Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953 with the last name "Chiaramonte",[1] literally 'bright or clear mountain' in Italian) is an American[2] record producer.
Bob Clearmountain | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Clearmountain in 2017 | |
| Born | January 15, 1953 Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Music engineer, audio mixer, producer |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | Betty Bennett |
| Awards | |
Described by Sound on Sound magazine as having "his name on more hit records than anyone else in the history of popular music",[2] he is well known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen (notably Born in the U.S.A.),[3] The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan Adams. He has mixed some of the most iconic live shows in music history, including Live Aid, The Concert for New York for 9/11, and most recently, the Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts at Wembley Stadium and The Forum. Records he mixed have won eight Grammys. His most recent nomination was for Best Immersive Audio Album, "The Savior". He has also been nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning two for Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary Special and 25th Anniversary Rock-n-Roll Concert.
Biography
editAs a teenager, Clearmountain had many friends who were musicians or aspirants. He loved music, and played bass guitar in a bar band, but felt he did not want to rely on these capricious beings for his career.[4] Always more interested in the technical side, Clearmountain had a makeshift studio at home equipped with a two-track reel-to-reel tape recorder, some microphones and a talkback. He also loved to make tape recordings of the band's concerts. According to an interview with Sound on Sound, Clearmountain was immediately attracted when he entered a professional recording studio for the first time.[4]
His band had been making a demo recording at Mediasound Studios on 57th Street in New York. Determined to make a career in the technical side of the music business, he visited frequently and pestered the studio for a job. He was eventually hired as a gofer.[4] Clearmountain claims that after making about two deliveries, he found staff at the office had been looking for him – they had apparently been expecting him to be working on a recording session, as an assistant engineer. The star-struck new assistant engineer found that his first session was with Duke Ellington.[4]
According to Clearmountain, he was hired as Chief Engineer at the Power Station recording studio as they were opening in around 1977, and had a say in designing the recording studios and choosing the equipment as a rock music studio.[4]
Clearmountain also played bass on the Dead Boys' first album, Young, Loud and Snotty, before Jeff Magnum rejoined the group.
Personal life
editClearmountain is married to Apogee Electronics CEO Betty Bennett.[5]
Selection of work as producer
edit- Bryan Adams - You Want It You Got It, Cuts Like a Knife, Reckless and Into the Fire albums
- Jonatha Brooke's Steady Pull and Careful What You Wish For albums
- The Church's 1982 album The Blurred Crusade
- Hall & Oates' 1984 album Big Bam Boom
- Paul McCartney's Tripping the Live Fantastic album
- The Pretenders' Get Close album
- Simple Minds' Once Upon a Time album
- The Who's Join Together album
- Michael Stanley Band's 1983 You Can't Fight Fashion album
- The album documenting the Woodstock '94 concert in Saugerties, NY
- The Silencers' Rock 'N' Roll Enforcers album (1980)
- The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Leeds Lungs Out album
- King Swamp - “Wiseblood” (mixing)
Selection of work as live mixer/engineer
edit| Date | Concert | Location |
|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2023 | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony | Barclays Center, Brookyn, New York |
| November 5, 2022 | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony | Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California |
| September 27, 2022 | Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert | Kia Forum Los Angeles, California |
| September 3, 2022 | Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert | Wembley Stadium London, UK |
| December 12, 2012 | 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief - | Madison Square Garden, New York City |
| March 15, 1999 | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony | Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City |
| August 12-14, 1994 | Woodstock 94 | Winston Farm, Saugerties New York |
| May 5th, 1990 | A Tribute to John Lennon | The Pier Head, Liverpool |
| August 24, 1989 | The Who - Tommy | Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California |
| June 11, 1988 | Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert | Wembley Stadium London, UK |
| July 13, 1985 | Live Aid | John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
List of Grammy Awards & nominations
edit| Year | Work | Role | Award/Nomination |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | "Live At The Piano" Cory Henry | Producer/Engineer/Mixer | Nominee - Best Alternative Jazz Album |
| 2019 | "The Savior" A Bad Think | Mixer | Nominee - Best Immersive Audio Album |
| 2011 | "Paraíso Express" Alejandro Sanz | Mixer | Winner Latin Grammy - Best Male Pop Vocal Album |
| 2011 | "Paraíso Express" Alejandro Sanz | Mixer | Winner - Best Latin Pop Album |
| 2006 | "Seeger Sessions" Bruce Springsteen | Mixer | Winner - Best Traditional Folk Album |
| 2005 | "Avalon" Roxy Music | Mixer | Nominee - Best Surround Sound Album |
| 1998 | "Firecracker" Lisa Loeb | Mixer | Nominee - Best Engineered Album - Non Classical |
| 1997 | "Blue Moon Swamp" John Fogerty | Mixer | Nominee - Best Engineered Album - Non Classical |
| 1994 | "Rhythm, Country And Blue" Various Artists | Mixer | Nominee - Best Engineered Album - Non Classical |
| 1992 | "Storyville" Robbie Robertson | Mixer | Nominee - Best Engineered Album - Non Classical |
List of Emmy Awards & nominations
edit| Year | Work | Role | Award/Nomination |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert | Mixer | Nominee - Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special |
| 2021 | Bruce Springsteen's Letter To You - Apple TV | Mixer | Nominee - Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special |
| 2015 | The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special - NBC | Mixer | Winner - Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special |
| 2010 | The 25th Anniversary Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Concert - HBO | Mixer | Winner - Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Or Music Series Or Special |
| 2001 | Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - HBO | Mixer | Nominee - Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Or Music Series Or Special |
| 1993 | MTV Unplugged - MTV | Mixer | Nominee - Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing For A Variety Or Music Series Or Special |
List of KCRW/Apogee Sessions Recorded and Mixed by Bob Clearmountain
editAbout Apogee Studio: Apogee is a rare place where both music and music products are created, right here in Santa Monica. Part recording studio, product development lab, and high fidelity music venue, Apogee Studio is the child of music industry power couple Betty Bennett and Bob Clearmountain. The soulful digital audio technology at the heart of home and pro studios worldwide is produced by Apogee Electronics, a company founded and run by Bennett for over 38 years. Songs that have ascended to our worldwide music consciousness have one audio engineer in common more than almost any other, the legendary music mixer Bob Clearmountain. If you're lucky enough to get on the guest list with up to 180 other music fans for a show at Apogee, personally mixed by Bob and hosted by Betty and KCRW, it's an intimate experience you'll never forget.
| Alabama Shakes | Jenny Lewis | Preservation Hall Jazz Band |
| Automatic | Jim James | Quadron |
| Avett Brothers | John Legend | Queens of the Stone Age |
| Band of Horses | Johnny Marr | Regina Spector |
| Beck | Jose James | Rhye |
| Belle & Sebastian | JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys | Robert Glasper |
| Bloc Party | k.d. lang | Rodrigo y Gabriela |
| Chromeo | Kelis | Rosanne Cash |
| Cold War Kids | Killer Mike | Ryan Adams |
| Common | KT Tunstall | Say She She |
| Conor Oberst | Leon Bridges | Shelby Lynne |
| Courtney Barnett | Little Dragon | Silversun Pickups |
| Dan Auerbach | Local Natives | Sofi Tukker |
| David Gray | Lord Huron | Spoon |
| Death Cab for Cutie | Ludovico Einaudi | St. Vincent |
| Divine Fits | M. Ward | Sturgill Simpson |
| Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros | Manu Chao | Teddy Thompson |
| Fitz and the Tantrums | Mayor Hawthorne | The Airborne Toxic Event |
| Foals | Meshell Ndegeocello | The Cinematic Orchestra |
| Franz Ferdinand | Metric | The Kills |
| Future Islands | MGMT | The Olms |
| Gary Clark, Jr | Miguel | The Shins |
| Gary Numan | Miike Snow | The War on Drugs |
| Glen Hansard | Moby | The xx |
| Grizzly Bear | Natalia Lafourcade | thenewno2 |
| Hiatus Kaiyote | Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats | Tinariwen |
| Interpol | Neal Francis | Tom Jones |
| Jake Bugg | Nick Waterhouse | Toro y Moi |
| James Blake | Norah Jones | TV on the Radio |
| Janelle Monae | Pete Yorn | Vampire Weekend |
| Killer Mike | War | Was and Damian “JR Gong” Marley |
| Natalia Lafourcade | Neil Francis | Wilco |
References
edit- ^ "Don Was & Bob Clearmountain: Getting It Right". 2 November 2012.
- ^ a b Lockwood, Dave (June 1, 1999). "Bob Clearmountain: Master Mixer". Sound on Sound. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ ""This is what Bruce calls his primal scrub": Bob Clearmountain talks mixing and tweaking Springsteen's Born In The USA guitars". 9 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Master Mixer Bob Clearmountain". Sound on Sound, June 1999
- ^ Droney, Maureen (March 1, 2004). "Bob Clearmountain". Bob Clearmountain | Mixonline.com. www.mixonline.com. Retrieved August 13, 2016.