Fred Catero

Fred Catero
BornFebruary 4, 1933
DiedOctober 6, 2022
NationalityAmerican
EducationHighschool/ Self-taught
Occupation(s)Recording Engineer and Music Producer
Known forCBS/Columbia, the Catero Sound Company, Automatt Studios
Parents
  • Fred Catero Sr. (Father)
  • Rosa Perez (Mother)

Fred Catero (February 4, 1933 – October 6, 2022) was an American record producer and engineer.[1][2] Catero was originally from New York City, where he worked for CBS Records/Columbia, recording artists such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Invited by producer Roy Halee, Catero moved in the 1960s to San Francisco to work for Columbia Records there.[3] In San Francisco, Catero worked on albums by Bob Dylan, Al Kooper, Tower of Power and Santana, many of these under producer David Rubinson at the Automatt.[4] He also produced and engineered recordings with Aaron Copland, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt and Mel Tormé.[5] He also worked for the Automatt Studios, recording musicians such as Herbie Hancock[6] and Santana.  

In the 1980s he started an independent label Catero Records to focus on jazz artists. Artists on Catero Records included Laurie Antonioli and Paul Speer. In the mid-1980s, Catero was credited for getting new-age music accepted as a category of the Grammy Awards.[7]

  1. ^ "New Age Music Gets Its Own Grammies". Spokesman-Review. December 21, 1986. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  2. ^ "Obituary Fred Catero". The Neptune Society of Northern California. Belmont, CA. October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Man in Motion - Fred Catero". Mix. October 2, 2006. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. November 14, 1970. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  5. ^ "Fred Catero - Oral History Information". Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Pond, Steven F. (2005). Head Hunters. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-03448-2.
  7. ^ Protzman, Bob (January 4, 1987). "Grammy goes yuppie with new age category". Chicago Tribune, page 55.