Bob Ezrin
Award-Winning Producer and Co-Founder, Nimbus School of Recording Arts
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About Bob Ezrin
“The term “super-producer” gets thrown around a lot, but in Bob Ezrin’s case, it’s well earned. The Toronto-born musical mastermind has been behind the board for many of rock’s most legendary albums, among them Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies, KISS’ Destroyer, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. But Ezrin isn’t just about making hits, he’s also been a vocal champion of music education in Canada, working tirelessly with MusiCounts, to keep the beat alive in schools facing ongoing governmental arts funding cuts.
Bob Ezrin was born into a musical family – his mother played piano and his father played bass. His grandfather, a musical theatre amateur, taught him to dance to Al Jolson’s “Me and My Shadow” when Ezrin was just two.
Ezrin’s fate seemed pretty well sealed from the start. He trained in classical piano at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music and soaked in the city’s musical energy, often catching future starts likeJoni Mitchell at his uncle’s mid-60’s folk club, The Penny Farthing.
At just 19 The Guess Who producer Jack Richardson took him under his wing, and sent him to fellow producer Phil Ramone’s Eastman School of Music “boot camp” in Rochester, New York. Upon his return Richardson sent Ezrin to New York to check out an up-and-coming shock rocker Alice Cooper, whose manager Shep Gordon was insistent Richardson produce them. Ezrin caught Cooper’s performance at Max’s Kansas City and the rest is history. He co-produced the band’s 1971 album Love It to Death. Ezrin would go on to produce 10 Alice Cooper albums.
In 1976, Ezrin would bring KISS into the mainstream with Destroyer – the band’s first double platinum album, and still its best selling record. It features the ballad “Beth,” which Ezrin co-wrote with drummer Peter Criss and expanded the band’s female audience.
His genre bending resume includes work with Lou Reed, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Rod Stewart, U2, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Peter Gabriel, Phish, Andrea Bocelli, Taylor Swift and Fefe Dobson among many others.
Beyond the studio, Ezrin is a force for good. He’s lent his voice, time and influence to causes ranging from disaster relief in Haiti, to arts advocacy through the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, MusiCounts and NARAS., He’s an environmentalist and champion for journalism. Bob Ezrin is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and most recently a recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award (2025).
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Events with Bob Ezrin
“Super-producer” Bob Ezrin: A Challenge and a Plea
The term “super-producer” gets thrown around a lot, but in Bob Ezrin’s case, it’s well earned. The Toronto-born musical mastermind has been behind the board for many of rock’s most...