Producer/engineer Bones Howe had huge hits with the 5th Dimension, the Association, and the Turtles, and he recorded Tom Waits' highly acclaimed albums of the '70s and '80s. He earned the nickname "Bones" because of his thinness. Born Dayton Howe in 1933 in Minneapolis, MN, he was mystified as a child when he'd play his family's 78 rpm records. The son of a stockbroker, he moved with his family to Sarasota, FL, when he was still a preteen. He taught him self how to repair radios and nurtured a growing fascination with music, teaching himself to play drums. After graduating from high school in 1951, he became a professional musician. Later, he enrolled at Atlanta's Georgia Tech, majoring in communications and electronics. During his final two years in college, Howe played drums in a lounge band. While performing, Howe met drummer Shelly Manne who suggested he start a recording career since he was a musician who understood electronics. After graduating from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in electronic engineering, Howe headed for the West Coast. In a Hollywood club, Howe met a friend from Atlanta who introduced him to a recording engineer who invited him to a session for Mel Tormé. The manager of the studio hired Howe as an apprentice. In the early '60s, Howe met Nesuhi Ertegun at a recording session for Ornette Coleman. In 1961, Howe joined Bill Putnam's United Recording where he engineered sessions for Frank Sinatra, Jan and Dean, and the Everly Brothers. In November 1962, Howe, wanting to control his schedule, became an independent recording engineer, something that was unheard of at the time; most engineers were hired on staff at the various recording studios or record labels. Producer Lou Adler, whom he'd met at United, requested he engineer all of his sessions. Herb Alpert recommended Howe to Tim Feigen, owner of the White Whale label. Howe's first session for the label was on a new group called the Turtles. Their cover of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" went to number eight pop in summer 1965. Working with the Association, Howe, now a producer, changed the 3/4 (waltz) time signature of Ruthann Friedman's "Windy" to the standard 4/4 rock beat. The single went to number one pop for four weeks in summer 1967 and was included on their gold Insight Out LP. Howe also engineered sessions by the Mamas and the Papas.