New Buffalo High School Alumni | Alumni in the Spotlight

ALUMNI IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Allan Blazek – Class of '68

As the force behind (and in front of) the local 60's rock band "the Heard", Al was destined for a career in the "music business".

After spending a number of years gigging throughout the area in the hey day of 45 rpm (vinyl disc) jukeboxes, Al headed west. He quickly moved up the ladder from musician to engineer to producer. Now, 30 some years later, he looks back on an incredible body of work encompassing some of the nation's most well-known record labels like Epic, ABC, Atlantic, Arista, MCA, Columbia, Warner Bros, and RCA.

His collaboration on Hotel California with Bill Szymczyk (producer) earned him high marks and the disc won Record Of The Year at the 20th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1977.

Al currently lives in Las Vegas and is keeping busy. He has co-produced several works with Glenn Fry (Eagles) and you will occasionally see his name amongst the credits as a musician.

As a side-note Al returned to the area for a "Heard" reunion in 1997 with original band members drummer Nick Cardi and lead guitar player Ronnie Dabbs.

Al's 50-plus record resume includes:

Artist	Title	Label	Credit
J. Geils Band	Ladies Invited	Atlantic	Engineer
Joe Walsh	The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get	ABC	Engineer
Dan Fogelberg	Souvenirs	Full Moon	Engineer
J. Geils Band	Nightmares from the Vinyl Jungle	Atlantic	Engineer
Jo Jo Gunn	Bit The Bullet	E/A	Engineer
Joe Walsh	So What	ABC	Engineer
Wishbone Ash	Theres The Rub	MCA	Engineer
Eagles	One Of These Nights	E/A	Engineer
Elvin Bishop Band	Struttin My Stuff	Capricorn	Co-Prod/Eng.
J. Geils Band	Hotline	Atlantic	Co-Prod/Eng.
James Gang	Newborn	Atco	Remix Eng.
Michael Stanley Band	You Break It	Epic	Co-Prod/Eng.
REO Speedwagon	This Time We Mean It	Epic	Co-Prod/Eng.
Eagles	Hotel California	E/A	Engineer
Elvin Bishop Band	Hometown Boy Makes Good	Capricorn	Prod/Eng.
J. Geils Band	Blow Your Face Out	Atlantic	Co-Prod/Eng.
Elvin Bishop Band	Raisin Hell	Capricorn	Prod/Eng.
Michael Stanley Band	Stage Pass	Epic	Co-Prod/Eng.
Mickey Thomas	A Long As You Love Me	MCA	Prod/Eng.
Outlaws	Bring Em Back alive	Arista	Prod/Eng.
Fandango	One Night Stand	RCA	Prod/Eng.
Snail	Let It Flow	Cream	Co-Prod/Eng.
The Who	Face Dances	Warner Bros.	Engineer
Karla Bonoff	Wild Heart Of The Young	Columbia	Engineer
Martin Briley	Fear Of The Unknown	Polygram	Co-Prod/Eng.
Mickey Thomas	Alive Alone	E/A	Co-Prod/Eng.
Jack Mack And The Heart Attack	Cardiac Party	Full Moon	Co-Prod/Eng.
Glenn Frey	No Fun Aloud	E/A	Co-Prod/Eng.
Glenn Frey	The Allnighter	MCA	Co-Prod/Eng.
The Mike Reilly Band	Take All My Money	Crow Magnum	Co-Prod/Eng
Kinki Stunt	Kinki Stunt	Blonde Music	Produced/Eng.
The Mike Reilly Band	Who's Been Sleeping?	Award Records	Co-Prod/Eng.