Fusion 45

The list is a long one: The Seldom Scene, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, the Kennedys, Doc Watson, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Shawn Colvin, Robin and Linda Williams, Bela Fleck and on and on. These are just a few of the artists who have laid down tracks at Bias Recording.

The Bias, as it was known in the 1960’s, was launched by three high school friends — Bill McElroy, Charlie Muir and Bob Dawson — who moved their odd mix of recording equipment from one irritated parent’s basement to another during their first few years as recording studio owners. Later that decade, Bias was temporarily disbanded as McElroy was inducted into the Army, Dawson went to college and Muir was bought out for the astounding sum of $67 and an amplifier.

Relaunched in Falls Church, VA in 1972, Bias Recording, as it was rechristened, quickly one of the most important studios in the DC area. McElroy — who worked with the Seldom Scene and Quicksilver Messenger Service, among others — left the business in 1994. Dawson, however, continues to be the guiding vision of the studio and has produced a mile-long list of great records from John Gorka, Mary Chapin-Carpenter and his childhood friend, Nils Lofgren.

Mary Chapin-Carpenter - Stones In The Road
Mary Chapin-Carpenter - He Thinks He’ll Keep Her

Photo: Bob Dawson, from the Bias Studios website

Amigo Studios was opened on Compston Avenue in North Hollywood in the mid 1960’s by legendary producer Snuff Garrett. He used the facility while working as the staff producer and head of A&R at Liberty Records (during which time he hired Phil Spector as a producer.)

Garrett was the man behind a number of Bobby Vee’s hits (including Devil or Angel and Rubber Ball) as well as sides for the Ventures, Sonny and Cher, Gene McDaniels and Sonny Curtis. Garrett also signed J.J. Cale to Liberty Records in ‘65 and produced a band that included Cale called the Leathercoated Minds. Now an out of print cult classic, A Trip Down The Sunset Strip, was a largely experimental set of covers. But, out of that session came the seed of a future Cale classic, After Midnight.

In the 1970’s, Garrett went on to work with Ray Conniff while Amigo was sold to Warner Brothers and became the sometime recording home of a number of WB acts, including the Doobie Brothers, Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor. Randy Newman had his own booth off the main studio, affectionately called Randy’s Room, where he hung during mixing sessions for a number of albums, including Sail Away.

In 1980, the rebuilt studio was sold to Al Kooper and renamed The Slammer. Garrett continued to be active in the music business, spending a good share of the 80’s working on movie soundtracks that including most of Burt Reynolds movies (like Cannonball Run and Sharky’s Machine). He’s now retired and living in Arizona.

The Leathercoated Minds - Psychotic Reaction
Bobby Vee - Rubber Ball
Randy Newman - Sail Away
Bobby Vee - Devil Or Angel

Photo: Garrett (center) with Clarke Rigsby (left) and Rigsby’s writing partner, Kevin Stoller (courtesy of Tempest Recording)

The Band. John Hartford. Jackie Lomax. Peter Yarrow. Loudon Wainwright. Muddy Waters. Cassandra Wilson. Branford Marsalis. Robert Fripp. The Rolling Stones. R.E.M. The B-52’s. Those are just some of the names of the cool people who have recorded at Bearsville. (The list of uncool people is pretty long, as well.)

Opened in 1970 by uber-manager Albert Grossman (and still being run by his widow since he died in 1986), it was and continues to be one of the hippest places on the planet to make a record. For many years, Todd Rundgren was the de facto “house producer”. A couple of Bearsville products from my collection:

Todd Rundgren -Hello, It’s Me
Todd Rundgren - Black Maria
Orleans - Dance With Me

When CBS decided to get out of the San Francisco recording studio business, entrepreneur David Rubinson bought the facility at 829 Fulsom Street and renamed it The Automatt. For it’s 10 years in existence, it was a go-to studio for a whole range of artists, from Herbie Hancock, Sister Sledge and Frankie Beverly to the obvious cadre of NoCal locals, bands like Journey, Huey Lewis, Santana and the Grateful Dead.

It was at the Automatt that groundbreaking engineer Leslie Ann Jones worked the controls for the soundtrack to Apocalypse Now.

The Delta
Finale

Photo: Sister Sledge at The Automatt with engineer Ken Kessie and producer Narada Michael Walden (by Kaz Tsurita)

Beltone Recording, New York City

Opened in the 1940’s as a commercial and jingle house, Beltone Recording became a hotspot for King Records artists like James Brown, who were passing through town starting in the early 1950’s. Later, it became a division of Beltone Records, which was in turn distributed by King out of Cincinnati.

Figuring it could be a hitmaker for his own artists, owner Les Cahan hired Joe Rene as his A and R man and started producing his own hits. Among them, Bobby Lewis‘ Tossin’ and Turnin’ and the brilliant Kansas City by Wilbert Harrison.

James Brown - Try Me

Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’

Wilbert Harrison - Kansas City

Artwork: Train Time, Kansas City (Watercolor, 14.5″ x 22″) by Nicholas Muff via Art Exchange