I read a lot of music biographies and history books, especially from the Rock era. Like most people, I love reading about the story behind the hits. The best book I’ve ever read about that era is Buzz Me In: Inside The Record Plant Studios. 

The Record Plant was co-founded by engineer Gary Kellgrin and businessman Chris Stone, and it’s three studios in New York City, Los Angeles, and Sausalito, plus a fleet of remote trucks, were ground zero for the music business from the 1960s through the 80s. In fact, in 1976 alone, three #1 albums―Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life, the Eagles' Hotel California, and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours―were all recorded in Record Plant studios.

The studio was also the center for audio innovation, thanks to the involvement of speaker and studio designer Tom Hidley, who recently passed.

Buzz Me In was written by two great friends of mine, Marty Porter and David “Mr. Bonzai” Goggin. Marty is an author, journalist and publisher who began his career as a technology writer for Rolling Stone, GQ and Premiere magazines, then became editor and publisher of recording and musical instrument publications Pro Sound News, EQ, Guitar Player and Surround Pro magazines.

David is an award-winning author, photographer, and music journalist, who’s written over 1,000 articles for magazines in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has published 6 books. He’s also a press agent in the music industry and has represented numerous recording studios, manufacturers, and trade organizations such as SPARS and the World Studio Group.

During the interview, we talked about how Record Plant started and some surprising key players, the unique business model that powered the studio, how new tech drove the studio business, how many believe that it was the real Hotel California, and so much more.

Sit back and listen to some great behind-the-scenes stories. 

Additional Resources:

Learn more about Buzz Me In at https://amzn.to/4kAXY6I

Also, a video version is now available on YouTube as well.

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