Erik Jacobsen

Erik Jacobsen (born May 19, 1940) is an American record producer, song publisher and artist manager. He is best known for his work in the 1960s with Tim Hardin, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Charlatans, Sopwith Camel, and later with Norman Greenbaum and Chris Isaak. Though semi-retired, Jacobsen continues to manage many of his published songs and masters for various uses.

He was born in Oak Park, Illinois on the west side of Chicago. His early musical influences were wide ranging, including a unique opportunity to listen to the first urban radio stations broadcasting polka, blues and country.

In high school he played the tuba and sousaphone. Later, at Oberlin College he began playing bluegrass style banjo and by his senior year, took over leadership of the Oberlin bluegrass band, The Plumb Creek Boys. After graduation in 1962, he formed The Knob Lick Upper 10,000, with Dwain Story and Pete Childs, also Oberlin graduates. They performed at The Bitter End coffee house in New York City, where they were signed by manager Albert Grossman. They recorded two albums for Mercury Records, Introducing The Knob Lick Upper 10,000 (1962), and Work Out (1963), and were among the first folk and bluegrass artists to play Carnegie Hall.

In 1964, after hearing The Beatles, Jacobsen quit The Knob Lick Upper 10,000, intending to produce records that combined folk music with electric instruments and drums. Returning to New York, he soon met John Sebastian, who had similar ideas, and they began working with other musicians, including Jerry Yester, Zal Yanovsky, Jesse Colin Young, Cass Elliott and Denny Doherty. Jacobsen produced various demos for different combinations of these musicians, prototypes of the folk rock style, some of which were issued on the 1966 Elektra album What's Shakin', and others on a 1999 compilation The Magic Circle. Jacobsen was also introduced to singer-songwriter Tim Hardin, began working as his manager, and produced his demos for Columbia Records.

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