As one half of Peter and Gordon, famed music producer Peter Asher (then a lad of just 19) helped usher in the same British Invasion that made cultural icons out of The Beatles and Rolling Stones.

And while the duo's success was short-lived (Asher and Gordon Waller parted in 1968), their songs live on.

In the ensuing years, Asher -- whose sister Jane dated McCartney in those days -- has found success as manager and producer to some of rock's most venerable acts.

We caught up with Asher (who reunited with Waller in 2005 for a concert benefiting Dave Clark Five singer Mike Smith) in L.A.

When and how did you and Gordon get back together?

Paul Shaffer ... wanted to organize a British Invasion-themed benefit for Mike. As he was asking what it would take to get Peter and Gordon together, I realized if ever we were going to do anything, this would be the one to do.

At that point, it had been 38 years since you'd performed together. Any hiccups when it came time to rehearse?

There was sort of a nasty moment between having said that I would do it and then actually realizing that meant I had to physically do it. Gordon's been singing in the interim and I haven't ... so I went back to a vocal coach to get my high notes back, then we rehearsed together a lot.

What has the reaction from fans been like?

It's very interesting -- one tends, by instinct, to be a little scornful of oldies acts, but what you realize when you do it is how much these songs meant to so many people. You sing a song and you see someone in the audience crying, and the people afterwards say that's the song playing when I proposed to my wife, or when I met the love of my life.

When you were palling around with The Beatles, did you realize you were in the midst of something huge?

There were moments when one did realize -- when I first heard Paul and John sing me I Want to Hold Your Hand, or I remember sitting in the royal box at the Saville Theatre with Paul and Ringo and George and seeing Jimi Hendrix play for the first time ever. That kind of moment you say ... I think I'm in the right place with the right people.

You've produced some impressive acts over the years, in particular Linda Ronstadt, who you've been working with for decades.

Linda remains my favourite female singer of all time. Her voice is just astounding and she was a pleasure to work with -- very clear ideas herself about what she wanted to do, but also she could just sing the s-- out of anything.

You also produced Chantal Kreviazuk's debut, right?

She's brilliant. And she's still a friend, she lives right by me in L.A. She's a fantastic writer. In fact, I remember the first time I heard her, she was sitting in my living room playing and singing, and I was just completely knocked out.