Ackerman was born in Palo Alto, California. His adoptive father was a professor of English at Stanford University.[2] He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts. He returned to Palo Alto to study English and History at Stanford University.
His life took a turn when he discovered he had a fondness for carpentry. He was five credits short of graduating when he left Stanford to work as an apprentice to a Norwegian boat builder. In 1972, he founded Windham Hill Builders in Palo Alto while playing music for Stanford theater productions and performing impromptu concerts in town.[3]
Windham Hill RecordsEdit
With money borrowed from friends, he recorded his first album, The Search of Turtle's Navel, later changed to In Search of the Turtle's Navel, on his own label, Windham Hill Records in 1976. His second album, It Takes a Year, he released in 1977. Shortly thereafter, Will recorded and produced an album entitled Turning:Turning Back by his cousin, guitarist Alex De Grassi. This was followed by Robbie Basho whose music had inspired Ackerman for years. He left carpentry to pursue music full time in 1980. During that year, the label received national attention via the success of a piano album by George Winston entitled Autumn. He then discovered guitarist Michael Hedges at a concert in Palo Alto and immediately signed him to the label. Other musicians in the catalog were Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Liz Story, and the band Shadowfax. In time the genre associated with Windham Hill was called New-age music.[4]
In 1982, A&M Records became Windham Hill's distributor. The label was selling millions of albums, and Ackerman became a wealthy man. Despite outward signs of success, he was diagnosed with depression. By 1984, Ackerman no longer wanted to run a large corporation. He left California for Vermont. He built Imaginary Road Studios in Dummerston, Vermont and has continued to work as a producer.[4][5] The walls of his studio are covered in more than 20 Gold and Platinum records from US and overseas sales.
^ abRuhlmann, William. "Will Ackerman". AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
^Tom Casciato. "Stanford Carpenter Runs Record Label."The Stanford (CA) Daily, November 15, 1977, p. 4.
^"Producing Music for the Heart". Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate. May 2, 1984. p. 8B.
^ abBerkowitz, Kenny (October 11, 2016). "In the Age of Disco, Windham Hill Founder Will Ackerman Helped Solo-Acoustic Guitar Thrive". Acoustic Guitar. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
^Bolles, Dan. "In the Studio With Windham Hill Founder Will Ackerman". Seven Days. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^"Will Ackerman". GRAMMY.com. May 22, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
^"2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
^"2017 ZMR Music Award Winners". www.zonemusicreporter.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
^"Will Ackerman". AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
^"FLOW The Group". FLOW. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
External linksEdit
Official website
Innerviews, 1998
Windham Hill Records history 1982–1989
October 24, 2023
william, ackerman, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article,. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources William Ackerman news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message William Ackerman born November 16 1949 is an American guitarist and record producer who founded Windham Hill Records 1 William AckermanAlso known asWill AckermanBorn 1949 11 16 November 16 1949 age 73 Palo Alto CaliforniaGenresNew age jazz pop 1 Occupation s Musician record producerInstrument s GuitarYears active1976 presentLabelsWindham Hill Imaginary Road LifescapesWebsitewilliamackerman wbr com Contents 1 Career 1 1 Early years 1 2 Windham Hill Records 1 3 Awards and honors 2 Discography 2 1 Compilations 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditEarly years Edit Ackerman was born in Palo Alto California His adoptive father was a professor of English at Stanford University 2 He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts He returned to Palo Alto to study English and History at Stanford University His life took a turn when he discovered he had a fondness for carpentry He was five credits short of graduating when he left Stanford to work as an apprentice to a Norwegian boat builder In 1972 he founded Windham Hill Builders in Palo Alto while playing music for Stanford theater productions and performing impromptu concerts in town 3 Windham Hill Records Edit With money borrowed from friends he recorded his first album The Search of Turtle s Navel later changed to In Search of the Turtle s Navel on his own label Windham Hill Records in 1976 His second album It Takes a Year he released in 1977 Shortly thereafter Will recorded and produced an album entitled Turning Turning Back by his cousin guitarist Alex De Grassi This was followed by Robbie Basho whose music had inspired Ackerman for years He left carpentry to pursue music full time in 1980 During that year the label received national attention via the success of a piano album by George Winston entitled Autumn He then discovered guitarist Michael Hedges at a concert in Palo Alto and immediately signed him to the label Other musicians in the catalog were Darol Anger Mike Marshall Liz Story and the band Shadowfax In time the genre associated with Windham Hill was called New age music 4 In 1982 A amp M Records became Windham Hill s distributor The label was selling millions of albums and Ackerman became a wealthy man Despite outward signs of success he was diagnosed with depression By 1984 Ackerman no longer wanted to run a large corporation He left California for Vermont He built Imaginary Road Studios in Dummerston Vermont and has continued to work as a producer 4 5 The walls of his studio are covered in more than 20 Gold and Platinum records from US and overseas sales Awards and honors Edit Grammy Awards Best New Age Album Returning 2004 6 Nominated Best New Age Album Brothers 2021 7 Zone Music Reporter Awards Album of the Year The Gathering 2012 Best Contemporary Instrumental Album The Gathering 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 Album of the Year Flow by Flow with Fiona Joy Lawrence Blatt and Jeff Oster 2017 Best Contemporary Instrumental Album Flow by Flow with Fiona Joy Lawrence Blatt and Jeff Oster 2017 8 Discography Edit1976 In Search of the Turtle s Navel Windham Hill 1977 It Takes a Year Windham Hill 1979 Childhood and Memory Windham Hill 1981 Passage Windham Hill 1983 Past Light Windham Hill 1986 Conferring with the Moon Windham Hill 1988 Imaginary Roads Windham Hill 1992 The Opening of Doors Windham Hill 1998 Sound of Wind Driven Rain Windham Hill 2001 Hearing Voices Windham Hill 2004 Returning Decca 2008 Meditations Lifescapes 2010 New England Roads 9 2017 Flow 10 2019 Flow Promise LMB Music 11 2019 Four Guitars https www fourguitars com 2021 Brothers Retso Records 2022 Positano Songs West River Records Compilations Edit 1993 A Windham Hill Retrospective Windham Hill 2006 Pure Will Ackerman Windham Hill See also EditList of ambient music artistsReferences Edit a b Ruhlmann William Will Ackerman AllMusic Retrieved June 3 2018 Tom Casciato Stanford Carpenter Runs Record Label The Stanford CA Daily November 15 1977 p 4 Producing Music for the Heart Baton Rouge LA Advocate May 2 1984 p 8B a b Berkowitz Kenny October 11 2016 In the Age of Disco Windham Hill Founder Will Ackerman Helped Solo Acoustic Guitar Thrive Acoustic Guitar Retrieved June 3 2018 Bolles Dan In the Studio With Windham Hill Founder Will Ackerman Seven Days Retrieved June 25 2019 Will Ackerman GRAMMY com May 22 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 2022 GRAMMYs Awards Complete Nominations List GRAMMY com November 23 2021 Retrieved November 26 2021 2017 ZMR Music Award Winners www zonemusicreporter com Retrieved June 3 2018 Will Ackerman AllMusic Retrieved June 3 2018 FLOW AllMusic Retrieved June 3 2018 FLOW The Group FLOW Retrieved February 10 2022 External links EditOfficial website Innerviews 1998 Windham Hill Records history 1982 1989 Airlock door at Imaginary Road Studios Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Ackerman amp oldid 1169679337, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
