Teddy Price

“*The world won't remember me. But they will remember the music. And, uh... I'm plenty good with that.*”
―Teddy to Merv Griffin, 1982[src]
**Teddy Price** is a character in the *Daisy Jones & The Six* television series adaptation. He is a record producer and works with both Daisy Jones and The Six.

## Character overview

"A renowned L.A. record producer with a singular talent for bringing out the best in his artists. Always the coolest guy in the room, Teddy is as much a father figure to his young musicians as he is a creative genius."

## Plot summary

Teddy is a guest on *The Merv Griffin Show* in 1982. He states that all musicians are like orphans, searching for that deeper connection to their music. Merv likens Teddy to a father figure to the kids he worked with. Teddy laughs as he didn't plan on being anyone's father. He just wanted to make records.

Ten years earlier in 1972,Teddy argues with his boss Don Midelton over his newest hit not working. He reminds Teddy this is the sixth or seventh in a row, with Teddy correcting it's only six. They did work they just didn't sell, but they have to sell or they won't keep the lights on. Dean Martin wants to record another Christmas album, which Teddy scoffs over. Don argues that Dean loves Teddy and he should take some easy shots for a change and enjoy his life. He should think about it, as he doesn't have to decide right now.

He goes to The Hoot for a drink and hears Simone Jackson singing track two of her record. She has a few copies for sale by the bar. She introduces a friend of hers who will take them for a spin around the universe. She introduces Daisy Jones to the stage. Daisy walks on with her guitar, introduces herself, and then starts playing her song. Simone joins in her backup vocals and Teddy leans forward in his seat as he listens. After the show is over, Simone talks to Teddy by the bar when Daisy walks up. Simone greets her, introduces them, and thinks the pair should talk. He hands her a business card for Ellemarre Records, asking if she's interested in working on some music together. She's not sure and wonders what she needs him for. He's taken off-guard and clarifies that he likes what he heard and with a little bit of his help, he could take her to the next step. She needs some shaping because she's new, a nobody, and it's all the way there. She doesn't think she wants to be shaped but it was nice to meet him. She puts the card on the counter and walks away. He smirks and takes a drink.

Merv Griffin is shocked to hear that Daisy walked away, and the audience chuckles as Teddy nods. But sometimes the back of somebody is the best way to see who they are.

One night, Teddy stops at the local corner store to buy a bottle of liquor. One his way out, Billy Dunne stops him and admits he's a big fan. He doesn't give up when Teddy tries to walk away, mentioning after some poor attempts to further compliment him that he has a band. He convinces a very skeptical and slightly uncomfortable Teddy to hear his band "The Six" play one song for him. Before giving over his card, Teddy reminds that he only gets one chance at this. He asks if he's ready and Billy, without missing a beat, says "absolutely". They get into their respective cars.

A few days later, Teddy walks into Sound City to hear Billy's band audition. Eddie isn't pleased to be playing a ballad for Teddy and Graham is still shaky on the chorus. Billy squashes their worries about only getting to play one song because this will be the one. Teddy comes in and sits on the couch, checking his watch. Billy thanks him for the opportunity on behalf of the band, The Six, naming the song Silver Nail.

Teddy wonders what he can say to Merv about it. They knocked his fucking socks off. He then laughs over if he can say fucking and Merv shakes his head no while laughing.

During the filming of a present-day documentary, guitarist Graham Dunne smiles to the interviewer that finally, they were on their way. Billy mentions that people thought they played one song for Teddy Price and he gave them a deal, but that's not true. For months he put them through the wringer. But it was worth it.

The Six perform at Whisky A Go Go and file outside, sweaty. Teddy tells Billy they sounded good in there. Billy shakes his head as if they were good but not great. His voice during Flip The Switch and Eddie's chasing Warren on time every damn song. Teddy chuckles at him - he booked them into a studio for next week and if the label agrees, it's high time the kids cut an album. Billy, elated, tries to hug Teddy who pushes him off as he's wet. He turns to share the news with his band who are overjoyed. They hug one another and then an off-put Teddy, who tries to fend off the sweaty musicians.

Daisy waits tables and sees Teddy sitting in her section, waiting for her. Simone said he might find her there. He wants to work with her. She's heard that from a lot of producers and it wasn't always music they were interested in. He tells her to ask around, but that's not him. Maybe he wasn't clear at the Troubadour. Her songs aren't songs. She asks if he wants to order something but he ignores her. She has some great beginnings to them, sure, but he's always in the same place at the end as he is at the start. She thinks maybe he doesn't know how to listen to them right, and maybe she doesn't want her song to fit in a box with a bow on it. He smirks that maybe she's right and puts money on the table for her time. He selects a song on the jukebox, “Son of a Preacher Man”, and tells her this is a song.

Daisy smiles that if Teddy saw something in someone, he just wouldn't let it go. It was the first time she ever wanted to live up to someone else's expectations of her.

The Six recorded their album in six days, had two-weeks off, and then left for their tour. One night, The Six are performing while Billy, drunk and barely able to stand up straight, slurs the words to Look Me In The Eye. Graham and Karen exchange a worried look and Billy hits a series of bad notes followed by a scream that makes Eddie wince. Teddy watches them perform backstage. The song ends so Billy thanks San Diego and compliments the crowd. Graham tries to coax him off the stage but he pulls away abruptly. He staggers off the stage as the crowd boos them for leaving early. Billy staggers off stage and sees Teddy. He accuses Graham of calling him, but Graham swears he didn't. Billy hugs Teddy and asks what he's doing there. He was just coming to check on him but plans changed. Camila's had the baby, a little girl, and it's time for him to go meet his daughter.

Teddy loads Billy into his car and tells Eddie, Karren, Warren, and Graham that they'll see them in Seattle. He drives off as the rest of the band watches, morose, then heads back inside. Billy tells Teddy to pull over and he does. He hangs out the door and vomits as Teddy grips the wheel. They arrive later that night at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where Teddy tells him the girls are waiting for him, but he can't do it. Teddy tells him he's got to but Belly is firm that he can't. He can't have her meet him like this. Teddy reminds him there won't be a second chance at this, but Billy looks away crying. Teddy yells at him to get the fuck out of his car. Billy does but leans on the door while sobbing.

While on the Merv Griffin Show, Teddy muses that he hadn't planned on being anyone's father. He just wanted to make records. He pauses for a moment. He supposes some things are just out of your control.

Billy apologizes to Teddy as he can't do it, stammering his words through emotions. Teddy tells him it's alright and that he can come back inside, coaxing him all the while. He sits down in the car as he just can't do it, apologizing again. Teddy nods and starts the car, as there's someplace else they've got to go then - rehab.

Meanwhile, Teddy continues to mentor Daisy Jones, who plays him her finished song Nobody Needs. When it's over, he offers her a drink. After a long moment of silence, he asks how she's been. She just wants to know if he liked it or not. He's glad she stopped pretending not to care, which is progress. He likes it very much. He asks what he can do for her but she doesn't know. She wants to make a record. She wants people to listen to it over and over again until it breaks. Then she wants to make another one. She has one great song, so all they need now is ten more. She just needs a week. This is now the worst song on her album and she nods briskly before leaving.

Billy gets out of rehab in late 1974, deciding to quit the music industry to focus on his family. Teddy drops by the Laurel Canyon home to see him and they sit outside. Billy correctly guesses they asked him to come to change his mind, but Teddy isn't going to. He thinks he's doing the right thing. He came because he missed him. Billy looks away - he knows he never said thank you for what he did. Teddy stops him. He's just glad that it seems to have taken because it doesn't always. It's never ever gonna get easier, which Billy knows.

Sometime after Christmas, Billy plays Teddy his new song Honeycomb after deciding to rejoin the band with a new sound. He turns it off mid-song. Billy knows it's a new direction but still thinks it's a good song, and Teddy agrees. But he burned a lot of bridges and a lot of money when he canceled that tour. Money that wasn't his and yeah, the song is good, but there are a lot more people with his sound now. Talking to the label won't help, and neither will Teddy talking to them because Billy's fuckup is his fuckup. He thought Billy's record would be the one to fix things but it didn't. He'll play it for them and they'll see what they say. Billy thanks him.

Teddy plays the demo for the producers but they just aren't hearing it. He tries to convince Don to give them another shot, to let him get in a room and work with them, but Don is firm that it's a no on this one. He turns to the rest of the producers for new pitches.

Daisy and Teddy talk on his couch about the progress of her album. She has fifteen pieces of different songs, but nothing she thinks he'll like. He doesn't want her to bother bringing him anything she doesn't think is great. She wouldn't do that but worries it'll take a long time. The songs show up when they show up. He can wait. She hears Honeycomb playing. He thought it was something but it was not. She listens intently and he asks what she would do with it.

Warren remembers Teddy thought a vocal vocalist might give them an edge. Karen knew it was someone he was working with. Eddie had never heard of her then, no one had. Graham smirks since Billy wasn't thrilled with the idea.

Billy argues with Teddy in the studio over adding a female vocalist to the mix. It's not a duet. Daisy arrives and Teddy introduces Daisy Jones to Billy Dunne. She smiles at him - she likes his song. Daisy gets set up in the booth, asking for a glass of milk and whiskey. Or one if they don't have the other. The band talks in the booth while Billy, on the other side of the glass, asks Teddy why he's smiling. He's just generally delighted. Billy enters the recording studio as Eddie, Warren, Karen, and Graham leave. He picks up his headset and Daisy mimics his movements. He offers to talk through the song first but he's fine unless he had something that he wanted to talk about, but he's fine. Tobias shows Daisy where her volume is and that Billy is on channel two. She tests the volume a few times. Graham wonders if she's never recorded before, and Warren smirks that she's about to. Eddie asks where her pants are, but Eddie doesn't care. Karen tells them to shut up. Teddy has Billy and Daisy test their levels. They do the first take of "Honeycomb".

Billy starts them off but Daisy notices the band staring at her. She taps on his shoulder, interrupting him. She asks if they need the audience, and he asks if she means the band. Eddie scoffs over her talking about them, and Warren agrees as it's their song. Karen thinks they should give her some space, offering to talk to Deb instead. The boys hurry out of the room to talk to her. Karen closes the door behind them and stays to watch. Teddy starts off with "Honeycomb", takes two. Billy sings the first few lines as Daisy watches him, then joins him in singing. Their voices meld together perfectly and Karen leans on the table with a fixed look on her face, before looking incredulously at Teddy, who just stares at the singers. It isn't long until Billy stops her as those aren't the lyrics. He calls for someone to bring him a pen so he can write down the lyrics, but she knows the words. She's singing them. She offers her journal as proof. He asks what the hell this is, and she's annoyed he didn't get the revised version. Teddy wants to give her a version a go and just see how it sings. Billy argues with him as her version's like a completely different song. Daisy interrupts to ask what he thinks his song is about. Taken aback, he repeats the question - what does he think the song that he wrote is about. It's about starting a new life, it's about redemptions from letting people down. She surmises it's about guilt, but he rebuffs that. She apologizes as she's not trying to pry or anything, she's just trying to get them on the same page and understand the story better so she can help, which is why she's there. She assumes it's about him letting somebody down. Now he's saying everything's fine, look at us now, everything's in the past. The problem with that is she doesn't believe it, it doesn't sound honest. It sounds simple. She doesn't know him very well but he doesn't seem simple. She asks why he called it Honeycomb when that's a Ricky Nelson song.

Karen asks Teddy if she's always like this, while the leads continue to bicker. Daisy insists she loves the song and that it's beautiful. But he wrote a speech when, at the very least, she thinks it can be a conversation. He takes off his headset and storms out of the session.

Eddie, Deb, Warren, and Graham watch TV when Billy storms into the room. Karen and Teddy enter shortly after, and Billy demands answers from Teddy. Billy's either going to kill her, Teddy or himself, asking where he should start. Daisy walks over and Billy dismisses her as they need a minute. He asks Teddy to come and talk to him. Daisy asks Teddy if this is the part where the men figure out the solution, but he highly doubts it.

Billy walks into a closet and Teddy comes in, turning on the light and closing the door. He asks why they're in a closet, but Billy, pacing, thought it was just another room. He's mad Teddy had her rewrite the song. Teddy asks what he thought of the sound, and it sounded to him like she ruined the great song he wrote. Teddy disagrees as he wrote a good song, not a great song. She's right - his version is simple, he's holding back and he gets it. He wouldn't want to go to those places either if he were Billy. Billy is confused because if the label loved the song then why is she here. But the label didn't love it, they said no, which confuses Billy, who asks who's paying for the session. Teddy is quiet for a moment. He loves Billy and asks if he knows that. Billy leans against the wall and Teddy leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Billy stays inside to think.

Eddie rants to Warren over letting Billy back into the band like it's nothing, and now he's got them singing songs with some chick. Karen asks who he's calling chick when she's a chick. Eddie scoffs that she's not really. Teddy stops Tweedledee and Tweedledum, then compliments them for being the heartbeat of the track which is good work. Eddie's glad he digs it and both he and Warren are glad to know someone's listening.

Billy walks into the sound booth and Graham asks if he's okay and he is. Daisy picks up her headset and asks if they want to record something or fight more because she's fine either way. Teddy tells her to hold on as they'll be right in. Billy smokes a cigarette and Daisy talks into her mic to greet Tobias, testing out her mic. Billy asks what the fuck is a Tobias, and the sound technician looks up; he's Tobias. Billy trusts Teddy but he doesn't think he's right about this. Teddy thinks they'll just have to wait and find out. Daisy speaks German to Tobias and vocalizes until Billy arrives. Tobias looks at Teddy; she has a perverse sense of humor, which makes him chuckle. He then tells Billy there's a rattle in his mic so they're just going to put the two of them together. Tobias, only to Teddy, tells him there's no rattle, but he knows. Tobias smirks - he has a perverse sense of humor too.

Billy and Daisy stand by the mic. She wants to tell him something but he cuts her off. They'll try her version and then they'll get the original. There's no need to argue. She simply smiles. She was just going to say that she loves the sound of his voice. Teddy clears the room for Honeycomb take three. Daisy and Billy start singing Honeycomb and lock eyes the entire time. Their movements are in sync as they sing through the verses. Teddy stares at them, mouth open, a cigarette in his hand.

## Appearances

Teddy Price appears in the following episodes:

## References

1. ↑ *Deadline:* ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’: Tom Wright & Jacqueline Obradors Join Amazon Series by Denise Petski. October 25, 2021.
2. ↑ "Track 2: I'll Take You There"
3. ↑ "Track 3: Someone Saved My Life Tonight"