| Company type | Recording studio |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 8, 1965; 59 years ago (1965-06-08) |
| Founders | Amnon "Ami" Hadani Tom Hidley |
| Defunct | 1985 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Music recording |
TTG Studios is arecording studio in Los Angeles, California, co-founded in 1965 byrecording engineersTom Hidley and Amnon "Ami" Hadani.[1]
The studio is located at 1441 North McCadden Place in theHollywood section of Los Angeles, near the intersection ofSunset Boulevard andHighland Avenue.[1] Originally the home of the HollywoodKnights of Columbus, the building was built in 1927, an active period in Hollywood, as nearby buildingsGrauman's Chinese Theatre, theHollywood Roosevelt Hotel and theHollywood Athletic Club all date from the same period. In 1960,Radio Recorders converted the ground floor billiards room and half the lounge into a recording studio to form their Sunset-Highland Division, which housed theBlue Network and other entertainment-related companies.
TTG was co-founded by Tom Hidley and Amnon "Ami" Hadani, who had both previously worked with MGM/Verve Records andA & R Recording in New York before relocating to Los Angeles in 1965 to found TTG.TTG leased 1441 North McCadden Place, converting the second story main hall into a large recording studio that could accommodate up to 100 musicians. Meticulously and innovatively designed by Hidley with a high decibel level threshold, the studio became popular with the up-and-coming rock musicians of that time, includingThe Monkees,Eric Burdon,[1]Frank Zappa andThe Mothers of Invention,[2] andAlice Cooper.[3] Burdon introducedJimi Hendrix to the studio and Hendrix "raved" about the studio's sound.[4]
TTG installed one of the first16-track tape recorders, which was custom built by co-owner Hidley, at a time when 4- or 8-track recording was still the norm. Jimi Hendrix used this machine at TTG in October 1968.[5]
TTG Studios' co-founder was Tom Hidley. He was born May 27, 1931, in Los Angeles, California.[1] As a teen, he spent long hours playing the saxophone, clarinet, and flute, until ordered to cease by his physician after a physical breakdown.[1] He then turned to non-performance aspects of music, and spent nights recording at clubs and days working at loudspeaker and tape-machine companies.[1]
In 1959, "Madman Muntz" hired Hidley to assist in the development of the firstcar stereo.[1] Among the first to own a Muntz car stereo wasFrank Sinatra, the famous singer and actor.[1] Through Sinatra's purchase, Hidley became known to a Sinatra associate Val Valentin, who invited Hildley to assist in the building of a new recording studio in New York.[1] In 1962, they built the MGM/Verve studio.[1] In 1964,Phil Ramone hired Hidley to work at his A&R studio as the audio technical manager.[1] Also employed at that time by A&R was Ami Hadani.[1] Hidley went on to foundWestlake Recording Studios in the 1970s, a facility which was highly influential in standardizing acoustic design in the recording industry and which has been used by a large number of prominent vocal artists.[6][7]
TTG co-founder Amnon "Ami" Hadani was born August 19, 1929. He was credited as Omi Hadan on some records.[8][9] Hadani's association withMGM/Verve artists preceded TTG and his work with rock groups. He engineered albums by jazzmenRay Brown andMilt Jackson, actressLainie Kazan, and location recording forstandup comicShelley Berman.
According toBruce Botnick, Hadani was a General in theIsraeli Air Force, and had to leave for weeks at a time when Israel was at war.[10]
Ami Hadani was married to actress/screenwriterEllen Weston and they had one child, Jonathan Hadani, also a Sound Engineer. They were divorced when their son was six years old. Ami remarried Christine Ermacoff, a studio cellist. Ami Hadani died on September 22, 2014, in Los Angeles.
| Album | Artist | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Popsicle[11] | Jan and Dean | March 1966 |
| Filet of Soul (album)[11] | Jan and Dean | March 1966 |
| The Golden Sword[12] | Gerald Wilson | 1966 |
| Freak Out![13] | The Mothers of Invention | June 27, 1966 |
| Animalism[12] | The Animals | November, 1966 |
| Songs for Rainy Day Lovers | Clare Fischer | 1967 (reissued in 1978 asAmerica the Beautiful) |
| Winds of Change[12] | Eric Burdon andThe Animals | September, 1967 |
| Early Morning Blues and Greens[12] | Diane Hildebrand | June, 1967 |
| Goodbye and Hello (Tim Buckley album)[12] | Tim Buckley | August, 1967 |
| Big Boss Bones[12] | Trombones Unlimited | June, 1967 |
| Absolutely Free[12] | The Mothers of Invention | May 26, 1967 |
| The Velvet Underground & Nico[12] | The Velvet Underground & Nico | March 12, 1967 |
| The Love Generation | The Love Generation | July, 1967 |
| Love Is[12] | Eric Burdon & The Animals | December, 1968 |
| Mirror Man[12] | Captain Beefheart | April, 1971 |
| Basie Straight Ahead[12] | Count Basie | January, 1968 |
| A Generation of Love | The Love Generation | January, 1968 |
| Those Were the Days[12] | Ernie Heckscher | March, 1968 |
| The Sound of the Seventies[12] | Tommy Vig Orchestra | July, 1968 |
| Patterns of Reality[12] | Andy Robinson | August, 1968 |
| Hal Frazier[12] | Hal Frazier | November, 1968 |
| Waiting for the Sun[13] | The Doors | July 3, 1968 |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience (archival recordings)[14] | Jimi Hendrix | October 29, 1968 (released September 12, 2000 ) |
| West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (archival recordings)[15] | Jimi Hendrix | October 20, 21 and 23, 1968 (released November 16, 2010) |
| TTG Studios October 1968 (unauthorized)[16] | Jimi Hendrix | October 1968 |
| Peace in Mississippi (First Rays of The Rising Sun Album)[13] | Jimi Hendrix | October 24, 1968 |
| Red House (song)[13] | Jimi Hendrix | October 29, 1968 |
| Hand Sown ... Home Grown[17] | Linda Ronstadt | March, 1969 |
| "Yes I Need Someone" / "Let Me Stay" (Buddah Records single, circa September 1968)[17] | Eire Apparent | August 26, 1968 |
| Follow Me (Original Soundtrack Album)[12] | Stu Phillips | May, 1969 |
| Sun Rise (featuringJimi Hendrix)[17] | Eire Apparent | December, 1968 |
| The Association | The Association | August, 1969 |
| Hot Rats[13] | Frank Zappa | October 10, 1969 |
| Neil Young[12] | Neil Young | November 12, 1968 |
| Right On[12] | Phil Moore Jr. | December, 1968 |
| A.B. Skhy[12] | A.B. Skhy | December, 1968 |
| Crow by Crow[12] | Crow | February, 1970 |
| Lover Man[12] | Jimi Hendrix | March 23, 1970 |
| Longbranch Pennywhistle[12] | Longbranch Pennywhistle | April, 1970 |
| So Young (Love Theme From "Zabriskie Point")[18] | Roy Orbison | March 18, 1970 |
| Sweet Gingerbread Man[18] | The Mike Curb Congregation | April 3, 1970 |
| I Call Your Name (from the MGM film "Zigzag" Soundtrack)[19] | Bobby Hatfield | April 3, 1970 |
| All You Did Was Smile (from the MGM film "Zigzag" Soundtrack)[19] | Bobby Hatfield | April 3, 1970 |
| Copperfields[12] | The Dillards | May, 1970 |
| Take It and Smile[12] | Eve | June, 1970 |
| Our Front Porch[12] | Ralph Carmichael and the Young People | July, 1970 |
| Weasels Ripped My Flesh[12] | The Mothers of Invention | August, 1970 |
| Theme From "Medical Center"[18] | Lalo Schifrin | September 18, 1970 |
| Spill the Wine[18] | Lalo Schifrin | September 18, 1970 |
| Chunga's Revenge[12] | Frank Zappa | October, 1970 |
| Sunday's Child[12] | Sunday's Child | October, 1970 |
| Slow Down[12] | Crow | January, 1971 |
| The Last Time I Saw Her | Glen Campbell | July, 1971 |
| Rainbow Bridge[12] | Jimi Hendrix | August, 1971 |
| I'm Gon' Git Myself Together[12] | Jimmy Smith | October, 1971 |
| Reformation[12] | The California Earthquake | November, 1971 |
| Sailin' Shoes[12] | Little Feat | February, 1972 |
| Let Love Live[12] | Jeremiah People | October, 1972 |
| Doing What Comes Naturally[12] | Charles Wright | January, 1973 |
| Sonlight[12] | Sonlight | March, 1973 |
| Vital Blue[12] | Blue Mitchell | June, 1973 |
| Beginning Today[13] | The Dameans | 1973 |
| Killing Me Softly[12] | Ferrante & Teicher | September, 1973 |
| The Waltons' Christmas Album[12] | The Holiday Singers | January, 1974 |
| Dino Plays Folk Musical Themes[12] | Dino with theRalph Carmichael Orchestra and Chorus | March, 1974 |
| The Entertainer[12] | Marvin Hamlisch | May, 1974 |
| ...Beautiful...Beautiful[12] | Ferrante & Teicher | August, 1974 |
| Tommy Butler[12] | Tommy Butler | December, 1974 |
| Fly On[12] | Air Pocket | February, 1975 |
| A Southern Memoir[12] | Bing Crosby | April, 1975 |
| Tales of a Courtesan (Oirantan)[12] | Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band | January, 1976 |
| Inside America[12] | Juggy Murray Jones | April, 1976 |
| Concert in Blues[12] | Willie Hutch | October, 1976 |
| We Have This Moment...Today[12] | Richard Roberts and Patti Roberts | December, 1976 |
| Bahiana[12] | Dizzy Gillespie | February, 1977 |
| A Retrospective[12] | Linda Ronstadt | June, 1977 |
| 'Twas Only Yesterday[12] | Clare Fischer | March, 1979 |
| Duality[12] | Clare Fischer | June, 1980 |
| Straight Ahead[12] | Poncho Sanchez | August, 1980 |
| I Lead a Charmed Life[12] | Russell Garcia | September, 1980 |
| Carl Burnett Quintet Plays Music of Richard Rodgers Vol. 1[12] | Carl Burnett Quintet | November, 1980 |
| Turning to Spring[12] | Howard Roberts | January, 1981 |
| Road Work Ahead[12] | Bob Magnusson featuringPeter Sprague,Bill Mays, and Jim Plank | February, 1981 |
| Westlake[12] | Bob Florence | March, 1981 |
| Lomelin[12] | Gerald Wilson | April, 1981 |
| Jazz Quintet[12] | Robert Conti feat.Mike Wofford | April, 1981 |
| Hoy-Hoy![12] | Little Feat | October, 1981 |
| Two Generations of Music[12] | Bob Magnusson featuring Daniel Magnusson | June, 1982 |
| Summer Strut[12] | Andy Simpkins | July, 1984 |
Omi Haden.
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