Gus Dudgeon, a respected music producer who worked on many of Elton John’s hit recordings, died Sunday in a car crash in western England. He was 59.
Dudgeon was killed when his car veered off a major highway and overturned near Reading, west of London. He and a woman traveling in the car, believed to be his wife, were pronounced dead at the scene. The woman’s identity could not immediately be confirmed.
Dudgeon produced “Rocket Man,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Your Song,” “Daniel” and “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.”
“He was an incredibly talented producer and a very dear friend for many years. I will miss him terribly,” John said.
Dudgeon also produced David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and worked with other stars, including Chris Rea and Joan Armatrading.
But it was his partnership with Sir Elton in the 1970s for which he will be best remembered.
Dudgeon began his career in the early 1960s as a tea boy, running errands at Olympic Studios in London before joining Decca Records.
He engineered the Zombies’ classic “She’s Not There” and the groundbreaking “Blues Breakers” album by John Mayall with Eric Clapton, before moving into producing.
