Although probably most widely known as one of the key figures that helped bring Madonna back to club dominance in the late 80's and early 90's, Shep Pettibone has been a key master of mixing Dance music since the early 80's. Beginning with his groundbreaking radio work, Pettibone helped define the process and sound of the remix.
Some of Shep Pettibone's earliest mix work came about in collaboration with Arthur Baker working on Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five's Jazzy Sensation. Pettibone also worked as one of the house mixers for Prelude Records. His work can be heard on such classics as Gayle Adams' Love Fever, D Train's Keep On, Sinnamon's Thanks To You and Loleatta Holloway's Love Sensation. Concurrently, Pettibone created a sensation in New York City with his innovative mixes for KISS-FM. The mastermixes he put together became so popular that Prelude Records released a number of them commercially. A number of the recordings he restructured had already been mixed and extended by Tom Moulton. In interviews, Shep Pettibone gives credit to Tom Moulton for creating recordings that included useful elements such as extended drum tracks that could be looped and manipulated in the remix process.
Shep Pettibone was a pioneer in breaking Dance music down into its different elements (a process that evolved into the ever-present dub mixes) then restructuring the resulting loops of tape into a new, longer, more club-friendly song. His projects include some of the pioneering recordings of the synth-based sound of Electro. In addition, he was masterful at translating major pop hit singles into a club-friendly format.
By the mid-80's, Shep Pettibone's remixing talent was in great demand, particularly among electronic-oriented groups such as New Order, Depeche Mode, Erasure, and the Pet Shop Boys. Pettibone's celebrated remix of New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle helped make them a fixture in American dance clubs. His mix of Behind the Wheel for Depeche Mode helped establish them as premier dance artists. He did the same for Erasure with mixes of Chains Of Love. Shep Pettibone's association with the Pet Shop Boys began with mixing of West End Girls in 1985 and continued through work on Left To My Own Devices in 1988. Another celebrated Pettibone mix of this era was Cyndi Lauper's top 5 Dance hit Change Of Heart.
Shep Pettibone's career hit the peak of commercial success as the decade came to a close. After successful mixing of The Pleasure Principle for clubs in 1986, he collaborated with Janet Jackson for club mixes of multiple hits off the Rhythm Nation album. Pettibone was also working with another top Dance music artist. He began work with Madonna on her True Blue album in 1986. Over the next 6 years, his work with songs off True Blue, Like A Prayer, and Erotica helped Madonna dominate the world of club music while pushing her further in development of her sound. Shep Pettibone shared some of the writing and producing chores while working with Madonna. Reportedly, producer Stephen Bray refused to continue working with Madonna after she refused to reject Shep Pettibone's remixes of Like a Prayer that included the now common practice of adding entirely new backing material that was not included in the original recording. Among the classics he helped create are the phenomenal extended version of Into the Groove, Vogue, Deeper and Deeper, and Causing a Commotion.
In 1990 Shep Pettibone began working with British singer Cathy Dennis. Over the next two years, they created a number of chart-topping dance classics including Just Another Dream, Touch Me (All Night Long), and Everybody Move. Shep Pettibone's commercially released work has been sparse since the early 90's. However, the impact of his decade as one of the most important remixers in dance music is clearly felt to this day.