Cherokee Studios
Industry | Los Angeles, U.S. |
---|---|
Founders | Bruce Robb, Dee Robb, Joe Robb |
Headquarters | Los Angeles , U.S. |
Number of locations | 1 |
Website | cherokeestudios |
Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in
At the peak of its success, Cherokee operated eight studios in two locations. In his autobiography,
History
Background
The studio was founded by members of The Robbs, an American pop band from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin centered on three brothers who all adopted pseudonyms: Robert Donaldson ("Bruce Robb"), George Donaldson ("Joe Robb"), David Donaldson ("Dee Robb"), and family friend Craig Krampf ("Craig Robb"). Dick Clark discovered the band in 1962 when they were the opening act at the “Summer Caravan of Stars” in Wisconsin and invited them to continue on with the “Caravan” tour as essentially the house band. At the 1964 “Young World's Fair” in Chicago, the band won Clark's “Battle of the Bands”. The band was signed to Mercury Records in 1966, and moved to California to appear as regular performers on Clark's show Where the Action Is.
By 1969 the band, now signed to ABC/Dunhill, had changed their sound to a more country rock orientation and changed its name to Cherokee. ABC/Dunhill's studios were booked solid at the time, and the studio's chief technical engineer, Roger Nichols, was spending a lot of time at the band's ranch in rural Chatsworth. Nichols suggested the band buy some recording gear and set it up in the barn. Eventually, the band evolved from recording their own music to producing and engineering for other artists, including longtime friend Del Shannon and Steely Dan, who recorded overdubs for and mixed their 1974 album Pretzel Logic at "Cherokee's Ranch." The studio was even the location of the first demo recording by the Van Halen lineup of David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony.[1][2] After being threatened to be evicted for running an "illegal home studio,"[3] the studio's owners began looking for a bigger facility.[4]
Fairfax Avenue
In January 1975, Cherokee purchased the former location of MGM Studios at 751 N. Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood, including its large 35 x 58 foot live room (known as "Frank Sinatra's string room") and five isolation booths.[5] The brothers approached Trident Studios to build a custom 80-input A-Range mixing console - one of the first in the United States. Focused on making the recording studio a creative space designed for musicians and engineers, Cherokee's new studio featured five live rooms, 24-track mixing consoles, 24-hour session times, and a lounge bar, and quickly became one of the city's busiest studios, attracting such notable artists as David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, and Rod Stewart.[4]
Cherokee's Fairfax Avenue location closed on August 31, 2007,
Melrose Avenue
In late August 2011, Cherokee Studio's website announced "New Studio Coming to Hollywood", and in 2020 Cherokee Studios opened a recording studio on Melrose Avenue across the street from Paramount Film Studios. Built in collaboration with George Augsberger and Bruce Robb, the new studio features Cherokee Studio's original Trident A-Range 48-channel, 24-bus, 24 monitor channel mixing console, as well as a large tracking space that can hold up to 40 string players comfortably. Of the new studio and location, it has been said the new location is a continuation of the Cherokee tradition while going above and beyond.[8]
Prominent clients
- Under MGM Records [9]
Acts that recorded at M.G.M. Recording Studios include: Count Basie,[10] Ella Fitzgerald,[11] Judy Garland,[12] Oscar Peterson, Lou Rawls, The Sylvers, Elvis Presley[13] and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.[11]
Tom Petty
Petty recorded his third album Damn the Torpedoes and fourth Hard Promises at both Sound City Studios and Cherokee Studios respectively. During the recording of Hard Promises, John Lennon was scheduled to be in the recording studio at the same time as Petty and the Heartbreakers. However, the meeting never occurred due to the murder of Lennon in New York in December 1980. Both Damn the Torpedoes and Hard Promises were mixed at Cherokee Studios.[14]
David Bowie
English musician David Bowie recorded his tenth studio album Station to Station at Cherokee in late 1975. Co-produced by Harry Maslin, it was released in January 1976 and was a massive commercial success.[15][16][17]
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe recorded the platinum selling albums Theatre of Pain and Shout at the Devil at Cherokee Studios. Technicians working on Shout at the Devil noted that the members of Mötley Crüe would "stay up for three days straight making music and not even think we were working hard, with girls were streaming in and out of the studio."
Harry Nilsson
Bonnie Raitt
While living in one of the
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra recorded the Sinatra Christmas Album at Cherokee in 1975.
Ringo Starr
While he was recording
Weird Al Yankovic
Warren Zevon
In 2002, a terminally ill Warren Zevon came to Cherokee Studios to record what would be his final album, The Wind. Nick Read filmed Zevon's final recordings at Cherokee for the documentary,Warren Zevon: Keep Me In Your Heart. Bruce Springsteen joined Zevon at Cherokee for the single "Disorder in the House," Cherokee owner Bruce Robb provided lead guitar on the first track of The Wind and support vocals on two other tracks.
Michael Jackson
Other acts
Acts that have recorded at Cherokee Studios include:
- Aerosmith
- Alice Cooper
- Automatic 7
- Barbra Streisand
- Donny Osmond
- Osmonds
- Bliss 66
- Buffalo Tom
- The Cars
- Chris DeMarco
- Dave Matthews Band
- David Bowie
- Device
- Devo
- Diana Ross
- Dokken
- Donovan (Lady of the Stars)
- Elis Regina
- Fear
- Charly García
- The Go-Go's
- Toto
- Guns N' Roses
- Sammy Hagar
- Human Drama
- Jean-Luc Ponty
- JetSet
- John Cougar Mellencamp
- Journey
- Lillian Axe
- Korn
- The Lemonheads
- Lenny Kravitz
- Lita Ford
- Oingo Boingo
- Olivia Newton-John
- Percy Sledge
- Rod Stewart[18]
- Redbone
- Renegade
- Rollins Band
- Steely Dan
- Steppen Stones
- Stryper
- Stylus Automatic
- Suicidal Tendencies
- The Replacements (band)
- The Textones
- Taj Mahal
- The Choirboys
- Thirty Seconds to Mars
- Van Halen
- Vesuvius
- Vinnie Vincent Invasion
- WARRIOR
- X
- The Broken Homes
- Radio Active Cats
- Bihlman Bros
Film and TV
- South Park
- Shrek
- The Doors
- Twin Peaks
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
- Good Morning America
- The Last of the Mohicans
- Three for the Road
- The Three Musketeers
- Dragnet
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Ocean's Twelve
- Miami Vice
- Boyz n the Hood
- Uncle Buck
- Blue Velvet
- Ally McBeal
- Casper
- The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
- 21 Jump Street
- Alien 3
- Saturday Night Fever
- Coyote Ugly
- Popeye
- XXX
- Fame
- The Great Outdoors
- Innerspace
- Any Given Sunday
- Sneakers
- Menace II Society
- Southland Tales
- Village of the Damned
- The Wiz
- Young Guns II
- Turner & Hooch
- White Men Can't Jump
- Twins
- Earth Girls Are Easy
- Vampires
- Colors
- The Larry Sanders Show
- Pay It Forward
- The Power of One
- Ghosts of Mars
- Masters of Horror
- Don Juan DeMarco
- Necessary Roughness
- The Parkers
- Boston Public
- Crime Story
- Air America
- Driven
- Strong Medicine
- Satisfaction
- Neighbors
- The Experts
- Run Ronnie Run!
- Cousins
- Maid to Order
- Give My Regards to Broad Street
- Lackawanna Blues
- Burglar
- Down and Dirty Duck
- The Idolmaker
- Sphinx
- Honky Tonk Freeway
- Love N' Dancing
- Mortuary Academy
- Melanie
- Guilty as Charged
- All This and World War II
- Crime Story
- Masters of Horror
Selected gear list
- Studio 1 (1976)
- Custom Trident A-Range Mixing Console with 80 Channels
- Universal Audio 1176 Limiting Amplifier - 2
- dbx 160x
- GML 8200
- Pultec EQ P1-A
- Pultec MEQ-1
- Ampex MM-1200 Series 24-Track Recorder
- Ampex MM-Series 2-Track Mixdown Recorder
also
- Studio 3 (1976)
- MCI JH Series 24 Input Mixing Console
- MCI JH Series 24-Track Recorder
- MCI JH Series 2-Track Mixdown Recorder
- BGW Power Amplifiers
- U47, AKG C-414, AKG C-451, Shure SM-57 and SM-7 microphones
- Sennheiser and AKG Stereo Headphones
- EMT Echoplate Units
- UREI & dbx Compressor/Limiters plus Various Additional Outboard Gear and Musical Instruments, i.e. Electric Guitars & Synthesizer Keyboards
References
- ^ "'The demo is okay, but they probably won't make it': Early Van Halen Jams from 1974". Dangerous Minds. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ "Over Four Hours of Incredible Van Halen Demos - Get Them While You Can". Dangerous Minds. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Wegiel, Natalie (19 August 2021). "Cherokee Studios Founder: Bruce Robb Interview". Produce Like A Pro. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ a b Droney, Maureen (1 March 2002). "Cherokee Studios". MIX. Future plc. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ Benzuly, Sarah (1 September 2007). "Breaking News: Cherokee Studios Closes". MIX. Future plc. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "L.A.'s Cherokee Studios To Close at billboard.biz". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
- ^ "lofts at cherokee studios - Download Business Template". Loftsatcherokeestudios.com.
- ^ "Cherokee Studios Home". Cherokee Studios Official Website. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "Cherokee Studios". Discogs.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Cole Porter / Ella Loves Cole, Sondheimguide.com
- ^ Meet Me In St. Louis - 1944, Thejudyroom.com
- ^ Elvis Discography 1972, Sergent.com.au
- ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Hard Promises". Discogs.com.
- ISBN 0-380-77966-8.
- ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.
- ISBN 0-7535-0457-X.
- ^ "Rod Stewart – Vagabond Heart (1991, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
External links
- Official website
- Mixonline.com article
- REthink Development, official website for Lofts @ Cherokee Studios
- THE RECORD @ Cherokee Studios, Lofts @ Cherokee Studios official blog
- A Conversation with Bruce Robb on the Conversion of Cherokee Studios into Lofts