Today is the 80th birthday of esteemed record producer, arranger, musician and singer Tony Visconti.

Born into an Italian-American family in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1944, Tony Visconti got involved in music as a teenager, playing tuba in his high school band and double bass in his high school orchestra while also playing guitar in rock bands in his neighborhood. After high school, Visconti honed his live chops by playing in bands in the New York lounge and nightclub circuit and at resorts in the Catskills. In the late 1960s, Visconti released a couple singles that were minor regional hits in New York, and it was enough to get him a job as an in-house producer for his music publisher.

It was from there that Visconti has gone on to be called “one of the greatest music producers alive today.” His credits fill volumes; perhaps most famously, Visconti worked with David Bowie on 12 of Bowie’s albums, from his 1969 self-titled record to Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, in 2016. Visconti has also worked with Mark Bolan and T. Rex, Paul McCartney and Wings, Thin Lizzy, the Moody Blues, Angélique Kidjo, Damon Albarn, Alejandro Escovedo, Sparks, the Alarm, Luscious Jackson … the list goes on and on and on.

In October 2023, Demon Music released a four-CD box set comprising 77 tracks Tony Visconti worked on with various artists; it’s called Produced by Tony Visconti.

Let’s celebrate this accomplished producer on this milestone birthday.

So for today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs produced by Tony Visconti would you like to hear?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

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Songs Played
David Bowie – The Man Who Sold The World
Morrissey – You Have Killed Me
Kaiser Chiefs – Little Shocks
T. Rex – Bang A Gong Get It On
Sparks – Happy Hunting Ground
Dean and Britta – Teen Angel
David Bowie – Sound and Vision