- Very close to mom Doris Day, he helped see through her marital and financial woes and devoted himself to managing her projects, including the The Doris Day Animal League and Doris Day Animal Foundation.
- It was Terry who, handling Martin Melcher's estate, discovered that his step-father had poorly invested, squandered or otherwise lost all the millions that his mother Doris Day had earned during he 20 year film career. Not only was Day left broke, but her husband's mishandling of her finances left her deeply in debt to the IRS. She worked her way out of bankruptcy by honoring the contract Martin had negotiated with CBS for The Doris Day Show, on which Terry served as an Executive Producer for several seasons.
- Produced The Byrds' number one smash hit songs, "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!", both in 1965.
- As a producer, songwriter or session musician, he has worked with The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, Randy Newman, Taj Mahal, Paul Revere, The Byrds and Bobby Darin, among many other artists.
- Was in a terrible motorcycle accident that shattered both of his legs and required him to be hospitalized for six months.
- Although very busy with his own career he found the time to help his mother Doris Day run her charitable organizations and the Doris Day Animal Foundation.
- Son of Doris Day and her first husband, musician Al Jorden. He was adopted by her third husband, Martin Melcher, when he was 10 years old in 1952.
- As staff producer for Columbia Records, he worked with such prolific talent as the The Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Mamas and the Papas, Frankie Laine, Bobby Darin and Glen Campbell.
- His mother Doris Day gave him his first name because she had loved it since she was a little girl and read the comic strip "Terry and the Pirates".
- Helping to shape the California surf, rock and folk music scene in the 1960s, he was a producer of records and shows such as the Monterey Pop Festival on June 16-18, 1967, highlights of which are seen in Monterey Pop (1968), Jimi Plays Monterey (1986) and Shake! Otis at Monterey (1987). He later co-wrote The Beach Boys' hit song "Kokomo" which was later used in the 1988 Tom Cruise movie Cocktail (1988).
- Nominated for a Grammy and a Golden Globe along with co-writers Mike Love, Scott McKenzie and John Phillips, for the song "Kokomo" from the movie Cocktail (1988).
- On the "new" Doris Day release, My Heart, Terry Melcher sings a song that he wrote for her.
- Was a producer for Columbia Records who once auditioned and turned down Charles Manson for a recording contract. Initially, Melcher was believed to have been the original intended victim of the grisly Manson murders on Aug 9, 1969 at a house at 10050 Cielo Drive, Beverly Hills, where Melcher had previously lived with then-girlfriend Candice Bergen. Manson had previously visited Melcher there, and on a subsequent visit had learned that Melcher had moved. Nevertheless, Manson told his followers to kill anyone they found in the house on the night Sharon Tate and her house guests died, to send Melcher a "message". The house has since been demolished, and the location's address changed.
- As a member of the musical group The Rip Chords, scored a big hit in 1964 with the song "Hey Little Cobra.".
- Took the surname of his adoptive father, Martin Melcher, when he was 10.
- In the early 1960s, he formed the duo Bruce & Terry with Bruce Johnston, who later joined The Beach Boys. A couple of their minor hits were "Custom Machine" and "Summer Means Fun".
- Is portrayed by Jeffrey Johnson in Helter Skelter (2004)
- The only child of Doris Day. His father, Al Jorden, was a trombonist.
- He has a son from his first marriage, Ryan.
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