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ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) — With the release of his new book Unplugged, Fred Mollin will be at Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca at noon on Saturday, September 6th.
Currently celebrating his 60th anniversary as a musician and nearly 50th anniversary in the music industry, Mollin has worked with artists from Springsteen to Billy Joel; from Jimmy Webb to Brian Wilson; from Linda Ronstadt to Michael McDonald; and from Kris Kristofferson to Johnny Mathis. Additionally, he worked on film and television scores, including Beverly Hills 90210 and Friday the 13th The Series, which earned him four SOCAN TV and Film Awards. He also achieved significant success in children’s music as Walt Disney Records’ top instrumental lullaby artist.
Growing up in Long Island, he described being “hit by a lightning bolt” by The Beatles in 1965 when they performed at Shea Stadium. From then on, his life changed, and his priority became music. Already musically inclined, he spent a year in Trumansburg in 1969 living in a poetry commune, where he was able to hone in on his song-writing skills.
In 1972, he decided to move to Toronto and fell into helping others in the studio, quickly picking up on what it took to be an arranger/producer as he worked on Dan Hill’s first album, which went gold. He continued to work with Dan Hill and earned various gold and platinum records in Canada. His first major success came from producing the #1 smash hit “Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill at the age of 24.
“We were really just kids when we made that #1 song. After that, things just skyrocketed. I moved to Los Angeles and was signed as a producer and worked on lots of different projects. Then things fell apart, as they tend to do in the music industry. I moved back to Toronto during a lull with my wife and we started a family. I thought we would be homecoming heroes, but we certainly weren’t. After losing royalties on ‘Sometimes When We Touch’, it felt like being back at square one,” says Mollin.
Trials and tribulations are not a foreign concept to Mollin, the music industry is one that is full of ups and downs. Having to be adaptable became second nature.
“I consider myself a tenacious person. During the early years, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t say yes to. Different genres, scores for TV and film, you name it, I wanted to do it. My entire career is about someone asking, ‘Do you want to try this?’ and I always said yes. Life in music is about appreciating and giving everything you can to what you’re offered, because you never know where it could lead you.”
The book itself is raw and uncensored, giving a true behind the scenes of what it’s like to work in the music industry. A story of survival and success, Mollin hopes students of music and recording/production will take to heart.
“This book tells the truth, it’s comedic, it’s honest, and it’s the last one I’ll ever write. I’m happy to finally get the chance to tell this story and have left everything on the table.”
This Saturday, September 6th at noon, Mollin will discuss the book and his career at Buffalo Street Books. Mollin is no stranger to Ithaca, and wanted to bring his story to the place where his career started to blossom.
“Ithaca is a very important part of my life, it’s where I learned to sharpen my skills that led me to an abundant career. I came back frequently in the 1970s, so picking this as one of the stops to promote my book was special to me.”
Get more information about the event on the Buffalo Street Books website here.