October 15, 2026 - NPR/PBS interview with Spencer

Legendary producer brings film "The Day the Music Died" to Las Cruces

Spencer Proffer has been a songwriter, music producer, executive and more since the 1960s.He’s produced music from artists such as Tina Turner, Heart, the Little River Band, and Quiet Riot. Proffer eventually ventured into producing music documentaries such as “The Day the Music Died,” which details the making and influence of the song “American Pie” by Don McLean. A New Mexico native, Proffer will return to the Land of Enchantment for a screening of the film at the Rio Grande Theatre on October 17th for the Las Cruces International Film Festival. Scott Brocato spoke with Proffer about the film, his career as a music producer, and his New Mexico roots.

Scott Brocato:

Talk about your roots in New Mexico, coming to America with your parents when you were five.

Spencer Proffer:

Actually five-and-a-half. I'm an immigrant and like the blue state that New Mexico is, I feel that immigrants are welcome in America. And therefore we came to America and to Ellis Island, and the only people my parents knew in America from Poland, which is where they're from, was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So we took the train from New York to Albuquerque. And I lived there until I was 10 1/2 years old, fell in love with the state, fell in love with the spirit of New Mexico. And for a friend of mine who I worked with 30 years ago (Las Cruces International Film Festival’s Ross Marks) to invite me back to screen a film that I made a few years ago, American Pie (aka “The Day the Music Died”), is an honor and a privilege and I'm very pleased to do it. And I'm very pleased to speak with you, Scott.

Scott Brocato:

I'm pleased that you're speaking with us. And when you left New Mexico when you were ten, your folks went to California?

Spencer Proffer:

Yeah, my dad was a sewing machine mechanic who used his hands to make a dollar. He made 20 bucks a week. He moved to the ghetto in Los Angeles to be a sewing machine mechanic. So I grew up here, went to high school, went to UCLA, went to law school, and then moved to New York when I became Clive Davis's assistant at the age of 23. So I'm pretty much a California guy, but I'm now migrating back to being a New Mexico guy.

Proffer Global Entertainment

Spencer Proffer is returning to the Land of Enchantment in October to bring his acclaimed documentary, “The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie,” to southern New Mexico for a Las Cruces International Film Festival special screening. While in Las Cruces, Spencer will share his knowledge and passion for entrepreneurship and entertainment with New Mexico State University students.

Scott Brocato:

Well, you mentioned Clive Davis, who has helped so many careers himself. How did he help you?

Spencer Proffer:

Signing me as an artist and realizing that I was a smarter guy that I was a good guitar player and singer. So he helped me, because in my second year of law school, where I was executive editor of Law Review, published #1 in my class, I got offered a job. I got flown to New York the first time I was on an airplane, and I met with Clive's lieutenants, and ultimately Clive. And I was offered one of two choices when I graduated, whether I passed the bar or not. Choice one: to have him pick up my option as a recording artist. But then I only had a singles deal, so it wouldn't have meant that much. And my first record kind of went to #90 with an anchor (on the charts). It wasn't that big a hit. (Laughs)

Scott Brocato:

Not a “bullet...”

Spencer Proffer:

Not a bullet but an anchor! (Laughs) It went the other way. We got it released in England. It did a little better there.

But number two, I could come to work after I graduated law school, to go to work for Clive as his shadow. And I did for a couple of years. And so I moved to New York at the age of 23. He really helped me. He mentored me and showed me the way it's supposed to be.

Scott Brocato:

And then how did you get into producing, music producing?

Spencer Proffer:

I started...it's a long, long story, we don't have enough time. But I started producing my own demos of songs that I had written when I was a young kid coming up. Very few of them made it early on, but by the time I was 20, I had 18 songs recorded in the top 50. And all of the demos to all of my songs were produced and arranged and sung and played by me.

So therefore, how I got into it was that was in my DNA. But when I started working with talent much bigger and better than me, like Jeff Beck, like Brian May from Queen, real good guitar players--believe me, I put the guitar down like that.

When I started working with vocalists like Tina (Turner) and Ann Wilson from Heart, people who were really good singers, and Johnny Farnham, lead singer at the Little River Band, I stopped singing. So the point is, I'm a better behind the curtain guy than I am in front of the curtain.

Scott Brocato:

I'm going to hopscotch here to (the film) “The Day the Music Died.” My favorite sequence in there is with Ed Freeman, who produced (the song) “American Pie” and the album. And they had a bit of...he and Don McLean had a bit of a contentious relationship in the studio. He didn't want, for example, Don McLean to play acoustic guitar. Which leads me to my question for you: when you were a producer, did you have any similar incidents with other artists that you could talk about, and how did you handle those?

Spencer Proffer:

Great question. You did your homework!

Being a record producer is kind of analogous to being a film director or a psychologist. And in working with artists who had a deep opinion of their talent--deservedly so, like Stevie Wonder, like ultimately Don McLean--if you show them a way to do it that takes their art and their creativity to another level, and it's a good idea, they'll listen.

And there were some instances like Kevin DuBrow, singer of Quiet Riot, who was an absolute egotistical maniac. I couldn't really work with him in spite of selling 8 million records on our debut (the album “Metal Health”), you know, the "Bang Your Head,” “Cum On Feel the Noize” record. But what I did with Kevin is we put a blanket in front of the control room so I wouldn't have to look at him when he did vocals.

Scott Brocato:

And that was the first metal album to reach #1 in the Billboard Top 200, correct?

Spencer Proffer:

Yes, sir.

Scott Brocato:

So did he change his tune about you after the success of “Metal Health?”

Spencer Proffer:

No, Scott. What happened is they threw him out of the band because he started--we had Rudy Sarzo as our bass player who played with Ozzy Osbourne, and Kevin would do radio interviews with guys like (you) for NPR and other stations that we set up, my company set up, saying how Ozzy Osbourne is an imposter, how he (DuBrow) is the best singer that ever lived, blah, blah, blah. So the rest of the band democratically threw him out of the band after a few albums. He wasn't nicer to me. He was more egotistical than ever.

Scott Brocato:

Well, let's move on to your involvement with feature length music documentaries. I believe the first one was the John Coltrane doc?

Spencer Proffer:

The first one was a doc that I put together in 1996 for a Canadian guy named Robbie Robertson.

Scott Brocato:

Oh, from The Band.

Spencer Proffer:

Yeah. And I had a sequence in there with Robbie talking to Martin Scorsese. his best friend, about how music makes a difference in visual stuff. And I got very inspired to make what I wound up doing 20 years later then.

But I did put that together. We had (footage of) Robbie actually coming down from Canada, electrifying (Bob) Dylan. We had "Basement Tape” footage from Dylan that nobody had seen. We have a sequence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where Eric Clapton was jamming with Bob and wishing he had joined The Band. I mean, he thought he wanted to be another member of The Band, but he wound up slumming it in Blind Faith and other things. Clapton actually looked up to Robbie, who was very dear to me. I met Scorsese through Robbie, which was wonderful for me because he's still one of my heroes. But that was the first music doc I was involved with in 1996 before it became fashionable.

Scott Brocato:

And you went on to do documentaries about Elvis's ‘68 comeback special and Coltrane, like I mentioned. And now let's move on to "The Day the Music Died.” Why did you want to make a documentary about that one song, “American Pie?”

Spencer Proffer:

When I was a kid going to UCLA and driving--I said this before and he interviews and Don (McLean) knows this--I heard “American Pie” on the radio. This was like 1970, into 1971. And three minutes went by. It kept going. I pulled over. Three minutes went by again. I stayed static. It was the longest song I had ever heard on the radio until I actually made a record eight years later called “Children of the Sun” by Billy Thorpe. Yeah, I wrote that and produced that with Billy. We started laser light shows. That was eight years after I heard “American Pie”. I was so moved by it.

And I was in a band. I was a failed singer, guitar player. And so I said to myself back then, “One day when I grow up”--who knew it would be 50 years later--”I'd like to do something with the song,” because it really touched me: the lyric, the spirit, Don's poetry; I think Don is one of the genius poets of our lifetime. And the fact he wrote that and another song called “Vincent,” which was my other favorite song, “Starry Starry Night,” I love that song.

We just made a children's book, an illustrated children's book on “Vincent” that we're going to animate through UNICEF, that my wife, Judy—here's a picture of Judy--she's a fantastic, brilliant talent. She's an author, she's a journalist. and she is my boss.

But Don McLean, back to your point, I think he was a genius. I became friendly with Don, and I asked his permission to do other stuff with him, which he gladly offered me to do. And he met Judy and the rest is history. We're in the middle of the “Vincent” project right now.

Scott Brocato:

But then you have the project (“The Day the Music Died”) at hand. You get McLean on board. What is the process of then choosing which way to go, all the different avenues, the paths to explore, the different people to interview? What did you narrow down when it came to the actual making of the doc?

Spencer Proffer:

Relevance. Social, cultural, human relevance. It was the journey of the song from the time Don wrote it to its trajectory for the last 50 years. And any people that connected in that journey were people I thought should be talked to and interviewed, be it other artists like Jon Bon Jovi, and John Mayer, who did versions of the song; new artists like Jade Bird, who you saw in the film, was 24 years old now, but she was a kid growing up and heard the song in her native England because her parents played the song to her. Willa Amai was a fantastic new artist who was very involved with Dolly Parton years ago. You saw her at the piano. She heard the song growing up.

So I thought the part of what would make it very interesting to do 90 minutes on one song would be the journey of the song and the lyrics and its inspiration and its influence, which is why I'm proud to bring it back to New Mexico and share it with the next gen.

Scott Brocato:

Well, how was Don McLean like to work with throughout the process of making the doc?

Spencer Proffer:

I would say that Don was collaborative, inspirational, and a real human being, because he trusted me. So I didn't do anything of significance without letting him and his manager, KIrt Webster, see it.

But they gave me the rope to take the ball--I'm an ex-quarterback--to take the ball, using a football metaphor, down the field all the way. But at each juncture, every maybe 20, 30 yards, I would share what I was doing with Don. And I would say, what do you think? Good idea or not? Should I talk to this person? Should I not? He was instantly collaborative and gracious to work with. So for me, I had a great experience.

Scott Brocato:

So what are you working on now as far as a music doc?

Spencer Proffer:

Now there's a half a dozen projects that we are doing through my company now that deal with relevance--social, cultural relevance. “Stand by Me” is a good one. If you remember the Ben E. King song written by Leiber/Stoller. I got together with Mike Stoller, who's terrific also. He's 92 years old. I talked to Mike about what he really meant when he wrote that song with Jerry Lieber and Ben E. King. And one aspect of it was more than a love song. It was standing next to your brother. Black and white, straight, gay, political, left, right, didn't matter what. "Stand By Me”, it's standing together. So I want to make a doc which I want to premiere at the United Nations about humanity standing together with each other to support one another.

Scott Brocato:

You're going to be here on the 17th for the screening of “The Day the Music Died” at the Rio Grande Theater in Las Cruces. You'll also be speaking with students here at NMSU during a presentation on October 19th at the Pan Am Center. What can we expect from that presentation?

Spencer Proffer:

Craziness. (Laughs) No, sincerity. Just...I'm not preparing for either the Q&A after the film or the class, other than speaking from the heart. Because I think the great thing about true politicians--I'm a big fan of Deb Haaland, I'm a big fan of a lot of the people that are representing both Congress and the Senate in the state of New Mexico--they speak from the heart. And that's what I want to do when I come as a carpetbagger from California to New Mexico, my adopted home state. and speak to the students and speak to the people at the festival about what's real.

Scott Brocato:

And what wisdom do you want to impart to them?

Spencer Proffer:

Don't be afraid to take no for an answer, like Babe Ruth, who hit the most home runs for a time and he struck out a lot. Just keep going. Follow your dream, follow your heart, and don't sell out.

January 2, 2025 - WHO’S WHO OVERVIEW on Spencer based on an interview

Spencer Proffer Celebrated for Dedication to the Music and Media Industry

Born in Munich, Germany to parents who relocated from Poland, Spencer Proffer came to the United States with his family at the age of six to pursue the American Dream and getting out of post war Germany. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science and government from the University of California, Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.) at the age of 20, he graduated and went on to law school, completing a JD at Loyola University School of Law, with honors, at the age of 23. He was the youngest person to pass the California Bar Exam at that time. Prior to graduating law school, he was hired by Clive Davis and his team to serve as the Assistant Director of Business Affairs for CBS Records, predecessor to Sony Records, through which he worked with some of the most influential and brilliant minds in the music business, including Don Biederman, Bruce Lundvall, Elliot Goldman and Walter Dean. 


After 2 years at CBS, Spencer was hired away by Transamerica's United Artists Records as the National Executive Director of the Company, in charge of all creative and production at the Company for the world. 

Thus, at the young age of 24, Proffer oversaw and managed all music production and the creative music as well as marketing direction for United Artists and Blue Note Records. During that tenure, he had the opportunity to produce many top 10 national records including his co-production and arrangement of Tina Turner's iconic "Acid Queen" album while playing guitar on the entire album with Ray Parker, Jr. Proffer heralds that experience as a significant highlight of his tenure at United Artists.

From 1977 to 1991, Spencer Proffer made significant contributions to the music industry as the producer, arranger, songwriter and chief executive officer of The Pasha Music Organization, Records and Studios - a CBS Records partnership. Proffer produced 202 albums and recordings with The Little River Band, Cheap Trick, Heart, Eddie Money, Quiet Riot, The Beach Boys, Ian Hunter, Shooting Star, and many more top selling recording artists. He also served as the Executive Producer of the platinum selling UNICEF benefit, charity album featuring ABBA, Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, and Earth Wind & Fire as well, as the platinum selling STAYING ALIVE Soundtrack album from the Paramount feature directed by Sylvester Stallone and starring John Travolta.

Proffer's acclaimed expertise in music production as well as his keen business and marketing acumen, led him to become the chief executive and creative officer of The Morling Manor Music Corporation, formed in 1992. 

Over the next decade, he handled music production and supervision on many diverse projects of note, such as "Gods & Monsters," an Academy, Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award winner (he was also a Co-Executive Producer of the feature film), "How Do You Spell God," and Happily Ever After via HBO. HDYSG received the coveted Peabody Award and "Happily Ever After", on the air for 5 years, was nominated and won many top, television awards. For Showtime, Spencer oversaw and handled all music for 55 films and specials including the Emmy winning "Mandela & de Klerk," starring Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine as well as Jodi Foster and Laura Dern's 'The Baby Dance'.

In the 2000s, Spencer produced numerous notable, cinematic music documentaries, including At Any Cost for VH1, "Chasing Trane, the John Coltrane documentary" narrated by Denzel Washington as well as the 2x Time Emmy nominated "Goin' Home," about the life and career of The Band's Robbie Robertson which featured Eric Clapton and Martin Scorsese. In 2023, he produced the highly lauded "Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback," which received a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a year earlier, "The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's 'American Pie. Both films streamed to great success and acclaim on Viacom's Paramount + Network. 

As of this writing, Proffer and his Meteor 17 music and media production company have developed, are and will be producing another half dozen major music documentaries including a cinematic documentary film on the classic Ben E. King/Leiber-Stoller hit 'STAND BY ME' hit as well as a documentary entitled 'ALL I HAVE TO DREAM: The Pioneers of Nashville' which will highlight many of the Everly Brothers #1 hits.

A seasoned music producer with decades of industry expertise, Proffer serves as the chief executive officer of Meteor 17, a convergence media production company. As the lead producer, he specializes in documentary productions anchored in music. Spencer is widely known as an innovative music and media producer as well as a strategist, with a long history of connecting with audiences. His productions and those in which he has been integrally involved with, have garnered Academy, Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards and nominations. As a music producer, Spencer has sold millions of gold and platinum records. 

As an insider to the music world, Proffer's cinematic documentaries and films go deep into the process and art of icons' work, interfacing directly with them, the creators of unforgettable and timeless music. Foundational to the successful production of Spencer Proffer documentaries, is his understanding of both the music and pop culture impact role that music has played in shaping thought.

What makes Spencer and his Meteor 17 team truly one of a kind special is their unique and powerful, timely niche today. Proffer & Co strive to capture the true stories of some of the world's most well-known songs and intellectual properties. Due to his vast breadth of knowledge in this field, Mr. Proffer also teaches and lectures at several universities around the world. He particularly proud of his tenure as a visiting Professor at Belmont University in Nashville.

While his career has been filled with a plethora of standout moments, Mr. Proffer was honored with a proclamation by the Governor of Alabama for his contributions to children's education via his donation of 25 scholarships for teenagers to attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama as Spencer's son Morgan did for 9 consecutive summers. Proffer also served as the Executive Producer and Music Producer of the feature, "Space Warriors", filmed on the campus at Space Camp in Huntsville. The movie, which inspired and introduced children to the wonders of space education and travel, won the Boeing Aircraft coveted SET Award for its's inspirational, informative and educational messages. 

Abreast of ongoing industry changes for decades, Proffer is an active member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the California Bar Association, Broadcast Music, Inc., the Producers Guild of America, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In conjunction with his work, he also serves on the boards of The Osgood Center for International Studies in Washington D.C. and brand architecture firm, the 88 member Tether, Inc. company, based in Seattle, Washington. Additionally, he provides donations to various organizations that align with the respective project he is working on at any given time.

Though hard work and dedication have brought him far in his career, Spencer credits his success to his strong work ethic, vision to be different, passion for what he does, and integrity. Looking to the future, Proffer's goal is to make a difference in the world via music and pop culture.

July 25, 2024

When Spencer screened the M17/Paramount+  Reinventing Elvis Comeback doc at Belmont University in Nashville, he was asked to do an interview with Sun Records Elvis star, BMG artist Drake Milligan, on the Grand Ole Opry’s Bill Cody Show.  

It was taped at Opryland with Bill and his team interviewing Spencer.  Cody had recently done similar interviews with country superstars Garth Brooks, Mary Stuart and Kathy Mattea.

Bill is the Grand Ole Opry announcer and a frequent voice on Willie Nelson’s Sirius XM network.  

This interview got tremendous response on all platforms it was aired on.  

In it, Spencer also talks about the M17 STAND BY ME and PIONEERS OF NASHVILLE projects.

Here is the link as well as a copy of the BELMONT invite and Drake Milligan’s piece in our Reinventing Elvis doc below.

Discussing "Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback"


Here’s the full cut piece:

https://vimeopro.com/crewneckproductions/drake-milligan-blue-suede-shoes

PASSWORD: DMbssEP

April 26, 2020

Meet Spencer Proffer, The Man Telling The Stories Of The Music Titans Behind Jimi Hendrix, Motown, Woodstock And More

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2020/04/26/meet-spencer-proffer-the-man-telling-the-stories-of-the-music-titans-behind-jimi-hendrix-motown-woodstock-and-more/#2390c68f6e77

Ask anyone inside the music business and they'll concur, if you want the best stories go to the people behind the scenes — the producers, managers, engineers, concert promoters — who were there to witness it all firsthand.

After 25 years of interviewing everyone I can give countless examples, from the great producer/artist Daniel Lanois sharing with me secrets of Bob Dylan's writing process during Time Out Of Mind to Joni Mitchell's drummer, Brian Blade, telling me about Mitchell's mastery of pinball. 

So having come up in the industry for four decades as a songwriter, producer, executive and more, Spencer Proffer, now a documentary producer, understands full well that it's those unsung heroes of music that have the most interesting tales.

Maybe Jimi Hendrix can't tell his story anymore, but Eddie Kramer, who worked with Hendrix on all four of his studio albums before his death, can tell you what it was like to try and keep up with Hendrix in the studio. Or how it was to be there when Led Zeppelin put together the landmark Led Zeppelin II. Kramer can talk about working with the Rolling Stones, engineering the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" or recording all three days of Woodstock.

In the same way that Hendrix is not here to tell stories of seminal moments in his career, neither is icon Elvis Presley. But Proffer’s long time friend and occasional business partner, Steve Binder - director/producer of the seminal Elvis NBC Comeback Special, is.

In 2018, on the 50th anniversary of Elvis’ passing, Proffer produced one of the most successful music events in Fathom theatrical event history, by bringing the iconic NBC ’68 Elvis Comeback Special to the big screen. The making of that special, where Binder and Elvis bonded and defied the never before told story of the clashes with manager Colonel Tom Parker, are the  basis for Binders book and forthcoming documentary. 

Proffer will now be producing a documentary with  Binder, on the unique buddy story between and Elvis, based upon his book. Uber director Baz Luhrmann is helming a definitive feature on Elvis with Warner Brothers which Binder is serving as a consultant on. Proffer and Binder plan to cross promote Binder’s making of the Elvis Comeback Special with Baz’s feature next year. 

Likewise, Lamont Dozier, part of the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting trio during the commercial heyday of Motown, is a huge part of music history. He was there writing for the Supremes, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and more. 

Both of these music titans have upcoming documentary projects with Proffer, who has many more projects coming down the pike as he attempts to delve into underappreciated parts of history.

"Spencer and I wrote a couple of songs together, god, 20 years ago now," Dozier tells me. "We started talking shop and we started writing some songs for a couple of TV shows. That's how it started out and the relationship just blossomed over the years. He's a wonderful guy. You couldn't ask for a better guy to steer the ship so to speak because when it comes to career and doing great things he knows how to reach down and pull out all the stops to make you look good."

Dozier goes on as to why he trusts Proffer to tell his story. "He brings out the good stuff in the person he's trying to tell the world about. And he sees things in me I have overlooked myself. It makes me feel good too somebody is paying attention," he says. "He read my book and he said, 'Look, this is a bigger story and we should get in and do a movie.' That's what we're doing now, trying to make sure we get all the right people and tell the story of what I've been doing for 50, 60 years."

Kramer also goes back several years with Proffer. "We met about nine years ago. I'd known about him way before then, him being in the business from the early '80s as a record producer, having his own record company," Kramer recalls. "I've always known about him.. The guy was a rock and roll producer and then his career changed once that part of his life sort of decreased. He got into other things like making documentaries. We did a couple of projects together when the music business was still the music business, that was about five, six years ago. So over the years we've worked on projects together and just enjoyed the hell out of each other's company cause I love Spence. He is a force to be reckoned with. He is like a bull terrier, won't let go until he's got what he's looking for. It can put some people off, but hell with it. I'd rather he's on my side."

As for the upcoming documentary, Kramer says, "He figured out that because of the nexus points in my life — I was at Woodstock, I recorded that; I was fortunate enough to meet Jimi Hendrix right at the very beginning of his career, did all his albums; worked with Led Zeppelin, the Stones, the Beatles, the list goes on and on. I was kind of the right guy at the right place at the right time."

In many ways, Proffer's story is ripe for a documentary. From producing chart-topping heavy metal band Quiet Riot in 1983 and producing a show for the troops with Destiny's Child and KISS in 2005 to working on the Tony-nominated Broadway show It Ain't Nothing But The Blues to getting Denzel Washington to narrate the John Coltrane documentary Chasing Trane, which also featured an appearance by Bill Clinton, Proffer has been kind of a music industry Zelig for the last 40 years.

So when we sat down to talk at his San Fernando Valley home right before the lockdown he had some amazing stories. Like I said, it's always the behind the scenes guys.  

Steve Baltin: What appeals to you specifically about docs?

Proffer: We talked about the Coltrane film, Chasing Trane. I had a fight with one of the streamer people. I wanted my director to go to Japan because Coltrane had a social, cultural impact on Japanese culture. He did a concert for the people of Nagasaki, a peace concert. I wanted to profile that and have a segment in my Coltrane doc about Japan. You think when I pitched that people thought that was smart? Coltrane wrote "Alabama," it was the instrumental piece to the beats of Martin Luther King's speech when the girls got killed in Alabama. I thought that should be profiled in his journey. Denzel [Washington] narrated this. There's a reason, he saw a rough cut and it was good. So I'm approaching all my things differently, be it Lamont, be it Eddie. With Eddie I'm gonna look at the social cultural stuff that happened when Eddie engineered his records juxtaposed against what [Jann] Wenner and Rolling Stone were doing. That's why they wanted to be my partner. 

Baltin: What do you look for in the people you bring into the fold?

Proffer: I build teams. I'm an ex-quarterback. What's good about that? I get rid of the ball. I didn't like getting tackled. The thing that's brilliant about Peter Jackson and Ron Howard, they do their thing. I have different teams for different projects because everybody is different. Lamont is different than Eddie. These are icons I'm doing and I'm creating extensions that I believe nobody else is doing today. There's Broadway, stage plays, a book out of everything I'm doing. 

Baltin: Where did you play quarterback?

Proffer: Fairfax high, bench UCLA. Not good enough to start, but good enough to call the plays and get out of the way. Hand off, pass, double reverse, get rid of the ball. So the thing I learned as a kid is there are 11 guys that cross the goal line. So I don't just take the snap and run with it. Let the team win, the quarterback gets the girl anyway. So I'm all about that. And I've learned to live my life like that. So the lane I'm really into is building lanes around my projects. Eddie is a great example. The team on Eddie: Joe Berlinger, Emmy winner and Oscar nominee who did the Metallica doc; Sterling, my older son, is a co-producer. He's my millennial marketing genius. Eddie Barbini has one Academy Award and three Emmys, he's an EP. John Dorsey, the director, is an Emmy and Peabody winner. He doesn't come from music. I saw his ESPN and Red Bull work and I thought it was brilliant. And I thought to myself John is a filmmaker. I'm not about just getting a guy who's done a thousand music docs. I want a filmmaker to go to a different side. So I put him on the phone with Eddie and they talked. Eddie is a really good, smart person. They really hit it off so I said, "I'm going against the grain." He would never get approved if this were a big streamer deal. But if I have the money outside and then I go shopping that's interesting. So I want to keep true to the subject and to the narrative.

Baltin: So you put the money together first?

Proffer: I find a way. I get backing from A, B, C. D, or E. But the thing is there's a vision and the team is built and I develop it. Then I have the content locked. Lamont is a great guy, he's my friend. I've written songs with Lamont. I've been in the studio with Eddie Kramer. These are people that I'm one of them and now I've graduated out of that because I come from the music. And now I'm taking their stories and trying to bring them forward. They trust me differently. 

Baltin: But you are also doing films on the behind scenes people, who have very different takes.

Proffer: I'm following the art and the art is the story. I'll tell you something I learned about Lamont. When Lamont Dozier produced and wrote the hits for the Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha And The Vandellas, he is a great cook. He used to be a cook at Motown and before his sessions he'd cook it out. So Lamont was working with Phil Collins and Eric Clapton in England. Lamont's wife sent a body bag with 100 pounds of ribs so he could cook for everybody when he was working. So it's that kind of stuff, that if you watch it, it's not your linear doc. On the Coltrane doc I had a brilliant director, John Scheinfeld, who had the vision. And we aligned on everything. So I think when we're done we are going to see who Eddie is, who Lamont is. For me, what I love about the projects that I'm doing, is I find stuff that is really compelling and interesting. And it's so human. In this economy and this world, telling people's journeys that are interesting, that go up and down, when Lamont left Motown there was a dry period until he hit with Phil Collins and Eric Clapton. I think we should look at that. The journey is what's interesting. How to deal with no. 

Baltin: Does that mirror your own story in a way?

Proffer: I've dealt with no. I've gotten rejected on a lot of stuff. Quiet Riot, I think 21 labels passed. Ultimately I made [CBS President Walter] Yetnikoff put it out, we shipped 4,000 records under miscellaneous Q, I put up my own money, I made the video, I bypassed Epic, sent it to MTV, got on the air at four in the morning, went number one phones for the video for "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)." When the record went gold my best friends at the label called me, "We love this record." They hated it.

Baltin: So you've consistently had to be resourceful?

Proffer: My stage show, It Ain't Nothing But The Blues, which had four Tony nominations, in 1999, I did something really crazy with that. I couldn't afford a stage set, so we got pictures from the Smithsonian and the Library Of Congress, that was our stage set. Got four Tony nominations, including Best Musical. Asked, licensed, $1.98. Broadway shows were going at out at about $900 grand a week. We made it down to $200,000 per week. Pretty good. What I also did was people in Peoria couldn't afford to go to Broadway. So for my cast album I got Taj Mahal and Whoopi Goldberg to go into a studio with me in Culver City. They pretended they were sitting on a porch in Mississippi and when you put a CD-Rom in part of my stage show comes to life while they're talking. It was the first CD-Rom from a Broadway show in 1999. 

Baltin: Talk about your philanthropy, you give 25 scholarships to kids, and arrangement with Space Camp.

Proffer: I have a long term arrangement with Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama to develop and produce media My younger son Morgan went to Space Camp for nine consecutive summers in the quest of wanting to fly and be an astronaut. From the time my son Morgan began his nine years as a Space Camper and counselor, I sensed that its ethos about fraternity, teamwork and dream fulfillment would be a solid foundation and enriching life experience as well as a lot of fun. To be able to pay it forward and give other kids a chance to build the life skills that my son has achieved, is something that means a lot to my wife Judy, my other son Sterling and myself.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2020/04/26/meet-spencer-proffer-the-man-telling-the-stories-of-the-music-titans-behind-jimi-hendrix-motown-woodstock-and-more/#2390c68f6e77

July 8, 2018

DUBLIN CITY FM, DUBLIN, IRELAND

Spencer did an interview, with a top Dublin radio station set up by Steve Binder to promote the Elvis Come theatrical screening across Europe and the release of the Elvis Comeback book in Ireland in July of 2018.

The interviewer, lead Irish radio personality, John Kavanaugh, kept coming back to Spencer's illustrious career (which John really researched). 

Cuts from Past Proffer hit productions are laced throughout this broadcast and have actual good fidelity.

Spencer tried to bring their talk back to the Elvis theater int’l events and eventually succeeded.  However, throughout, he did have fun doing the interview.

The last 15 minutes were truly focused on the Elvis Comeback project.

https://vimeopro.com/meteor17productions/elvis-memories-proffer-radio-interview

PASSWORD: emspradio