Rodney Mills is an American mastering

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He has been involved in the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

for over 50 years and has earned over 50

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

s for

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, producing, and mastering.

Biography

A native Georgian, Rodney began his music career in 1962 playing

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

for The Bushmen. During his seven years with the group, Rodney became intrigued with

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

music and actively started pursuing a career as an

in 1967. In 1968, Rodney became chief

at Lefevre Sound Studios in

. During his three years there, he engineered records for several local and national acts ranging from

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, R&B,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and everything in between. Some of the artists he worked with there included

Joe South Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, ...

Billy Joe Royal Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965. Life and career Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and ra ...

, Dennis Yost and the Classics IV,

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

, The Stamps Quartet,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

, The Winstons,

Mylon LeFevre Mylon Rae LeFevre (October 6, 1944 – September 8, 2023) was an American Christian rock singer known for his work with his band Mylon and Broken Heart. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and traveled around the United States, mi ...

, and scores of other projects. In 1970, Rodney was approached by Buddy Buie to build a studio for him and become the chief

there. He co-designed and oversaw the construction of the famous Studio One in a suburb of Atlanta,

Doraville, Georgia Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,623. History Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, ...

. For the next sixteen years, Rodney worked almost exclusively in this studio on numerous projects for different artists and clients. During his tenure at Studio One, Rodney worked with numerous artists as

and later as producer/

. The list includes: B. J. Thomas, The Atlanta Rhythm Section (11 albums),

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

(4 albums),

38 Special 38 Special or 0.38 Special or .38 Special, may refer to: * .38 Special, a revolver cartridge Music * 38 Special (band), an American rock band ** ''38 Special'' (album), the 1977 debut album of the band 38 Special * .38 Special (song), a 2022 ...

(7 albums), Outlaws, Journey, Eric Martin,

Helix A helix (; ) is a shape like a cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is for ...

, and many other albums and projects. In 1986, Rodney left Studio One to continue his career as a producer independent of any studio. Since then, he has produced records for

(2 albums),

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman B ...

(2 albums),

Cruzados The Cruzados were a 1980s rock band from Los Angeles, California. History The Cruzados were formed in 1983 by the members of The Plugz, featuring members Tito Larriva, Tony Marsico, Steven Hufsteter, Chalo Quintana, The band's self-titled a ...

(2 albums), The Radiators (2 albums),

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

(2 albums) and several other projects. In 1989, Rodney produced Billboard Magazine's number one

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

Song of the Year with 38 Special's " Second Chance". In 1994, Rodney formed "Rodney Mills Masterhouse", a mastering service in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Since then, he has mastered thousands of projects for national and regional acts including

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed (lead vocalist) and Dean Roland (rhythm guitarist), Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), a ...

, Kentucky Headhunters,

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Atlanta Rhythm Section Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in 1970 by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drummer), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar). ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, when Kristen Hall (vocals, gu ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

, Bonecrusher,

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock music, rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley (American musician), Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as ...

Unk Anthony Leonard Platt (November 28, 1981 – January 24, 2025), better known by his stage name Unk, was an American rapper, DJ, and hype man. He is best known for his 2006 snap music, snap hit "Walk It Out (Unk song), Walk It Out". Life and ca ...

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence with his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That ...

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...

, Pylon Chris DeMarco, and others.

Notable recordings

Color Him Father "Color Him Father" is a song written by Richard Lewis Spencer and recorded by American rhythm and blues group the Winstons. It was released in 1969 as their debut single for Metromedia and was a No. 7 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that year ...

" – The Winstons (1969) *"Amen, Brother" – The Winstons (1969) (featuring the "

Amen Break The Amen break is a drum break that has been widely Sampling (music), sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1969 track "Amen, Brother" by the American soul group the Winstons, released as the B-side of the 1969 single "Color Him Father". T ...

") *"

Tuesday's Gone "Tuesday's Gone" is the second track on Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, ''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)''. It also appears on the band's first live LP, '' One More from the Road''. History "Tuesday's Gone" was written by vocalist Ronnie ...

" –

(1973) *" Simple Man" –

(1973) *"

Free Bird "Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by guitarist Allen Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The song was released on their 1973 debut studio album. Released as a single in Novembe ...

" –

(1973) *"

Sweet Home Alabama "Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album '' Second Helping'' (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's songs " Southern Man" and "Alabama", which the band felt blamed t ...

" –

(1974) *"Doraville" –

(1974) *" Moonlight Feels Right" – Starbuck (1976) *"So Into You" –

(1976) *'' Street Survivors'' –

(1977) *"

What's Your Name What's Your Name may refer to: *''What's Your Name?'', a 1997 album by Adam Sandler *What's Your Name (album), ''What's Your Name'' (album), a 2007 compilation album by Lynyrd Skynyrd *What's Your Name (Don and Juan song), "What's Your Name" (Don an ...

" –

(1977) *"

That Smell "That Smell" is a song by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Written by two band members, vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Allen Collins. JoJo Billingsley also allegedly took part in the writing; however, she was never credited. It wa ...

" –

(1977) *"Ain't No Good Life" –

(1977) *" I Love the Nightlife" – Alicia Bridges (1978) *" Spooky" –

(1978) *"Imaginary Lover" –

(1978) *"Champagne Jam" –

(1978) *"I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight" –

(1978) *'' Rockin' into the Night'' – .38 Special (1980) *'' Captured'' – Journey (1981) *" Hold On Loosely" – .38 Special (1981) *"Fantasy Girl" – .38 Special (1981) *" Caught Up in You" – .38 Special (1981) *" I'm No Angel" –

(1986) *"Before the Bullets Fly" –

(1988) *" Second Chance" – .38 Special (1988) *'' Rock & Roll Strategy'' – .38 Special (1988) *''

Cycles Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

'' –

(1989) *''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'' –

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

(1989) *'' Brotherhood'' –

(1991)

Musical history

In 1969 at Lefevre Sound Studios, Rodney was beginning his career as 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, reproducti ...

. One of his first

projects included recording a 45rpm single for a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based

group called The Winstons. The single for the group, titled "Color Him Father", went on to sell over 500,000 copies ( RIAA certified gold) and won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

the same year for Best R&B Song. The B-Side of the

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

single was an up-tempo instrumental rendition of an older

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

classic titled "Amen, Brother". This song included a 4 bar

drum solo A drum solo is an Solo (music), instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance. In Rock music, rock, drum solos are unique in that traditionally they are minimally ...

played by Winstons

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

G.C. Coleman, which years later was to become known as the famous "

". It has now become one of the world's most

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

beats of all time and has been used by many artists including

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, formed in 1984. The group was originally composed of DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (Christopher Wong Won), and Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot), though its most well-known lineup ...

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...

, Scarface,

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biography Schoolly D was born Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. in West Philadelphia and raised in Philadelph ...

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentProdigy and has spawned entire musical genres such as

Jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

and

Acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

Awards and recognition

1996 was a special year for Rodney, as he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The annual black-tie event held at the

Georgia World Congress Center The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the world's largest LEED c ...

honors

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

in the

music business The music industry are 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, represent ...

. Along with the acceptance of this most prestigious award, he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame building in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

. among other notable inductees including

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

, Bill Lowery, Buddy Buie,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

and many others.

Affiliations

Rodney has served on the board of governors for

NARAS National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

(National Academy of Recording Arts and Science), and has served on several

committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

and panels for their Music In The Schools program. This

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

is responsible for the

nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In ...

and

voting Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

of the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, one of the highest honors awarded for excellence in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

. He currently serves on the board of governors for Friends of Georgia Music, which oversees the induction process for the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Mill ...

References

External links

Rodney Mills Masterhouse (Official Website)Rodney Mills discography on AlbumCredits.comRodney Mills discography on Discogs.comRodney Mills discography on ArtistDirect.comRodney Mills discography on AllMusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Rodney American audio engineers Living people 1946 births Mastering engineers People from Douglas, Georgia