.
With a decades-spanning career under his belt, the New York native was active in various facets of the music industry, including A&R, songwriting, arranging, engineering and label management. He worked with the likes of Astrud Gilberto and Debbie Taylor before going on to collaborate with New York rappers KRS-One and Nas. His melodies remain highly influential on artists across genres. An official cause of death has yet to be revealed.
Born on March 17th, 1950, Adams grew up just four blocks away from Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater. As vice president of A&R at Perception Records, he discovered Leroy Burgess, a member of the Black Ivory trio that Adams managed and signed. In 1971, he produced the group's debut album, Don't Turn Around, before going on to do arrangements for Inner Life, Sister Sledge and JJ Barnes, among others.
After leaving Perception, his studio skills became in-demand throughout the '70s and '80s. In interviews, he often described his productions as "underground disco." In 1974, he founded the P&P label with Peter Brown. There, he produced some of the disco era's greatest hits, including Cloud One's 1976 LP, Atmosphere Strut.
In 1979, an anti-disco riot called the Disco Demolition proved fatal to disco's growth and by the early '80s, the genre vanished from radios. Adams began working part-time as an engineer at Power Play Studio where he became acquainted with New York's burgeoning hip-hop scene, including acts such as Eric B and Rakim as well as Salt-N-Pepa.
"I always look at music as music, not necessarily having a genre,” he told the Guardian in a 2017 interview. "I was not trying to make a disco record. I was trying to make just a great record."
A tribute Twitch stream for the New York legend took place today, June 22nd, at 4 PM EST. Dozens of friends, DJs, writers and music lovers have mourned his loss on social media.
Read a few tributes.