Cherokee Studios

Cherokee Studios
Name	Cherokee Studios
Location	Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States
Established	1972
Founders	Bruce Robb, George Tobin , Terry B. Taylor
Notable artists	David Bowie, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra
Genre	Rock, Pop, R&B, Soul, Funk, Jazz

Cherokee Studios is a historic recording complex in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, renowned for its contribution to popular music from the 1970s onward. The studio gained prominence through landmark sessions for major acts across rock, pop, R&B, and soul, becoming a destination for artists, producers, and engineers associated with labels, tours, and major festivals. Its spaces and equipment played roles in albums and singles that shaped careers and influenced recording practice in the United States and internationally.

History

The studio’s origins trace to a conversion of a commercial building into recording space during the early 1970s, undertaken by engineers and entrepreneurs with backgrounds working alongside producers and acts associated with United Artists Records, Capitol Records, Columbia Records (record label), and Warner Bros. Records. In the mid-1970s Cherokee attracted producers linked to Quincy Jones, Tony Visconti, Giorgio Moroder, and David Foster, as artists sought a West Coast alternative to studios on Sunset Boulevard and in New York City. High-profile sessions in the 1970s and 1980s connected the facility to tours by The Rolling Stones, studio projects for Elton John, and soundtrack work for films distributed by Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. Over decades the studio weathered changes in the recording industry brought by executives at A&M Records, engineers from Capitol Studios, and the rise of independent producers associated with Motown Records and Atlantic Records.

Facilities and Architecture

Cherokee occupied a multi-room complex with large tracking rooms, isolation booths, and control rooms designed for both acoustic live ensembles and overdubbing for pop and orchestral arrangements. The complex layout reflected influences from studios such as Abbey Road Studios, Sun Studios, and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, combining live room dimensions suitable for horn sections used by Tower of Power and string arrangements commissioned by Quincy Jones. Architectural decisions accommodated clients including session musicians from The Wrecking Crew and arrangers who worked with Paul McCartney, necessitating isolation booths and patch bays compatible with touring rigs used by Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. The building’s street-facing façade remained recognizable to fans and industry figures attending press events organized by labels like RCA Records.

Notable Recordings and Artists

Sessions at Cherokee spanned seminal albums and singles for a wide range of artists. Recordings included work for David Bowie, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and Frank Sinatra, among others. Producers and engineers associated with sessions included names linked to Phil Spector, Brian Eno, George Martin, and Rick Rubin, reflecting cross-pollination between rock, pop, and R&B. Film and television music produced there connected to projects associated with John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and soundtrack releases distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Guest performers and session players linked to the site included alumni of The Funk Brothers and touring ensembles for James Brown and Aretha Franklin.

Ownership and Management

Founders and early owners were industry practitioners who transitioned from production and touring to studio operation, working alongside managers familiar with label relations at Island Records and Geffen Records. Over time management included studio directors and business partners with prior roles at locations such as Criteria Studios and Capitol Studios. Executive decisions often intersected with label A&R executives from Epic Records and corporate legal teams that had negotiated contracts for artists like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. The ownership history reflects patterns seen in other independent facilities where partnerships and buyouts involved figures with connections to MCA Records and financing from private investors tied to the Los Angeles entertainment community.

Equipment and Technology

Cherokee’s equipment inventory combined vintage analog consoles, tape machines, microphones, and outboard gear sought by recording professionals. The studio housed mixing consoles comparable in pedigree to those manufactured for Abbey Road Studios and tape recorders used by engineers who worked with Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. Microphone collections included models favored by vocalists such as Elvis Presley and instrumentalists associated with The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys. As digital technology emerged, Cherokee integrated digital multitrack recorders and mixing systems used by producers collaborating with Quincy Jones and Giorgio Moroder, while retaining analog chains prized by audiophiles and mastering engineers who had credits on releases from Atlantic Records.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

The studio’s legacy endures through recordings that influenced genre development and through its role in Los Angeles’ music industry infrastructure, comparable in cultural footprint to institutions like Sunset Sound and Capitol Studios. Its imprint appears in scholarship on recorded sound, histories of artists associated with Warner Bros. Records and Columbia Records (record label), and oral histories from session musicians and producers who worked with Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Wonder. Collectors and historians reference sessions from Cherokee when tracing the evolution of production techniques used across tours and studio albums by acts such as David Bowie, Prince, and Michael Jackson, cementing the studio’s place in popular music history.

Category:Recording studios in California