Gene Clair (May 6, 1940 – December 3, 2013) was an American sound engineer who, along with his brother

Roy Clair Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

, founded Clair Brothers Sound in 1966. The company was among the first to provide

sound reinforcement A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sound ...

equipment and personnel that toured with music performers. Gene and his company were involved with many important innovations in sound reinforcement. His company grew to be among the largest sound companies in the world.

Early years

Gene Clair was born in 1940 in the

Lititz, Pennsylvania Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the city of Lancaster. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named af ...

area. Gene graduated from Warwick High School in 1958. He was given awards for being one of the top athletes of his class. He received a two-year degree in Engineering from Penn State York. He started working with sound in 1955 when his father bought him and his brother a small

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

. In high school, college and afterward they started renting the PA out to bands, schools, and churches. They also expanded it with new equipment.

Birth of touring sound reinforcement

In 1966, they provided sound to

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with ...

at a local show. Their road crew was so impressed by the Clair Brothers sound system, the Clair brothers were asked to bring their equipment and provide sound for the Frankie Valli tour.An Unlikely Haven for Rock ’n’ Roll Entrepreneurs
/ref> Because of Clair Brothers success with Frankie Valli he was soon being hired to tour with Jefferson Airplane, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Elvis among others.

Growth of Clair Brothers

Gene along with his brother Roy presided over the growth of Clair Brothers during the 1970s and 1980s from a small companies to one of the leading sound companies in the US. The Clair brothers evolved the company from using standard commercial sound products to designing and manufacturing much of their own equipment. Two notable products were the S4 4-way speaker system and their 12 AM stage monitor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clair, Gene 1940 births 2013 deaths American audio engineers Penn State College of Engineering alumni People from Lititz, Pennsylvania Engineers from Pennsylvania