Chris Stone (entrepreneur)
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Chris Stone (1935 – September 10, 2016) was an American
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
businessman and writer, and the co-founder with
Gary Kellgren Gary Kellgren (April 7, 1939 – July 20, 1977) was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone. Career Engineering Kellgren was a successful and well respected audio en ...
of the
Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
recording studios. Stone's article first appeared in ''EQ'' magazine in November 1996. Stone founded Filmsonix in 1987, sold the Record Plant in 1989, and was the founder and CEO of World Studio Group. He co-founded the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS), and he co-founded the Music Producers Guild of the Americas (MPGA), serving as executive director. The MPGA developed into the Producers & Engineers Wing of the
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...
(NARAS). Stone earned an MBA from the
UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, also known as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of eleven professional schools. The school offers MBA (ful ...
, and he lectured online for the
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
as well as in person for the
USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...
where he was an associate professor. He contributed regularly as a recording industry journalist, his work published by ''Pro Sound News'', ''
Mix Mix, mixes or mixing may refer to: Persons & places * Mix (surname) ** Tom Mix (1880-1940), American film star * nickname of Mix Diskerud (born Mikkel, 1990), Norwegian-American soccer player * Mix camp, an informal settlement in Namibia * Mix ...
'' and ''Sound on Sound''. He published a book, ''Audio Recording for Profit: The Sound of Money''.


Record Plant, New York City

In the mid-1960s, Stone earned a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
(MBA) degree from the
UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, also known as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of eleven professional schools. The school offers MBA (ful ...
and by late 1967 he was employed as the national sales manager of
Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...
cosmetics. He and his wife Gloria welcomed their first child in New York City. Stone was introduced to
Gary Kellgren Gary Kellgren (April 7, 1939 – July 20, 1977) was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone. Career Engineering Kellgren was a successful and well respected audio en ...
, a
recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
working at several New York City recording studios on sessions for musicians such as
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
and
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. Stone and Kellgren met because Kellgren's wife Marta was seven months pregnant and scared of the upcoming birth. Mutual friends thought that the two couples could talk about being parents and ease Marta's worry. A copy of the Record Plant chapter is hosted online by the author as
The Record Plant: Magical Seeds
"
Though they were "diametrically opposed" in nature, with Stone all business and Kellgren very creative, the two quickly became friends. During his lunch hours, Stone visited Kellgren in the studio, and began to see that Kellgren was not making full use of his genius. Stone noticed that Kellgren was getting only 4 percent of the money that studios were charging, and he helped Kellgren raise that to 20 percent. Stone convinced Kellgren that the two of them, with $100,000 that Stone borrowed from Johanna C.C. "Ancky" Revson Johnson, could start a new recording studio, one with a better atmosphere for creativity. Johnson was a former model who became the second wife of Revlon founder
Charles Revson Charles Haskell Revson (October 11, 1906 – August 24, 1975) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who created the first pigment-based nail polish and founded and managed R ...
, then divorced and married Ben Johnson. In early 1968 Kellgren and Stone began building a 12-track studio at 321 West 44th Street, creating a living-room-type of environment for the musicians. It opened on March 13, 1968. As the studio was nearing completion, record producer Tom Wilson persuaded Hendrix producer
Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...
to book the Record Plant from April 18 to early July 1968, for the recording of the album ''
Electric Ladyland ''Electric Ladyland'' is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the final studio album released before Hendrix's death in 1970. A double album, it was the only record from the Experience produced by Hendrix. The ban ...
''. In early April, just prior to the start of
the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
session, the band
Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
spent four days recording ''
The Soft Machine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''; their debut album, produced by Wilson and Chandler, with Kellgren engineering. In 1969, Kellgren and Stone sold the New York operation to TeleVision Communications (TVC), a cable television company that was broadening its portfolio. The purpose of the sale was to gain cash for expansion into Los Angeles with a second studio.


Record Plant, Los Angeles

Seeing the early success of the New York studio, Kellgren and Stone decided to move to the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
and open another one in Los Angeles. One of the first employees of the studio would be Chris' nephew, Mike D. Stone. To design the studio, they contracted with
Tom Hidley Tom Hidley (born 27 May 1931) is an American recording studio designer and audio engineer whose companies have been responsible for the design of hundreds of professional studios worldwide since 1965. Hidley coined the term "bass trap", and is cr ...
who had built
TTG Studios TTG Studios was a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, co-founded in 1965 by recording engineers Tom Hidley and Amnon "Ami" Hadani. History The studio was located at 1441 North McCadden Place in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, n ...
in 1965, and was becoming known in L.A. for answering the high-decibel needs of rock music. Hidley was brought on board as the "third musketeer", according to Stone.Stone, 2000
p. 235
/ref> On December 4, 1969, the new studio opened its doors on 8456 West Third Street near La Cienega Boulevard. Sometimes known as "Record Plant West", the new studio held a 16-track recorder, larger than the 12-track system in New York (occasionally called "Record Plant East"), and studio time was 20 to 25 percent less expensive than typical studios in New York. Stone intended the Record Plant to stay innovative and retain the prestige of an industry leader, so in 1970 he installed a 24-track tape recorder. It was a very large machine assembled by Hidley at the cost of $42,000 but in the next three years it was used on only a few sessions. Stone described the studios as being so accommodating that people would tend to hang out rather than leave. He said sometimes musicians would "come and live at the Record Plant for a while" because they could sleep, eat, drink, party and play music.
Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...
and
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
were important enough clients to be given a gold key to the facility. Stone said, "They would come in at three in the morning and help themselves to a beer." If the musicians' antics wrecked any part of the studio—which "was a given" for Moon, according to Stone—they were not scolded or turned out; Stone said he simply charged the recording project an inflated fee for repairs. Stone and Kellgren had profited enough to buy back their studio from Warner Communications, and at the same time expand northward with the Sausalito Music Factory, a Northern California location, the third and final Record Plant studio. As well, the duo widened their scope with more remote recording dates in 1973 including performances by
Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
,
Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has pe ...
,
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
,
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
,
Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...
and
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
. In July 1977, Kellgren drowned in the swimming pool at his Hollywood home. Guitarist
Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a nu ...
wrote that Kellgren was probably
electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...
while trying to fix some underwater speakers in his pool, but the cause of death remains uncertain. The loss of his friend and business partner hit Stone hard. Stone was suddenly responsible for keeping all three studios operating, but he concentrated his attention on Los Angeles. He slowly began to lose interest in the Sausalito location. Studio C was destroyed in an electrical fire on January 10, 1978. Stone took the setback as an opportunity to update the equipment. During the next 13 months, Studio C was rebuilt and fitted with radical new gear. In February 1979,
Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
became the first major-label American artist to record on
digital recording In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storage de ...
and mastering equipment, a 3M system installed to replace the previous analog system. The L.A. operation expanded further in the early 1980s, equipping two more remote recording trucks. The three trucks held consoles made by
Automated Processes, Inc. Automated Processes Inc. (API) is an American company that designs, manufactures, and markets mixing consoles and signal processors, including modular signal processor units in the 500-series format standard that evolved from early API mixing c ...
(API). In 1982, Stone leased sound stages M and L at the
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
studio lot, for film sound recordings. Veteran film scoring engineer
Dan Wallin Daniel Guy Wallin (born March 13, 1927) is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Sound. He has worked on more than 500 films since 1965, working into his eighties. Selected filmography * ''Woo ...
assisted Stone in the redesign of the studios and the selection of equipment, including
Solid State Logic Solid State Logic (SSL) is a British company based in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound ...
(SSL) consoles and Hidley
studio monitor Studio monitors are loudspeakers in speaker enclosures specifically designed for professional audio production applications, such as recording studios, filmmaking, television studios, radio studios and project or home studios, where accurate ...
s based on
JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. JBL serves the customer home and professional market. The professional market includes studios, installed/tour/portable sound, cars, music ...
components. Soundtracks that the Record Plant tracked and mixed there include ones for''
Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend an ...
'', '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', ''
Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...
'', '' 48 Hrs.'', and ''
An Officer and a Gentleman Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of t ...
''. Wallin and Stone gave recording industry talks at the Paramount's Scoring Studio M in September 1982, describing how the recording business should expand into motion pictures to counteract flagging profit margins. Stone said that, in order to be recognized by the film worker unions, he formed a separate business entity called Record Plant Scoring, and hired a separate crew of union engineers. In 1985 as part of a planned expansion, the Record Plant's Third Street facility closed with hundreds of its customers and staff taking part in "The Last Jam".Stone, 2000
p. 270
/ref> In January 1986 the Record Plant reopened at 1032 North Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood in the former Radio Recorders "Annex", a historic studio where
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
and
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
recorded. On December 8, 1987, Stone sold 50% plus one share of the Los Angeles studio to
Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
under
Sir George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Bea ...
, with Stone continuing to manage the facility. In 1989 he sold the remainder and left it under Chrysalis management.


Later career

Stone founded Audio Intervisual Design (AID) in 1984 and brought on ex-Sony Pro Audio executive Rick Plushner and Jim Pace to operate the pro audio sales company with the purpose of integrating traditional recording studio audio-only skills with visual media such as television and film. Plushner told reporters that the "next frontier" in audio is digital film sound. Stone said that the Record Plant was not going to abandon its roots in audio-only recordings. By 1986, Jim Pace and Jeff Evans purchased the company from Stone and operated out of the Record Plant facilities unit 1992, continuing currently in West Hollywood. In 1987, Stone established Filmsonix, a consulting firm for the recording studio industry. Filmsonix provided consulting services to hardware manufacturers, recording studios and record labels. In 1992 Stone founded the World Studio Group (WSG) for the purpose of bringing together major recording studios around the world in order to provide premium recording services to major groups while on tour. World Studio Group was chosen by Larry Hamby of
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
who proposed Stone's involvement with Woodstock '94. Stone arranged for four remote recording trucks, two for each stage, at Woodstock '94, as a safety backup in case something went wrong.
Bearsville Studios Bearsville Sound Studio was a recording studio founded by Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York, west of Woodstock in 1969. History Albert Grossman, who was the manager of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, first arrived in Bearsville in 1 ...
would serve as the hub of recording.
Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...
was chosen as chief audio engineer to tie the four parts together, and to mix the resulting album. Stone arranged to have a tour bus parked between the two stages for as many as 12 audio engineers to sleep. After
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
's concluding set ended in the wee hours of Monday, August 15, 1994, Stone's plan was carried out: all of the performances were digitally copied and backed up in the next two days. Not one song was lost. Stone's WSG also provided audio recording oversight to
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
on their 1997–1998
Bridges to Babylon Tour The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones. Staged in support of their album ''Bridges to Babylon'', the tour visited stadiums from 1997 to 1998. It grossed over $274 million, becoming the second-highest-gr ...
through South America and Europe.''Audio recording for profit'', 2000, p. xvii In January 2016, Stone and Kellgren were inducted into the
TEC Awards The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings, ...
Hall of Fame at the
NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
, honoring their co-founding of the Record Plant. Also inducted was
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...
of
Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...
and
the Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...
. Stone died at the age of 81 on September 10, 2016, of a heart attack and stroke.


References


External links


NAMM Oral History Interview with Chris Stone
May 25, 2015
Stone talks about the benefits of an education at Berklee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Chris 1935 births 2016 deaths Businesspeople from San Francisco Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Los Angeles UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni USC Thornton School of Music faculty 20th-century American businesspeople