If you had asked me as a teenager what I planned to do for a living Jewish music producer wouldn’t have even made it onto the list. Well the One Above had different plans.

It was Purim 1977 when I met Suki Berry at a Yeshiva Torah Vodaath chagigah. He was playing in the band and I remember asking someone “Who’s that guy playing keyboard? He sounds great!”

During a break I introduced myself and for some reason I asked him what he planned on doing that summer. He told me that starting in August he was going to Israel to learn for a year. I asked if he would want to be a counselor with me in Camp Agudah of Toronto. No he said; he’d never gone to camp and didn’t even know how to play baseball.

“You teach me music and I’ll teach you baseball ” I replied.

Today many years later he still doesn’t know what a stolen base is and I still can’t play or sing.

Still Suki and I had a great summer in camp. On the flight back to New York I asked him “How about making a wedding album before you go to Israel?” Impossible he said; he was leaving for Israel in three days. “Plenty of time ” I replied and the next morning we were in a studio in Manhattan recording our very first album. This was the first time a synthesizer was used on a Jewish record. It was an electric sound that gave the whole recording a special lively energy.

On the way home from the studio that night we tried to come up with a name for the album. We thought of “Suki and his Synthesizer ” but as soon as someone suggested “Suki with a Touch of Ding ” we knew it was a winner. That’s how Suki and Ding began.

I remember getting a call soon after from someone in Denver asking how two Japanese guys can produce Jewish music. But it didn’t take long for our brand to become familiar. Once I was on a plane and the guy next to me asked “Are you Ding?” I replied in the affirmative to which he replied “Wow! What a pleasure it is to meet you! Do you sing?”

I replied in all honesty “Not at all.”

“Oh ” he responded looking a bit dismayed. “So you play an instrument correct?”

“Nope ” I said starting to feel like I knew what was coming.

He shrugged and said “Hmm I thought you were talented...”

Now what exactly does a producer do? Simply put everything but the singing and playing. The producer comes up with a concept decides on the singer(s) picks the appropriate songs hires the musicians comes up with the budget arranges the artwork handles the advertising campaign and manages everything else involved in getting the project off the ground and selling. I guess it’s like being a party planner business manager and color war general all wrapped into one. Sometimes the decisions are risky and involve large sums of money. Sometimes people’s feeling and egos are at stake. Then there’s deciding what’s for lunch at rehearsal (no joke — it can cause a riot).

And back at that 1977 Purim chagigah I thought it was as simple as getting Suki to the studio.…

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Issue 673)