Work in 1960s through '80s included lengthy run with Joni Mitchell

Henry Lewy, a noted sound engineer whose influential work can be found on some of the leading records of the 1970s and '80s, has died. He was 79.

Lewy died April 8 in Prescott, Ariz., of complications from a fall, according to family friend Bob Burton.

The list of rock music giants Lewy worked with reads like a who's who of '60s and '70s recording, including the Mamas and the Papas, the Flying Burrito Brothers, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison.

But his most notable collaborations came from his 14-year, 13-album association with Joni Mitchell.

The first Lewy-Mitchell collaboration was "Clouds." Other albums he worked on included "Blue," "The Hissing of Summer Lawns," "Hejira" and "Wild Things Run Fast."

Of Mitchell he once said, "She's the only true genius I've ever met. She comes up with the arrangements she does from listening carefully to her own piano or guitar parts. She has a very interesting style -- she's essentially self-taught and actually invents her own chords frequently -- and she can hear in her own parts the components for the fuller arrangement." In addition to Mitchell, Lewy worked with Young on the album "Harvest" and participated in Jennifer Warnes' "Famous Blue Raincoat."

Lewy said the key to his success in working with some notoriously demanding artists was to "let them be who they are" and not impede the process.

"I don't have a big ego -- I guess that makes all the difference," Lewy told Music Connection magazine some years ago.