John Palladino (March 29, 1920 – December 20, 2014) was a

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

producer and A&R executive. His most notable recordings were with

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, but he also edited records by

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 ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, and as an A&R man oversaw recordings by the Band and

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

, among others. He was considered a pioneering recording engineer, being one of the earliest engineers to perfect recordings with analog tape, and developing several new recording techniques.

Early life

Palladino was born on March 29, 1920, in

Ashley, Pennsylvania Ashley is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, one mile (2 km) from Wilkes Barre. The population was 2,588 at the 2020 census. History Ashley was first settled in 1830. Forty years later, in 1870, it was incorporated as a borough. It wa ...

but his family moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

when he was two years old. Palladino studied architecture at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

but also played in a band, and learned how to record in the college's radio station and LACC's recording studio. From 1940 to 1942 Palladino served in the Army Air Force, where he was an arranger and later a radio operator before being discharged due to illness and returning to Los Angeles. In 1941, he found work at

Radio Recorders Radio Recorders, Inc. was an American recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s and 1950s, Radio Recorders was one of the largest independent recording studios in the world. Notable musicians recorded at Radio Recorder ...

, which recorded radio shows for delayed broadcast. where he met his future wife, Evelyn Blanchard, who did disc dubbing, tape editing, and later was a recording engineer.

Capitol years

Palladino left Radio Recorders for

not long after it opened in 1949. He was promoted to album producer for Capitol Records in 1956. Palladino used a small-studio technique, close-miking musicians and using equalization and reverberation to get sounds. he did not always agree with the move in the 1960s towards multitracking and overdubbing instruments one at a time, preferring to record all the musicians playing live simultaneously. Palladino gained a reputation as a pioneer of developing new recording technology, including the use of

Ampex Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name AMPEX is a portmanteau, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence.AbramsoThe History ...

recording tape, the creation of the "duophonic sound" system, and twin pack tape cartridges. He was also in demand as a tape editor, where he would re-edit or shorten tracks on albums. These included Paul McCartney and Wings' "

Band on the Run ''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released in December 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initially ...

" and "

Silly Love Songs "Silly Love Songs" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was written by Paul and Linda McCartney. The song first appeared in March 1976 on the album ''Wings at the Speed of Sound,'' then it was released as a single backed with ...

", Little River Band's "It's A Long Way There" and he removed profanity from the single of Pink Floyd's "Money". As well as engineering and producing, Palladino joined the A&R department of Capitol Records in 1959 and was promoted to director of A&R Recording in 1976. As an A&R man he worked with artists such as

, Steve Miller, Sons of Champlin, and

Joy of Cooking ''Joy of Cooking'', often known as "''The Joy of Cooking''", is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks. It has been in print continuously since 1936 and has sold more than 20 million copies. It was published privately during 1931 by ...

Awards

Before the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences began awarding

Grammy Awards 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 pres ...

in 1959, Palladino received a special recognition for ''

In the Wee Small Hours ''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra. It was released in April 1955 by Capitol and produced by Voyle Gilmore with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. All the songs on the album deal with themes suc ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palladino, John 1920 births 2014 deaths American audio engineers Record producers from Pennsylvania Place of death missing Early Recording Engineers (1930-1959) 20th-century American engineers Capitol Records Los Angeles City College alumni People from Ashley, Pennsylvania