Joel Moss dead: Hollywood icon who worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers dies at 79

Seven-time Grammy-winning producer Joel Moss has died at the age of 79.

The Hollywood legend worked on blockbusters, such as Omen IV: The Awakening, and with music superstars, including Eagles, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Talking Heads, during his long career. His Grammys include a Best Musical Show Album for producing the cast recording of In the Heights, a musical which opened on Broadway in 2008, about life in the street of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighbourhood.

Moss died on Monday in Saratoga Springs, New York, his family confirmed today. The relatives, who did not disclose a cause of death, described Moss as "the biggest mensch in the recording industry who created the best sounds in town."

His career started in 1969 when, at 23, he found work producing and engineering projects for recording artists such as Little Richard, Joe Cocker and Johnny Cash in Los Angeles. Moss then became the executive director and chief engineer of The Record Plant Recording Studios, a recording company which operated Paramount Pictures scoring stage.

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This gave Moss the platform to provide scores for Hollywood films, including Fatal Attraction, Omen IV: The Awakening and South Pacific. Further work came his way and, in the 1980s, Moss was the first person to transfer analogue recordings to 24-track digital for Talking Heads’s iconic documentary, Stop Making Sense.

The star worked and became associated with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in the 1990s and he founded Managra Music company, a firm that specialised in jazz and theatre compositions.

Paying tribute to Moss today, production company Caffe Lena said on Facebook: "It never failed to amaze us that a man who produced records for Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, The Talking Heads, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and hundreds of others, believed so much in the community of Saratoga Springs and the value of Caffe Lena, that he spent his evenings running our livestream cameras and recording our shows.

"He was passionately committed to recording every show that happened at Caffe Lena because he felt that Lena's stage is a national treasure and what happens on it is important. You never know when you'll capture lightning in a bottle. When he saw that special spark in an artist, he told everyone--whether the artist was 10 years old, was playing their first show, or was an under-appreciated treasure who had put in decades on the road. Joel's presence and faith elevated the Caffe in the eyes of many, and we are forever richer because of our time with him."

Moss, born in Detroit, Michigan, is survived by his wife, Terri-Lynn Pellegri; daughter Rachael Moss; two grandchildren; brother Gary Moss and sister-in-law Andrea; and sister Karen Hale and brother-in-law Richard; along with many nieces and nephews.