Any producer is only as good as the music he helps create. By this standard, Eddie Kramer must be regarded as a legend. In the course of a production and engineering career that has spanned 30 years, Kramer has been behind the boards for the biggest names in music - The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Peter Frampton, Carly Simon, Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, David Bowie, The Beatles and Bad Company, just to name a few. But he is perhaps best known for three long-term associations in which he not only helped create some of the most important music of the rock era, but also set standards for rock production that set him aside as a true innovator. His work with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Kiss produced
music which continues to influence rock musicians and producers today.
Born in South Africa, Eddie studied classical piano, cello and violin at the prestigious South African college of Music. At a young age, his interest switched from classical to jazz. He moved to England at 19, where he recorded local jazz groups in a home-based studio and installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. In 1964, he joined Pye Studios, and recorded a variety of artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, and The Kinks, demonstrating a versatility, which Eddie possesses to this day.
In 1965, Kramer established the sophisticated KPS Studios, which, despite its rudimentary 2-track recording capability, gained such a reputation that in less than a year they were bought out by Regent Sound. They enlisted Kramer to
oversee construction of their new four-track studio.
Getting "Experienced"
Kramer’s next stop was Olympic Sound studios where he developed a fantastic reputation among the bands of the time - Small Faces, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and jimi Hendrix, among others. His association with Hendrix was the most powerful one, and the one that lasted the longest. Kramer engineered every Hendrix album from “Are You Experienced” to “Cry of Love,” and after Hendrix’s death co-produced the posthumous releases “War Heroes,” “Rainbow Bridge” and “Hendrix in the West.”
In 1968, Kramer came to work at the Record Plant in NYC, engineering Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” LP, and also worked with Vanilla Fudge, Joe Cocker, and NRBQ. In 1969, Kramer went independent, producing Johnny Winter’s first LP and engineering Led Zeppelin II, acknowledged by fans and critics alike as perhaps that bands most influential work. This led to work on five albums with the band, half of their overall output. This pairing provided some historic moments. As Eddie tells of one particular session, “Zep II was mixed over a two day period in New York, and at one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of “Whole Lotta Love.” It was the middle part where Robert (Plant) screams “Wo-man. You need it.” Since we couldn’t re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy (Page) said “Great! Just leave it.”
Woodstock
Soon afterwards, Kramer was recruited to record the Woodstock festival for both the album and the movie. “I arrived at dawn and was struck by the sight of the sun rising over what appeared to be the stage. The show was scheduled to start by lunchtime. That panic pretty much set the tone for the entire concert. All of us in the crew had Vitamin B shots, so that we would be able to stay up for three days. The whole thing was recorded under the most primitive of conditions, but we got it done,” says Kramer. “Woodstock was 3 days of hell and drugs”. Woodstock established Kramer as one of the most important live music producers of the rock era, starting a series of artists recorded live which would ultimately include Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie, Derek and The Dominoes, and others.
Electric Lady Studios
Hendrix quickly hired Kramer to build a state of the art studio. After 13 months and a million dollars, Electric Lady Studios was complete, and Kramer served as its Director of Engineering from 1970 - 1974. During this time, in addition to producing the posthumous Hendrix records, Kramer produced records by Carly Simon, Sha Na Na and Peter Frampton, and engineered albums for artists as diverse as Dionne Warwick and Lena Horne, David Bowie’s “Live at the Spectrum” and “Young Americans,” featuring “Fame” with John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Physical Graffiti,” among others.
In 1975, Kramer left Electric Lady Studios to work with the No. 1 band in America at the time and produced “Kiss Alive.” In addition to producing “Rock and Roll Over,” “Love Gun,” “Alive II” and “Double Platinum” for Kiss, Kramer worked on Ace Frehley’s first solo record, Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same” (the album and the movie), Peter Frampton’s historic “Frampton Comes Alive” LP, and The Rolling Stones “Love Ya Live,” three of the most popular live albums of the rock era. In the last three decades, Kramer has produced countless bands from Anthrax, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister to Buddy Guy, Sting and Carlos Santana. He produced the Hendrix tribute album, “Stone Free,” for Warner Bros., which features tracks from artists such as: The Cure, Eric Clapton, The Spin Doctors, Seal/Jeff Beck, Slash/Paul Rodgers, and others. The album has generated approximately $1,000,000 in charitable funds which have been donated to the United Negro College Fund as musical scholarships to The Berklee School of Music, Julliard School of Music, and The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Since 1997, he has remastered all of the Jimi Hendrix albums from the original master tapes for Experience Hendrix/MCA. Eddie won a Grammy in 2002 for his work with Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch on the single, "The Game of Love." Eddie has also worked with Lauren Hill on her new album.
Eddie is a Legend I love Him !!!!
- Dro Fontaine
Source :http://www.waves.com/Content.aspx?id=3385#ixzz1s21T6r94
music which continues to influence rock musicians and producers today.
Born in South Africa, Eddie studied classical piano, cello and violin at the prestigious South African college of Music. At a young age, his interest switched from classical to jazz. He moved to England at 19, where he recorded local jazz groups in a home-based studio and installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. In 1964, he joined Pye Studios, and recorded a variety of artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, and The Kinks, demonstrating a versatility, which Eddie possesses to this day.
In 1965, Kramer established the sophisticated KPS Studios, which, despite its rudimentary 2-track recording capability, gained such a reputation that in less than a year they were bought out by Regent Sound. They enlisted Kramer to
oversee construction of their new four-track studio.
Getting "Experienced"
Kramer’s next stop was Olympic Sound studios where he developed a fantastic reputation among the bands of the time - Small Faces, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and jimi Hendrix, among others. His association with Hendrix was the most powerful one, and the one that lasted the longest. Kramer engineered every Hendrix album from “Are You Experienced” to “Cry of Love,” and after Hendrix’s death co-produced the posthumous releases “War Heroes,” “Rainbow Bridge” and “Hendrix in the West.”
In 1968, Kramer came to work at the Record Plant in NYC, engineering Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” LP, and also worked with Vanilla Fudge, Joe Cocker, and NRBQ. In 1969, Kramer went independent, producing Johnny Winter’s first LP and engineering Led Zeppelin II, acknowledged by fans and critics alike as perhaps that bands most influential work. This led to work on five albums with the band, half of their overall output. This pairing provided some historic moments. As Eddie tells of one particular session, “Zep II was mixed over a two day period in New York, and at one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of “Whole Lotta Love.” It was the middle part where Robert (Plant) screams “Wo-man. You need it.” Since we couldn’t re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy (Page) said “Great! Just leave it.”
Woodstock
Soon afterwards, Kramer was recruited to record the Woodstock festival for both the album and the movie. “I arrived at dawn and was struck by the sight of the sun rising over what appeared to be the stage. The show was scheduled to start by lunchtime. That panic pretty much set the tone for the entire concert. All of us in the crew had Vitamin B shots, so that we would be able to stay up for three days. The whole thing was recorded under the most primitive of conditions, but we got it done,” says Kramer. “Woodstock was 3 days of hell and drugs”. Woodstock established Kramer as one of the most important live music producers of the rock era, starting a series of artists recorded live which would ultimately include Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie, Derek and The Dominoes, and others.
Electric Lady Studios
Hendrix quickly hired Kramer to build a state of the art studio. After 13 months and a million dollars, Electric Lady Studios was complete, and Kramer served as its Director of Engineering from 1970 - 1974. During this time, in addition to producing the posthumous Hendrix records, Kramer produced records by Carly Simon, Sha Na Na and Peter Frampton, and engineered albums for artists as diverse as Dionne Warwick and Lena Horne, David Bowie’s “Live at the Spectrum” and “Young Americans,” featuring “Fame” with John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Physical Graffiti,” among others.
In 1975, Kramer left Electric Lady Studios to work with the No. 1 band in America at the time and produced “Kiss Alive.” In addition to producing “Rock and Roll Over,” “Love Gun,” “Alive II” and “Double Platinum” for Kiss, Kramer worked on Ace Frehley’s first solo record, Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same” (the album and the movie), Peter Frampton’s historic “Frampton Comes Alive” LP, and The Rolling Stones “Love Ya Live,” three of the most popular live albums of the rock era. In the last three decades, Kramer has produced countless bands from Anthrax, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister to Buddy Guy, Sting and Carlos Santana. He produced the Hendrix tribute album, “Stone Free,” for Warner Bros., which features tracks from artists such as: The Cure, Eric Clapton, The Spin Doctors, Seal/Jeff Beck, Slash/Paul Rodgers, and others. The album has generated approximately $1,000,000 in charitable funds which have been donated to the United Negro College Fund as musical scholarships to The Berklee School of Music, Julliard School of Music, and The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Since 1997, he has remastered all of the Jimi Hendrix albums from the original master tapes for Experience Hendrix/MCA. Eddie won a Grammy in 2002 for his work with Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch on the single, "The Game of Love." Eddie has also worked with Lauren Hill on her new album.
Eddie is a Legend I love Him !!!!
- Dro Fontaine
Source :http://www.waves.com/Content.aspx?id=3385#ixzz1s21T6r94