TTG Studios
TTG Studios was a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, established by Amnon "Ami" Hadani and Tom Hidley.[1] The company was founded on June 8, 1965.
Studio
"TTG" stood for "two terrible guys."[1][2][3] The studio was at 1441 North McCadden Place near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in Hollywood section of Los Angeles.[1] The studio was notable as one of the first to be equipped with a 16-track Ampex tape recorder at a time when 4-track recording was still the norm, and for the very competitive rate of $55 per hour.[4] Due to its high decibel level threshold, their studio became popular with the up-and-coming rock musicians of that time, including The Monkees, Eric Burdon,[1] Frank Zappa with The Mothers of Invention,[5] and Alice Cooper.[6] Burdon introduced Jimi Hendrix to the studio and Hendrix "raved" about the studio's sound.[2] Some parts of The Velvet Underground & Nico were recorded at TTG in May 1966.
Tom Hidley
TTG Studios' co-founder was Tom Hidley. He was born May 27, 1931 in Los Angeles, California.[1] As a teen, he spent long hours playing the saxophone, clarinet, and flute, until ordered to cease by his physician after a physical breakdown.[1] He then turned to non-performance aspects of music, and spent nights recording at clubs and days working at loudspeaker and tape-machine companies.[1]
In 1959, "Madman Muntz" hired Hidley to assist in the development of the first car stereo.[1] Among the first to own a Muntz car stereo was Frank Sinatra, the famous singer and actor.[1] Through Sinatra's purchase, Hidley became known to a Sinatra associate Val Valentin, who invited Hildley to assist in the building of a new recording studio in New York.[1] In 1962, they built the MGM/Verve studio.[1] In 1964, Phil Ramone hired Hidley to work at his A&R studio as the audio technical manager.[1] Also employed at that time by A&R was Ami Hadani.[1]
Ami Hadani
TTG co-founder Amnon "Ami" Hadani was born August 19, 1929. He was credited as Omi Hadan on some records.[7][8] Hadani's association with MGM/Verve artists preceded TTG and his work with rock groups. He engineered albums by jazzmen Ray Brown and Milt Jackson, actress Lainie Kazan, and location recording for standup comic Shelley Berman. According to Bruce Botnick, Hadani was a General in the Israeli Air Force, and had to leave for weeks at a time when Israel was at war.[3] Ami was married to actress Ellen Weston and they had one child, Jonathan Hadani. They were divorced when their son was 6. Ami remarried Christine Ermacoff, a studio cellist. Ami died in September 22, 2014 in Los Angeles.
Albums recorded at TTG Studios
| Album | Artist | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Freak Out![9] | The Mothers of Invention | June 27, 1966 |
| Animalism[10] | The Animals | November, 1966 |
| The Doors (Album)[10] | The Doors | January, 1967 |
| Winds of Change[10] | Eric Burdon and The Animals | March, 1967 |
| Early Morning Blues And Greens[10] | Diane Hildebrand | June, 1967 |
| Big Boss Bones[10] | Trombones Unlimited | June, 1967 |
| Absolutely Free[10] | The Mothers of Invention | April, 1967 |
| The Velvet Underground & Nico (Album)[10] | The Velvet Underground & Nico | July, 1967 |
| Strange Days[10] | The Doors | September, 1967 |
| Love Is[10] | Eric Burdon & The Animals | September, 1967 |
| Basie Straight Ahead[10] | Basie | January, 1968 |
| Motherly Love / I Ain't Got No Heart (Single)[10] | The Mothers Of Invention | February, 1968 |
| Those Were The Days[10] | Ernie Heckscher | March, 1968 |
| The Sound Of The Seventies[10] | Tommy Vig Orchestra | July, 1968 |
| Patterns Of Reality[10] | Andy Robinson | August, 1968 |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience at TTG Studios[10] | Jimi Hendrix | October, 1968 |
| Jimi Hendrix at TTG Studios[10] | Jimi Hendrix | October, 1968 |
| Hal Frazier (LP, Album)[10] | Hal Frazier | November, 1968 |
| Follow Me (Original Soundtrack Album)[10] | Stu Phillips | May, 1969 |
| What Goes On / Jesus (7", Mono, Promo)[10] | The Velvet Underground | June, 1969 |
| Waiting for the Sun[9] | The Doors | July 3, 1968 |
| Hand Sown ... Home Grown[11] | Linda Ronstadt | March, 1969 |
| Sun Rise (features Jimi Hendrix)[11] | Eire Apparent | May, 1969 |
| Hot Rats[9] | Frank Zappa | October 10, 1969 |
| Neil Young (Album)[10] | Neil Young | November, 1969 |
| Right On (LP, Album, Mono, Promo)[10] | Phil Moore Jr. | December, 1968 |
| A. B. Skhy (LP, Album)[10] | A. B. Skhy | December, 1968 |
| Crow By Crow (LP, Album)[10] | Crow | February, 1970 |
| La Revancha De Chunga[10] | Frank Zappa | March, 1970 |
| Longbranch Pennywhistle (album)[10] | Longbranch Pennywhistle | April, 1970 |
| Copperfields[10] | The Dillards | May, 1970 |
| Take It And Smile[10] | Eve | June, 1970 |
| Our Front Porch[10] | Ralph Carmichael And The Young People | July, 1970 |
| Weasels Ripped My Flesh[10] | The Mothers of Invention | August, 1970 |
| Chunga's Revenge[10] | Frank Zappa | September, 1970 |
| Sunday's Child (Album)[10] | Sunday's Child | October, 1970 |
| Simple Song Of Freedom / He Ain't Heavy - He's My Brother (7", Single)[10] | Spirit Of Us | November, 1970 |
| Slow Down[10] | Crow | January, 1971 |
| Ratas Calientes (LP, Album, Promo, Gat)[10] | Frank Zappa | March, 1971 |
| The Last Time I Saw Her | Glen Campbell | July, 1971 |
| Rainbow Bridge - Original Motion Picture Sound Track (Album)[10] | Jimi Hendrix | August, 1971 |
| I'm Gon' Git Myself Together[10] | Jimmy Smith | October, 1971 |
| Reformation[10] | The California Earthquake | November, 1971 |
| Sailin' Shoes[10] | Little Feat | February, 1972 |
| Let Love Live[10] | Jeremiah People | October, 1972 |
| Doing What Comes Naturally[10] | Charles Wright | January, 1973 |
| Sonlight (Album)[10] | Sonlight | March, 1973 |
| Vital Blue[10] | Blue Mitchell | June, 1973 |
| Killing Me Softly[10] | Ferrante & Teicher | September, 1973 |
| The Waltons' Christmas Album (LP, Album)[10] | The Holiday Singers | January, 1974 |
| Plays Folk Music Themes (Album)[10] | Dino feat. The Ralph Carmichael Orchestra and Chorus | March, 1974 |
| The Entertainer[10] | Marvin Hamlisch | May, 1974 |
| ...Beautiful...Beautiful[10] | Ferrante & Teicher | August, 1974 |
| Tommy Butler (LP, Album)[10] | Tommy Butler | December, 1974 |
| Fly On[10] | Air Pocket | February, 1975 |
| A Southern Memoir (LP, Album)[10] | Bing Crosby | April, 1975 |
| Tales Of A Courtesan (Oirantan)[10] | Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band | January, 1976 |
| Inside America (Disco) (LP, Album)[10] | Juggy Murray Jones | April, 19756 |
| Concert In Blues[10] | Willie Hutch | October, 1976 |
| We Have This Moment...Today[10] | Richard Roberts and Patti Roberts | December, 1976 |
| Bahiana[10] | Dizzy Gillespie | February, 1977 |
| A Retrospective[10] | Linda Ronstadt | June, 1977 |
| America The Beautiful[10] | Clare Fischer | February, 1978 |
| 'Twas Only Yesterday[10] | Clare Fischer | March, 1979 |
| Duality[10] | Clare Fischer | June, 1980 |
| Straight Ahead (Pa'lante)[10] | Poncho Sanchez | August, 1980 |
| I Lead A Charmed Life[10] | Russell Garcia | September, 1980 |
| Plays Music Of Richard Rogers Vol. 1 (LP, Album)[10] | Carl Burnett | November, 1980 |
| Turning To Spring[10] | Howard Roberts | January, 1981 |
| Road Work Ahead [10] | Bob Magnusson feat. Peter Sprague, Bill Mays, and Jim Plank | February, 1981 |
| Westlake[10] | Bob Florence | March, 1981 |
| Lomelin[10] | Gerald Wilson | April, 1981 |
| Jazz Quintet[10] | Robert Conti feat. Mike Wofford | April, 1981 |
| Hoy-Hoy![10] | Little Feat | October, 1981 |
| Two Generations Of Music[10] | Bob Magnusson feat. Daniel Magnusson | June, 1982 |
| Summer Strut[10] | Andy Simpkins | July, 1984 |
| The Golden Sword[10] | Gerald Wilson | September, 1984 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Verna, Paul (1 July 1995). "From Auto Sound to Infrasound, Hidley's Career has Been Built on Breakthroughs". Billboard.
- 1 2 Roby, Steve (2002). Black Gold: the Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix. Watson-Guptill. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-8230-7854-7.
- 1 2 Greenwald, Mathew (1 May 2010). "The Doors and The Elektra Records Sound Part I". musicangle.com. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ↑ McDermott, John (1995). Jimi Hendrix: Sessions. Little, Brown & Co. p. 71. ISBN 0-316-55549-5.
- ↑ "Mothers Of Invention, The* – Absolutely Free". Discogs. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- ↑ Cooper, Alice; Zimmerman, Kent (2008). Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict. Random House. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-307-38291-7.
- ↑ Harvard, Joe (2004). The Velvet Underground and Nico. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8264-1550-9.
- ↑ Barker, David (2007). 33 1⁄3 greatest hits. 1. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-8264-1903-3.
- 1 2 3 "TTG Studios". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 "Discogs.com". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- 1 2 "TTG-Ronstadt-Hendrix". Retrieved 28 July 2015.