Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He has worked with many major acts, including

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, Toto,

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

and

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

, with whom he has a very long association.Bob Cleamountain's Associated Artists List
He has been nominated for four

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Awards and won a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

in 2007 for Best Male Pop Vocal Album for his work with engineering

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

's "MTV Unplugged". He has also won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and he has won seven

TEC Awards The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings, ...

for "Best Recording Engineer", two others for "Best Broadcast Engineer", one special "Les Paul Award" and a Monitor Award for the Rolling Stones' ''

Voodoo Lounge ''Voodoo Lounge'' is the 20th British and 22nd American studio album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since th ...

'' pay-per-view show. He is married to

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CEO, Betty Bennett.

Biography

As a teenager, Clearmountain had many friends who were musicians or aspirants. He loved music, and played bass guitar in a bar band, but felt he did not want to rely on these capricious beings for his career. Always more interested in the technical side, Clearmountain had a makeshift studio at home equipped with a two-track reel-to-reel tape recorder, some microphones and a talkback. He also loved to make tape recordings of the band's concerts. According to an interview with ''Sound on Sound'', Clearmountain was immediately attracted when he entered a professional recording studio for the first time."Master Mixer Bob Clearmountain"
''Sound on Sound'', June 1999 His band had been making a demo recording at Mediasound Studios on 57th Street in New York. Determined to make a career in the technical side of the music business, he visited frequently and pestered the studio for a job. He was eventually hired as a

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term ...

. Clearmountain claims that after making about two deliveries, he found staff at the office had been looking for him – they had apparently been expecting him to be working on a recording session, as an assistant engineer. The star-struck new assistant engineer found that his first session was with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

. According to Clearmountain, he was hired as Chief Engineer at the Power Station (now Avatar Studios) as they were opening in around 1977, and had a say in designing the recording studios and choosing the equipment as a rock music studio. Clearmountain also played bass on

the Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. ...

' first album, ''

Young, Loud and Snotty ''Young, Loud and Snotty'' is the first studio album by the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, produced by Genya Ravan. The album is the only Dead Boys album to chart, peaking at 189 on the Billboa ...

'', before Jeff Magnum rejoined the group. On September 3rd, 2022, Clearmountain recorded and mixed the live broadcast of the Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute concert from Wembley Stadium. On September 27th, he recorded the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at the Los Angeles Forum.

As mixer/producer

Clearmountain has worked with many of the biggest names in music, having, for example, mixed Springsteen's ''

Born in the U.S.A. ''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on June 4, 1984. It topped the charts in nine countries, including the US and UK, becoming his most commercially su ...

'', The Rolling Stones' ''

Tattoo You ''Tattoo You'' is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 24 August 1981 by Rolling Stones Records. The album is mostly composed of studio outtakes recorded during the 1970s, an ...

'', and having produced or mixed extensively for

since 1981. He cites works he is most proud of are

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

's first solo album, '' Whatever''; albums by Australian band Crowded House, ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' by Squeeze and ''

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

'' by Roxy Music (1982). He also mixed

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's 1983 album '' Let's Dance''. Live at El Mocambo boxed set 2022 remix He has been nominated for four

Awards and won a

in 2007 for Best Male Pop Vocal Album for his work with engineering "

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

" for Ricky Martin. He has also won an

and he has won seven

for "Best Recording Engineer", two others for "Best Broadcast Engineer", one special "Les Paul Award" and a Monitor Award for the Rolling Stone's ''

'' pay-per-view show.

Selection of his work as a Mixer

* Bryan Adams' ''

You Want It You Got It ''You Want It, You Got It'' is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, released on 21 July 1981 by A&M Records. Background and recording This was the album that established the sound that Adams has retained throug ...

'', ''

Cuts Like a Knife ''Cuts Like a Knife'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Released on 18 January 1983 by A&M Records, the album was a huge commercial success in the United States and Canada. Three singles were released worldwide ...

'', '' Reckless'' and '' Into the Fire'' albums *

Jonatha Brooke Jonatha Brooke (born January 23, 1964) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a ...

's
Steady Pull
' and '' Careful What You Wish For'' albums * The Church's 1982 album ''

The Blurred Crusade ''The Blurred Crusade'' is the second album by the Australian alternative rock band the Church, released in March 1982 by EMI Parlophone. Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. Moving away from the new wave leanings of their d ...

'' *

's 1983 album '' Let's Dance'' *

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

' 1984 album ''

Big Bam Boom ''Big Bam Boom'' is the twelfth studio album by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, released by RCA Records on October 12, 1984. It marked the end of one of the most successful album runs by a duo of the 1980s. RCA issued a remastered versi ...

'' *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's ''

Tripping the Live Fantastic ''Tripping the Live Fantastic'' is Paul McCartney's first official solo live album and his first release of concert material since Wings' 1976 ''Wings over America'' live package. It was released in 1990 as triple LP, double cassette and double ...

'' album *

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

' ''

Get Close ''Get Close'' is the fourth studio album by rock band the Pretenders, released on 20 October 1986 in the United Kingdom by Real Records and on 4 November 1986 in the United States by Sire Records. The album contains the band's two highest-ch ...

'' album * Simple Minds' ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...

'' album *

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's '' Join Together'' album *

Michael Stanley Band Michael Stanley (born Michael Stanley Gee; March 25, 1948 – March 5, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio and television personality. Both as a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), his brand of heartland r ...

's 1983 ''

You Can't Fight Fashion ''You Can't Fight Fashion'' is the final major-label album by the rock band Michael Stanley Band. The album was the band's highest charting album reaching #64 on the Billboard Magazine Top 200 in late 1983 and staying there for almost three wee ...

'' album *The album documenting the

Woodstock '94 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was r ...

concert in Saugerties, NY *The Silencers' ''Rock'' N''' ''Roll Enforcers'' album (1980) *Crowded House:temple of the low men album (1988)

References

External links

Bob Clearmountain's homepage

"Bob Clearmountain: Master Mixer" Sound on Sound

Bob Clearmountain Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clearmountain, Bob 1953 births Living people Record producers from Connecticut Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Emmy Award winners American audio engineers Mixing engineers