Toby Scott
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Toby Warren Scott is an American record producer, engineer and sound mixer. In addition to serving as an engineer on 18 Bruce Springsteen albums and numerous live performances, Scott has also recorded artists including
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, Natalie Merchant,
Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...
, Bette Midler,
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...
,
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and
Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...
.


Early life and music career

Born in 1948, Scott attended high school in
Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...
, where he began playing guitar and piano, and he later joined a rock band as bass player on the local garage and party circuit. He became a music major in college while continuing to play in bands, and started managing and producing several local acts, acquiring contracts and recording their music in studios. Scott moved to Los Angeles in 1975, where he was hired at Clover Studios. After two years, he had become the Chief Engineer and Co-Manager of Clover.


Association with Bruce Springsteen

A milestone in Scott's career occurred in Spring 1978, when
Chuck Plotkin Charles Richard Plotkin (born September 8, 1942) is a recording engineer and producer, best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Recording engineer Plotkin has recorded, engineered, mastered and produced albums by Bruce Spri ...
asked him to remix a song for one of his clients, Bruce Springsteen, for ''
Darkness on the Edge of Town ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' is the fourth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album marked the end of a three-year gap between albums brought on by contractu ...
''. "After we spent one or two days on it, we sequenced the record and had it mastered", Toby recounted. The song, " Prove It All Night", was also released as the first single. Springsteen returned to Clover Studios with co-producer Plotkin in May 1980, to mix his fifth album, '' The River''. 25 songs were mixed for the album, plus additional tracks designated as "b-sides" for single releases. After the album was released, Springsteen asked Scott to perform the remote recording for 30 shows during the course of his 1980-81 US tour. After mixing Gary U.S. Bonds' '' On the Line'' album in March 1982, for which Springsteen wrote seven songs and co-produced them with
Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...
, Scott was asked to fly to New York to mix Van Zandt's first album, ''Men Without Women'', and to begin recording Springsteen's seventh album. "From noon until six, I was working at
the Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...
, mixing Steve Van Zandt, and then from seven until one in the morning I was with Bruce at The
Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...
, recording basic tracks", Scott explained. Eventually, Steve was so excited by the work Scott was doing with the mixes and the perspective, he wrote four more songs to record and mix, which extended Scott's trip to New York to four months. For the ''
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
'' album, Scott was tasked with transferring the ''Nebraska'' demos from a cassette Springsteen had carried in his pocket for three months, to a higher quality tape for mastering. "The album sounds the way it does because of all those factors, the multiple tapes, the dirty heads...it's all part of the overall atmosphere that Bruce liked about the songs", said Toby, after he had completed the task. Scott moved permanently to the Big Apple in the Fall of 1983. Recording sessions for Springsteen's seventh album extended to March 1984, finally released in June with the title, ''
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 ...
'' Continuing independent projects in New York and Los Angeles, he also recorded many live Springsteen shows on tour during 1984–1985. In late 1986, Scott began putting together Thrill Hill Recording, a studio built inside a garage apartment in New Jersey. That was completed, and recording began on the '' Tunnel of Love'' in January 1987. By this time, both men acknowledged Scott's responsibilities were now devoted exclusively to Springsteen. While Springsteen took his band and entourage on the
Tunnel of Love Express Tour The Tunnel of Love Express was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and featuring The E Street Band along with The Horns of Love that took place in 1988. It was followed by a four and a half months of the release of Springsteen's October 198 ...
in 1988, Scott headed to the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills to upgrade the Thrill Hill West facilities. Scott was responsible for selecting materials and electronics, hiring specialists, and jumping back on a plane anytime he was needed. On January 6, 1991, Scott established permanent residence in
Whitefish, Montana Whitefish ( Salish: epɫx̣ʷy̓u, "has whitefish") is a town in Flathead County, Montana, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, there were 7,751 people in the town. History Long before the first Europeans came to Whitefish ...
, then continued commuting to the West or East Coasts to join Springsteen regularly. This association continued with his role evolving to include “Production Supervisor” on albums Springsteen used an alternate engineer. In addition, Scott continued directing the archiving of Springsteen's extensive audio and video catalog and mixing concerts for release as “The Archive Concert Series” for download from the Springsteen website.


Current career

In late 2017, by mutual agreement, Scott parted company with Springsteen. Currently, Scott is a freelance engineer and mixer, working out of his Cabin 6 studio in Whitefish, Montana. He has recently mixed and recorded a number of artists in country, rock, pop, jazz and classical. He is currently involved in a film-scoring project that is soon to be completed at Skywalker Ranch.


References


External links


Toby Scott Audio

Cabin 6 Recording
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Allmusic info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Toby 1948 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American audio engineers People from Santa Barbara, California People from Whitefish, Montana