Legendary studio engineer Bruce Swedien has passed away at the age of 86, according to a post published by his daughter Roberta on Facebook. Swedien is best known as the audio engineer behind classic Michael Jackson albums such as Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and the most-commercially successful record of all time, Thriller.
An industry veteran, Swedien also worked with the likes of legendary artists such as Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Lopez, Herb Alpert, and New Edition.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Swedien first gained fame for working on the Four Seasons song “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” The artist began his career in Chicago, where he worked at a Universal owned music studio and worked under chief engineer Bill Putnam.
He was also a pioneering engineer, as he helped create the “Acusonic Recording Process”, which pairs up microphones together on vocals and instruments. The five-time Grammy-Award winner was also a close colleague of Jones, as he used that process on several of their collaborative projects.
“My dad, Bruce Swedien, passed away peacefully last night, November 16th. He was 86. A legend in the music industry for over 65 years and 5-time Grammy winner, he was known for his work with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and many more.,” Roberta wrote. “He had a long life full of love, great music, big boats and a beautiful marriage. We will celebrate that life. He was loved by everyone.”
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