Biography
Curt Boettcher helped define the mid-1960s sunshine pop aesthetic through densely layered vocal arrangements and lush melodic frameworks that elevated both the Association’s string of Top Ten singles and his own ventures with Sagittarius and the Millennium. Raised in Wisconsin, he first performed as a folksinger and co-established the GoldeBriars in 1962; their debut album appeared on Epic two years afterward. Although the quartet’s intricate harmonies prefigured the direction Boettcher would later pursue, the group disbanded after issuing Straight Ahead. He then concentrated on studio production, creating the arrangements for the Association’s 1966 breakthrough “Along Comes Mary.” The band followed with the chart-topping “Cherish,” and Boettcher also helmed their first album, And Then, Along Comes the Association, before the partnership dissolved. While producing sides for Tommy Roe, he assembled the Ballroom, whose long-shelved recordings finally surfaced three decades later on Rev-Ola as Preparing for the Millennium.
Boettcher subsequently participated in Gary Usher’s studio collective Sagittarius; the resulting 1967 album Present Tense incorporated contributions from Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys and Glen Campbell, who sang lead on the signature track “My World Fell Down.” During those same sessions Boettcher formed the Millennium, whose lone release, Begin, arrived in 1968 after what was then the costliest recording project in Columbia Records history. Commercial disappointment followed, sending Boettcher back to session work until he issued the solo album There’s an Innocent Face in 1973. Additional production and vocal contributions to several late-1970s Beach Boys projects prompted him to adopt the simplified spelling Becher; he died in 1987.
Boettcher subsequently participated in Gary Usher’s studio collective Sagittarius; the resulting 1967 album Present Tense incorporated contributions from Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys and Glen Campbell, who sang lead on the signature track “My World Fell Down.” During those same sessions Boettcher formed the Millennium, whose lone release, Begin, arrived in 1968 after what was then the costliest recording project in Columbia Records history. Commercial disappointment followed, sending Boettcher back to session work until he issued the solo album There’s an Innocent Face in 1973. Additional production and vocal contributions to several late-1970s Beach Boys projects prompted him to adopt the simplified spelling Becher; he died in 1987.
Albums
