Peter Asher on being musicâs incredible âEverywhere Manâ: âThe secret is simpleâ
As the musician and producer reaches 82, a new documentary reveals his life working with everyone from James Taylor to Carole King to Paul McCartney
As the musician and producer reaches 82, a new documentary reveals his life working with everyone from James Taylor to Carole King to Paul McCartney Peter Asher didnât want to do this interview. He had the same reaction several years ago when directors Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller approached him about making a documentary about his life and career. âI donât think so,â he recalled telling them in our interview, which wound up taking place only after several entreaties from the filmâs publicist that he do this one sit-down.
âMy life has been startlingly devoid of the standard rockânâroll drug-and-sex dramas,â Asher said. âSo I thought a documentary about me isnât something people will want to see. It sounds boring.â On the contrary, Asherâs story stands among the most dramatic and consequential in music history, spurred by achievements that shifted the course of pop more than once. Through Asherâs pivotal role in the lives of stars like James Taylor and Carole King, he played a key role in instigating the soft revolution that allowed singer-songwriters to dominate the charts in the 70s.
Heâs also partly responsible for the so-called âLA soundâ, epitomized by the pristine albums he produced for stars like Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. At the same time, he raised the profile of the studio musicians he employed so dramatically, affecting how average listeners understood and appreciated the instruments they heard on the albums they loved. Small wonder the documentary on his life is titled Everywhere Man.
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