LENNY WARONKER REVEALS THE FULL STORY BEHIND HIS EARLY CAREER (PART 1) (Ep. 244)

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. In this episode (Part I of a 4-part series edited down from a 5 1/2 hour interview), Lenny Waronker takes a deep-dive stroll along with host Dave Gebroe through his entire career, with priceless commentary and stories peeled off along the way. Legendary producer and Warner Brothers studio head Lenny Waronker is a record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Brothers Records, and later, as the co-founder and co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment to artists and his belief that "music, not money, was still number one." In 2025, Waronker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for non-performing industry professionals.

Part 1 focuses on the early years of Lenny’s career, leading up to the first album he ever produced, Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle.

Here are just a few of the many things that Lenny discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:

• What it was like growing up with his father Simon, as he set up and funded the launch of Liberty Records;
• Befriending Randy Newman as a small child, and coming to realize how gifted he was;
• What it’s like for Lenny and Randy to struggle with issues of self-confidence, and how those issues manifest;
• Meeting Van Dyke Parks for the first time and beginning to work with him;
• Hearing Brian Wilson’s Smile tapes through Van Dyke;
• And the contract offered to Van Dyke: possibly the most artistically and financially advantageous agreement ever made with anybody ever.

The Free Teaser: linktr.ee/discograffiti

For the full, ad-free, 88-minute podcast, either subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon at the Private Tier or higher, or just grab the episode as a one-off at the same link.

The Full Podcast: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

Dave's Show Notes are available at a separate link for Lieutenants & up.