Craig Leon is an American born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many recording artists including The Ramones and Blondie

Blondie (band)

Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...

. Active in pop music

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 production from 1974–1998, Leon has focused on classical composition, orchestration, arrangement and recording from 1998 to the present.His work appears on many classical recordings with artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Andreas Scholl, Sir James Galway, Joshua Bell, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Leon has recently turned to work combining audio and visual imagery. Recently he has completed work as a co producer of the Discovery Network broadcast "Orbit:Journey to the Moon" which was viewed on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing. He is also the audio producer and musical director of the PBS broadcast "Bell’aria: Live From Las Vegas".

In 2011 Leon completed the Sony Classical recording of "Midwinter's Eve: Music For Christmas" featuring his orchestrations and arrangements of Christmas music performed by The London Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Warren-Green.

Career

Craig Leon was born in Miami, Florida and raised in Fort Myers, Florida.
After opening his own recording studio in Miami, Florida, In 1973,he
moved to New York when he was hired as assistant to producer Richard Gottehrer

Richard Gottehrer

Richard Gottehrer is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive.-Career:Gottehrer came to prominence as a songwriter in the 1960s with his most notable songs being "My Boyfriend's Back" and "I Want Candy". As Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer , he wrote various songs including...

 at Sire Records

Sire Records

Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

. There he was responsible for the discovery and early development of the Ramones

Ramones

The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...

 and Talking Heads

Talking Heads

Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...

 amongst other artists. In New York, Leon also produced recordings by Blondie

Blondie (band)

Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...

, Richard Hell

Richard Hell

Richard Hell is a singer, songwriter, bass guitarist, and writer.Richard Hell was an innovator of punk music and fashion. He was one of the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins...

, Suicide

Suicide (band)

Suicide is an American electronic protopunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1970 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. They are an early synthesizer/vocal musical duo....

 and many other artists connected with the burgeoning New York scene. Leon has produced over 150 & CD s of alternative pop music over the years.

In 1981 Leon produced his own first recorded work, "Nommos" that was released on John Fahey

John Fahey (musician)

John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...

’s Takoma Records

Takoma Records

Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by John Fahey in the late 1950s.. It was named after Fahey's hometown, the Washington, D.C. suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland.-History:...

 later that year. This was followed by “Visiting” in 1982 recorded for Enigma Records

Enigma Records

Enigma Records was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. It was initially a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/distributor, which it split-off from in 1985 to become its own company...

. After relocating to the UK in the later 1983, Leon continued producing pop and alternative recordings and also wrote and recorded ”Klub Anima”for the Kosh Dance Theatre piece, .In 1998 Leon produced the comeback “ No Exit” by Blondie.

Since 1998 Leon had been exclusively producing, orchestrating and recording classical projects including an arrangement and orchestration including work with Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti

right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...

 , Andreas Scholl

Andreas Scholl

Andreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...

 and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a Grammy Award-winning classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. It is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, interpret the score....

, Elysium,the Vienna RSO, The London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

, Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell

Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...

 and The Academy of St. Martin In The Fields, and Sir James Galway

James Galway

- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...

.

Classical Records produced, composed or arranged by Craig Leon

• The London Chamber Orchestra /Christopher Warren Green- Craig Leon: Midwinter's Eve: Music For Christmas- Sony Classical
• Joshua Bell
  Joshua Bell
  Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
  
  /Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra -Romance of the Violin-Sony BMG
• Sir James Galway/London Symphony Orchestra
  London Symphony Orchestra
  The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
  
  -Wings of Song Deutsche Grammophon
  Deutsche Grammophon
  Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
  
  
• Charles Griffes
  Charles Griffes
  Charles Tomlinson Griffes was an American composer for piano, chamber ensembles and for voice.-Musical career:...
  
   (arr. Craig Leon)-Roman Sketches op. 7 /Erich Korngold-Symphonic Serenade op. 65-London Symphony Orchestra cond. S, Pittau-ASV/Universal
• Andreas Scholl
  Andreas Scholl
  Andreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
  
   and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
  Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
  The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a Grammy Award-winning classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. It is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, interpret the score....
  
  -Wayfaring Stranger-Decca
• Ophelié Gaillard and [The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]]-Dreams Aparte/Harmonia Mundi
  Harmonia Mundi
  Harmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
  
  
• Elysium- Decca
• Various Artists- Cinema Italiano- Decca
• Natasha Marsh
  Natasha Marsh
  Natasha Jane Marsh is a Welsh operatic soprano. A highly-regarded performer in both opera and oratorio, her debut album, Amour, topped the classical album charts in 2007. She has toured with artists such as G4, Russell Watson, Il Divo and Paul Potts...
  
  /London Symphony Orchestra
  London Symphony Orchestra
  The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
  
  -Amour-EMI Classics
• Julia Thornton-Harpistry-EMI Classics
• Isobel Cooper(Izzy)-Decca
• Isobel Cooper(Izzy)-Ascolta- EMI Classics
• Isobel Cooper(Izzy)-New Dawn- EMI Classics

Pop Records produced or co-produced by Craig Leon

• The Ramones - Ramones
  Ramones (album)
  Ramones is the self-titled debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on April 23, 1976, through Sire Records. Prior to the band signing to Sire they were seen by Lisa Robinson, an editor of Hit Parader, during an early 1975 performance. Robinson began popularizing...
  
  1st -Sire
• Blondie - Blondie
  Blondie (album)
  Blondie is the eponymous debut album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1976 on Private Stock Records. The first single "X Offender" was originally entitled "Sex Offender" but since radio stations would not play a song with such a controversial title, the band renamed the song...
  
  Chrysalis
• Suicide - Suicide 1st -Red Star
• Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation EP-Stiff(UK)
• Various Artists - Live at CBGB
  CBGB
  CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
  
  -Atlantic
• Martha Velez & The Wailers - Escape From Babylon -Phonogram
• Chilliwack
  Chilliwack (band)
  Chilliwack are a Canadian rock band that had their heyday during the 1970s and 1980s. Although they are a Canadian band, the members were all born in, as well as reside in, the United States of America. They are perhaps best remembered for their five biggest songs "My Girl ", "I Believe", "Whatcha...
  
   - Rockerbox -Sire
• Willie Alexander
  Willie Alexander
  For the football player of the same name see Willie Alexander .Willie "Loco" Alexander is an American singer and keyboard player based in Gloucester, Massachusetts....
  
   and the Boom Boom Band - MCA
• Willie Alexander
  Willie Alexander
  For the football player of the same name see Willie Alexander .Willie "Loco" Alexander is an American singer and keyboard player based in Gloucester, Massachusetts....
  
   and the Boom Boom Band - Meanwhile... Back in the States - MCA
• DMZ—Bomp
• The Weirdoes - Life of Crime -Bomp
• The Zeros- Wimp -Bomp
• Sir Douglas Quintet
  Sir Douglas Quintet
  Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
  
  - Border Wave -Chrysalis
• Sir Douglas Quintet - Live -Chrysalis
• Rodney Crowell
  Rodney Crowell
  Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
  
  - What Will The Neighbours Think - Warner Bros.
• Moon Martin
  Moon Martin
  John David "Moon" Martin is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.-Career:Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer...
  
  - Escape From Domination - Capitol
• Moon Martin- Shots From A Cold Nightmare - Capitol
• Guy Clark
  Guy Clark
  Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....
  
  - "Heartbroke" (single)- Warner Brothers
• Dwight Twilley
  Dwight Twilley
  Dwight Twilley is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" and "Girls"...
  
  -Arista
• The Roches
  The Roches
  The Roches are a female vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.The Roches have been active as performers and recording artists since the mid-1970s,...
  
  - Keep On Doing - Warner Bros
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds
  The Fabulous Thunderbirds
  The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
  
  -“Tex” Soundtrack - Disney
• The Bangles
  The Bangles
  The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
  
  - Bangles-IRS
• 45 Grave
  45 Grave
  45 Grave are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985 but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. 45 Grave are noted as one of the first bands to mix punk rock with horror-themed lyrics, thereby positioning them as...
  
  - Sleep In Safety - Enigma
• The Fibonnaccis- Tumour EP - Enigma
• Berlin
  Berlin
  Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
  
  -Pleasure Victim-remix - Geffen
• Berlin-Sex-12” remix-Geffen
• The Beat Farmers-Van Go-MCA
• Jeffrey Lee Pierce
  Jeffrey Lee Pierce
  Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the 1980s punk band The Gun Club...
  
  - Wildweed—Statik
• Jeffrey Lee Pierce - Flamingo -EP-Statik
• The Sound-Live-Mix
• Flesh for Lulu- Blue Sisters Swing EP-Statik
• Flesh for Lulu- Big Fun City -Statik
• Doctor and the Medics- Laughing at The Pieces -IRS
• Doctor and the Medics - Spirit in the Sky -IRS
• The Pogues- "Haunted" -Sid & Nancy Soundtrack -MCA
• The Men They Couldn’t Hang- Ghosts of Cable Street -MCA
• Andy Pawlak- Secrets --Fontana
• The Go Betweens- Tallulah -Beggars Banquet-
• Spy vs Spy - Trash the Planet
  Trash the Planet
  -Chart performance:-Release history:...
  
  - WEA
• Craig Leon Meets Sheena and the Rockets-Alfa(Japan)
• Gamine- Dream Boy -Barclay(France)
• The Primitives- Lovely -RCA
• The Adult Net
  The Adult Net
  The Adult Net was a British indie pop band formed by the American singer and guitarist Brix Smith and the British musician Simon Rogers in 1985. Formed while they were still members of the British post-punk band The Fall, The Adult Net released seven singles and one album, of which just one of the...
  
  - Honey Tangle -Phonogram
• Intastella-MCA
• The Chameleons- Script of The Bridge -Statik
• The Sound-Live -Statik
• The Records
  The Records
  The Records were an English power pop band in the late 1970s. Allmusic notes that they are often referred to as the "British Big Star". They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes".-History:...
  
  - Crashes -Atlantic
• The Records - Teenarama - Remix-Atlantic
• John Trubee- "Blind Man’s Penis" 45-Enigma
• Brave Combo- Four Dots -EP-Four Dots
• Shawn Phillips-Live -RCA
• Mark Owen- Green Man –BMG
• Mark Owen- "Child" - single –BMG
• Mark Owen- "Clementine" - single- BMG
• Cowboy Junkies
  Cowboy Junkies
  Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....
  
  -Miles From Home = string arrangements -Geffen
• Martin Phillipps and the Chills- Sunburnt --Flying Nun
• Cobalt 60 (Front 242)- Elemental CD-Edel
• Psyched Up Janis-Swell -Metronome
• Angel Corpus Christi
  Angel Corpus Christi
  Angel Corpus Christi is a San Francisco-based singer, songwriter and accordionist, who initially began recording with her husband, guitarist Rich Stim ....
  
  -Candy-12 in.Remix-Almo
• Angel Corpus Christi-White Courtesy Phone- Almo
• Eugneius- Mary, Queen of Scots –Atlantic
• Giorgia Fumanti- From My Heart - EMI
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts- -KC PLAYS K2C-Sony(Japan)
• Front 242
  Front 242
  Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
  
  -Up Evil- -PIAS/Epic
• The Fall- Code Selfish -Phonogram
• The Fall -Shiftwork -Phonogram
• The Fall -Extricate -Phonogram
• New F.A.D.S.-Body Exit Mind—P.I.A.S./Elektra
• Jesus Jones
  Jesus Jones
  Jesus Jones are a British rock band. The Wiltshire-based group, formed in late 1988, recorded and performed in the late 1980s, throughout the 1990s, and into the 2000s. They are best remembered for their track, "Right Here, Right Now", an international hit and subsequently globally appropriated for...
  
   - Liquidizer -EMI
• Shonen Knife
  Shonen Knife
  Shonen Knife, written in Japanese characters as 少年ナイフ, which transliterates as Shōnen Naifu, literally "Boy Knife," is an all-female Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka, Japan, in 1981...
  
  -Get the Knife- -Virign
• Phillip Boa-Helios -Polydor(Germany)
• Phillip Boa-Boaphenia -Polydor(Germany)
• Blondie- No Exit –BMG
• Blondie- "Maria" - BMG
• The Cesarians
  The Cesarians
  The Cesarians are a London-based group consisting of singer Charlie Finke, pianist Justine Armatage, drummer Jan Noble and an all woman wind section...
  
   - Cesarians 1
  Cesarians 1
  Cesarians 1 is the debut album released by a London-based band The Cesarians in 2009.-Musicians:* Charlie Finke – vocals, harmonica* Justine Armatage – piano, keyboards, celeste* Jan Noble – drums, voice on "About She Goes"...
  
  - Imprint
• Steve Hogarth
  Steve Hogarth
  Steve Hogarth also known as "h", is the lead vocalist and occasional keyboardist/guitarist with the British rock band Marillion. Hogarth was formerly a keyboard player and co-lead vocalist with The Europeans and vocalist with How We Live...
  
  - Ice Cream Genius (1997) - Poison Apple
• Bell'aria-"Little Italy"- EMI
• The Thought - The Thought - MCA

Records performed by Craig Leon

• Craig Leon- Nommos- Takoma
• Craig Leon- Visiting- Arbitor/Enigma
• Craig Leon- Klub Anima Sound Track-Psi
• Cassell Webb- Llano-Virgin Venture
• Cassell Webb- Thief of Sadness- Virgin Venture
• Cassell Webb- Songs of a Stranger- Virgin Venture
• Cassell Webb-Conversation At Dawn- Virgin Venture
• Cassell Webb- House of Dreams- China

Further reading

Massey,Howard,Behind the Glass(Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits)
,Miller Freeman.2000. ISBN 0-87930-614-9
Heylin,Clinton,From The Velvets to the Voidoids,Penguin,1993,ISBN 0140179704
True,Everett,Hey Ho Let’s Go (The Story of the Ramones)Omnibus 2002,ISBN 0-7119-9108-1

External links

Craig Leon Official Website (http://www.craigleon.com)