On Val Garays desk sits a framed photograph of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Conspicuously absent from the walls of his office are any of the literally dozens and dozens of platinum and gold records that he has earned over the years for producing and/or engineering hit records for the likes of Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Santana, Kim Carnes, The Motels, Joan Armatrading, Sarah Brightmanand the list goes on and on and on.
Starting out in the early 70s as a songwriter, singer/guitar player in a hit rock and roll band and signing with the legendary Clive Davis (President of Columbia Records at the time) as well as the first artist to sign with Lou Adlers new Ode Records label. Lou Adler was responsible for signing the Mamas and Papas as well as Cheech and Chong and Carol King and producing the infamous Tapesrty album for Carol King. Garay soon gravitated toward working behind the console with artists as diverse as the Mamas and the Papas, The Buffalo Springfield to Seals & Crofts. It was at the legendary Sound Factory studio in Hollywood, California, that Garay became acquainted with the studios owner and operator, Dave Hassinger. Hassinger had established a reputation as one of rock n rolls premier engineers, having helmed many of the legendary Rolling Stones sessions, including Satisfaction, Under My Thumb, 19th Nervous Breakdown, Get Off My Cloud, as well as early Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane albums. It was Hassinger who realized that Garay had a great pair of ears, and offered to teach him the finer points of engineering. Working with Hassinger for a year, Garay refined his technique and perfected the punchy bottom. drum sound and guitar blend along with a mixing approach that remains a hallmark standard that is emulated today.
Garay truly made his mark, however, as engineer for all of producer Peter Ashers sessions including artists such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt , Andrew Gold and J D Souther. It was in this key role that Garay helped to create and define what is still being referred to as the LA Mafia or the LA Sound. With the release and success of Ronstadts Heart Like A Wheel, Garay suddenly became one of the most sought after engineers in the business, known for creating never-before-heard sounds. Or as Garay explains, I used microphones that had been previously used only for orchestras, and we set them up on drums. Thats when drums went from chinka-chinka-thump, to huge Snare and toms that lit up the speakers on the radio. It wasnt long before Garay had honed his studio experience as an engineer and also after numerous Grammy Nominations, including two of the five possible in that category in the same year, to the point where he felt confident in handling the duties of producer as well. Every producer needs a recording studio so to further his continued commitment to create great rock n roll records, Garay opened the doors of Record One in Sherman Oaks; a custom-built, state-of-the-art, multi-media recording complex designed by Garay himself. During his run at Record One the list of hit records produced there is more than impressive: the Grammy Award winning We Are the World and Totos Rosanna, Don Henleys Boys Of Summer, just to name a few. In fact, three out of five years running, The Record of the Year came out of Garays Record One Studios.
With the release of the Kim Carnes album, Mistaken Identity, Garays reputation as a hit-making producer was cemented. The album was a worldwide smash selling over 30 million copies around the world as well as Number One on the Billboard Charts both here and abroad for 16 consecutive weeks. Bette Davis Eyes earned Garay 6 Grammy nominations and a Grammy for Record of the Year in the process. Garay followed his successful collaboration with Carnes by producing the Motels ground breaking All Four One album, which not only garnered critical acclaim, but also gave the Motels the commercial success that had eluded them in the past. Only The Lonely became a Top Ten smash, and the other tracks, such as Take the L (Out of Lover) and Mission of Mercy became AM/FM mainstays. Garay went on to add to his long list of impressive credits producing albums for a variety of artists including, Joan Armatrading, Marty Balin (Jefferson Airplane), Kenny Rogers, Santana, Dolly Parton, Pablo Cruise, Neil Diamond, follow-ups by the Motels and Kim Carnes and Sarah Brightman.
Today Garay is busy working with and developing up-and-coming new artists for his new 321 Records label with his partner Henry Marx. Producing and engineering scores for motion pictures and television, and constantly searching for creative ways to take his work to the next level. The key to Garays continued success is his view of the role of a producer and engineer: Im not there to put my indelible stamp on the record so that people listen to it and hear Val Garay all over it. I go into each project with the full intention of bringing out the very best in all the artists I work with.
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