Joseph Klein
Encyclopedia
Joe Klein (born July 2, 1953 -) is a well-known American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
audio producer, voice over artist and voice director. While in high school, Klein was at the helm of a closed circuit radio station which spawned several major media figures. After a brief stint as a teenage disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
he was hired by jazz singer and producer John Lasalle in the early 1970s. The pair soon became partners and produced hundreds of national radio and television commercials and jingles.
In 1977, Klein started his own production company, L.A. Trax, INC. Shortly after starting the company Klein was "discovered" by radio veteran Scott Shannon
Scott Shannon
Michael Scott Shannon is a radio disc jockey, current co-host of the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ, host of The True Oldies Channel, and the official voice of The Sean Hannity Show.-Early Radio Career:...
, who at the time was working for Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart was an American record executive. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber....
's Casablanca Records. Shannon asked Klein to produce an ad for the disco version of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
theme artist by Meco
Meco
Meco is an American record producer and musician, as well as the name of a band or production team based around him...
Menardo. The commercial was aired nationally on hundreds of leading radio stations and was largely responsible for propelling the record to #1 after it had stalled on the charts for several weeks. Klein went on to produce hundreds of additional ads for the label over the next three years.
As the notoriety of the commercials produced by Klein grew, he began to produce record spots for other major labels, including Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
-America, Motown, Liberty
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
, Chrysalis, Ariola-America among others. By the early 1980s L.A. Trax was known as the leading producer of record album spots in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. During a fifteen year period Klein produced over 1200 radio and television spots working with the best known voice talents and in Hollywood, including Ernie Anderson
Ernie Anderson
Ernie Anderson was an American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist...
, Chuck Riley, Gene Moss, Danny Dark
Danny Dark
Danny Dark was widely acknowledged in the commercial industry as the voice-over king. For nearly four decades, he embedded pop culture with memorable lines in advertisements for Budweiser , Raid Ant & Roach Killer and StarKist Tuna...
and actors William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
. The company also produced several corporate and marketing videos for major corporations before Klein closed the company in 1992.
In 1978 Klein co-produced the self titled album of the punk rock band the Sunset Bombers which included Doug Fieger
Doug Fieger
Douglas Lars "Doug" Fieger was an American singer-songwriter-musician. He was the lead singer of the power pop band The Knack, and co-wrote "My Sharona", the biggest hit song of 1979 in the USA, with lead guitarist, Berton Averre.-Life and career:Fieger's father was Jewish, and his mother of...
on bass. In 1988 Klein wrote and produced the novelty holiday tune "Christmas in Malibu" by the Rad Dudes. Klein also worked as a producer with surf music pioneer Merrell Fankhauser
Merrell Fankhauser
Merrell Wayne Fankhauser is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s with bands including the Impacts, Merrell & the Exiles, HMS Bounty, Fankhauser-Cassidy Band, and MU...
in the late 1970s.
Klein stayed active in the business as a voice over artist, represented by well known talent agent Don Pitts. Through the mid-1990s he voiced several national radio and television commercials and performed dialogue for feature films and television programs.
Joe Klein retired from "the business" in 1996 but resurfaced in 2005 when he launched The Podcast Voice Guys with long time friend and fellow voice talent Bill Fortune. The company produces voice overs and media elements for podcasts and video blogs.
Media Appearances
- Joe Klein provided ADR dialogue for the Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
film, Turner & HoochTurner & HoochTurner & Hooch is a 1989 comedy film starring Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode; the film was originally slated to be directed by Henry Winkler, but he was terminated due to "creative differences"... - Klein provided ADR dialogue for CBS television series Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
- Joe Klein appeared in the cameo role of Captain Klein in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Continuing MissionStar Trek: The Continuing MissionStar Trek: The Continuing Mission is an independently produced, non-profit, science fiction series set in the Star Trek universe. The show, created by Sebastian Prooth and Andy Tyrer in July 2007, is released exclusively via the Internet in the form of downloadable audio dramas. Sebastian Prooth...
, "Ghost Ship" - Joe Klein provides the show open for The Rock and Roll Geek Show Podcast
Background Information
- Klein won two Clio AwardsClio AwardsThe Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
for advertising, 1982 & 1984. - Klein won four International Broadcasting Awards, 1980, 1982 and 1983.
- Klein was awarded 15 Gold and Platinum Records for his ad campaigns.
- Was the announcer and co-producer of the 2006 Vloggies in San Francisco
- Joe Klein is the voice of the Star Trek: The Continuing Mission ads.