On November 21, Jawbone Press will publish Turn It Up! My Time Making Hit Records In The Glory Days Of Rock Music by Tom Werman.

Werman spoke to Songfacts shortly before his book's release, and in addition to discussing Turn It Up!, was also quite candid in his recollections and assessments concerning the names he's worked with. You'll never hear Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" the same way after hearing what Tom did to it, and you'll find out which singers made his grade, and which were a struggle. An excerpt from the interview follows...

Songfacts: Would record companies ever dictate, "Try to make it sound more like this or that?"

Tom Werman: "It's what the band is able to do. The label has really zero input, but they do have the last word... if they want it. Some of my bands 20 years later say, 'He didn't do this,' and, 'He didn't allow us to do that.' That's just a load. A producer doesn't have that kind of authority – the band hires him, they can fire him. I collaborated and I may have said, 'I don't love that song. I'd rather do this song,' but that's as far as it got.

"The Twisted Sister example is the one that comes to mind. Dee [Snider] says he had to "beg me" to allow them to do 'We're Not Gonna Take It'. Which I said, 'It sounds a little bit like a nursery rhyme.' The chorus [sings melody], it's quite simple, you can sing it in the shower, which is one of the reasons it became a hit. So, I said, 'I'd rather do this song'" or, 'Maybe you'd rather do this song instead.' But I never had the power to say, 'No. We're not going to do that. We're going to do this one that I prefer.'

"Unless you're a powerhouse producer working with a band for the first time and they don't really know what they're doing, they may listen to you and say, 'OK. Well, he's very successful and we're just starting out, so, we'll do what he says.'"

Songfacts: Do you think Ted Nugent's guitar talents tend to get overlooked due to his publicized political beliefs?

Werman: "Yes. I do think he's among the better guitarists I've worked with – or the best. He has his own unique style. I think he was respected in the beginning, but when he started being political, that definitely overshadowed his guitar playing. You say Ted Nugent's name now and people only think of one thing, which is his political posture.

"I tried to correct that in the book. I'm a Democrat, and sometimes my friends will say, 'You still talk to Ted Nugent? How can you even work with him?' And I explain that we got along really well musically and otherwise. We didn't talk about politics. He's got a lot of integrity, especially compared to some of the other individuals I've worked with. He's a talented guy and he loves life. I think he's way too outspoken, but that's what he feels he must do. We don't relate on that level."

Songfacts: Which Ted Nugent song would you point to that really showcases his guitar playing the most?

Werman: "'Stranglehold'. That was good. And it was a delight for me, too. That was the first song I ever mixed, or I could direct the mix. And I can remember Ted, there's actually a postcard from him pictured in the book, saying, 'Thanks. This is a great album.'

"The first one [Ted Nugent, 1975], he told me on the phone, 'I really like what you did with 'Stranglehold.' But don't EVER do anything like that again without getting my permission first!' So I was lucky."

Read more at Songfacts.

Growing up in the Boston suburbs, Tom Werman was deeply affected by pop music from a young age. He long dreamed of a career in music—first as Elvis, then as the next George Harrison—but it almost didn’t turn out that way. Dutifully following the path his parents had laid out for him, he obtained an MBA from an Ivy League university and took a plum job in an industry he came to despise. Then, in 1970, a chance letter sent to CBS Records boss Clive Davis led to a new opportunity—and a place in rock’n’roll history.

As an A&R man at Epic Records, Werman helped introduce the world to REO Speedwagon, Boston, Ted Nugent, and Cheap Trick; he also discovered KISS, Rush, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but his record label passed on all of them. Then, as an independent producer, he oversaw landmark albums by Mötley Crüe (Shout At The Devil), Twisted Sister (Stay Hungry), Jeff Beck (Live With Jan Hammer), Poison (Open Up And Say … Ahh!), and many more. All in all, his record-making résumé includes 23 gold or platinum-selling albums and cumulative sales of more than 52 million copies.

After bearing witness to several sea changes in the music industry, Werman retired from producing in 2001 and reinvented himself as an award-winning innkeeper in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. And that might have been that, until an overly critical review led to a fortnightly column on a music website and now this book—an honest and engaging insider account on how some of the best-loved albums of the 1970s and '80s came to be. A must for anyone interested in the glory days of rock and metal, Turn It Up! offers valuable insights into the recording process, the recording studio, the role of the producer, and the production values that are essential to the creation of a hit record.

"As the producer of some of Cheap Trick’s biggest albums, including Dream Police and Heaven Tonight, Tom helped take our songs from black-and-white to dazzling full color, just as he has with so many other bands over the years. Now he gives us a peek behind the curtain at how some of the greatest albums in rock and metal were made." – Bun E. Carlos, Cheap Trick

"In late 1987 or early ’88, an interviewer asked, Who’s producing your next album? Our bassist, Bobby Dall, answered, We’ve decided to work with Tom Producer! Everyone laughed until we realized that was like calling someone Joe Pro or Captain Obvious. But when you’re dealing with Tom Werman, you are dealing with Tom Producer—the quintessential platinum record producer for rock bands." – Rikki Rockett, Poison

"Through all the craziness that came with working with Mötley Crüe in the '80s, there was one thing I could rely on, and that was for Tom and the band to keep the music coming. Tom’s memoir takes you on a journey to the heart of the music industry—passion, triumph, and unforgettable melodies. Highly recommended." – Doc McGhee, manager of Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and KISS

"As someone who worked with Tom during the '70s and '80s, Turn It Up! resonates with me, bringing back memories of the highs and lows of the music industry. A must-read for anyone inspired by the power and magic of rock’n’roll music." – Tom Whalley, former head of A&R at Capitol Records and president of Warner Bros Records