Gold Star Studios
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gold Star Studios was a major independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. In from 1950 to 1984 it was one of the most influential and successful commercial studios in the world. Founded in 1950 by David S. Gold and Stan Ross, the studio was located near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood.
Gold Star is best known as the home of Phil Spector's famous "Wall of Sound" recordings, which utilised the studio's custom-designed recording technology, hand-built by Gold, and its famed echo chambers. It was also the venue for many important recordings by The Beach Boys including portions of their 1965 LP Pet Sounds LP, the 1966 international #1 hit "Good Vibrations" and recordings for the aborted Smile project.
The studio was renowned for its famous echo chambers. According to Gold, who designed the chambers after years of research and experimentation, they were built in an area of about 20' x 20' and were complementary trapezoids 18 feet long. The walls were thick, specially-formulated cement plaster on heavy isolation forms. Entry into the chambers was through a series of 2' by 2' doors, and the opening was only about 20 inches wide and high!
Another of Gold's innovations was a small transmitter that allowed him to broadcast mixes so that they could be picked up on a nearby car radio, which was especially important to recording artists in the era when AM radio was the dominant broadcast medium.
The studio was the venue for hundreds chart-topping recordings by scores of leading pop and rock artists including Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochrane, The Chipmunks, The Cascades, Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Sonny & Cher,The Rose Garden [Buffalo Springfield]], Duane Eddy, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, The Ronettes, Dick Dale, The Righteous Brothers, Iron Butterfly, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Joan Jett, Cheri Currie, Meat Loaf, The Champs, The Baha Marimba Band, Bobby Darin, The Cake, The Who, The Monkees, Tommy Boyce, The Band, The Go-Go’s, The Ramones, The Association, Art Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Maurice Gibb.
It was also widely used by music, film, television, radio and Broadway artists including Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Fain and Dimitri Tiomkin and it was the recording ‘home’ of the pioneering ABC-TV prime-time pop show Shindig!. Jazz artists who recorded there include Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Oscar Moore, The Hi-Los and Louis Bellson.
The studio closed in 1984. A fire occurred in the structure after it had been closed. All contents had been removed prior to the fire. The building was later demolished.
[edit] References & Links
- Official page
- Shure Notes studio profile
