I had the privilege of working at what then called United/Western from 1975 to 1981. My God, what a time that was! You will forgive me for dropping names because there is no other way to describe what went on there. We had 5 24-track rooms that ran night and day; a list of who didn't record there might be shorter than a list of who did. Favorite projects that immediately come to mind are Streisand, Santana, Sinatra, Jonothan WInters, Ringo, Abba, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton (she kissed me good morning in Studio 3!), The Beach Boys, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Blondie, Elvis's TCB Band, The Four Tops, Gary and Lorna Wright, Cher, Albert Brooks, Michael Jackson, Natalie Cole, Paul Anka, Johnny Rivers...good Lord, it's overwhelming.
Not to mention the great engineers and producers...the legendary Chuck Britz (who took me under his wing during my first fitful month there), Ed Greene, Lee Herschberg, Matt Hyde, and of course Bill Putnam himself. And the session players, composers, arrangers...
After leaving there (24 years ago, unbelievable) it became Ocean Way and kept cranking out the hits. I still got called in for the odd job, and found reasons to drop by and visit old friends, it was always a thrill to walk through those big doors and inhale that aroma -- studios have signature smells, don't they.
I showed up for the AES tour a couple of years ago, it was Cello by then and the Control Rooms looked much different, though the Studios themselves were nearly unchanged. It was great to the walk through and watch expressions on the visitors faces as they learned the history of 6000 Sunset. We even set foot in the famous echo chambers including #3, the famous "Good Vibrations" chamber where (now it can be told) I had an encounter with a beautiful young woman so long ago...
The building looked pretty rough around the edges though. Driving away, my wife and I talked about the electrical, the plumbing, the roof, the air conditioners. It must cost a fortune to maintain a big old building like that. Driving past it on Sunset, I always wondered if one day I'd see the wrecker's ball taking it down, or perhaps come back from a vacation to see a vacant lot there. There had been rumors of closings and buy outs, now this.
I'm sad to think this might be the end. Maybe new blood will come in and the place can keep working. The acoustics in those rooms are just incredible. Hearing piano or strings in Studio 1 will give you goosebumps. I hope the place survives.
See my website for some United/Western history and the old United Recording "Newsletters"
http://studioelectronics.biz/newsletter.html