Sinatra's Capitol mixer John Palladino: "Have Mike, Will Record" -UPDATE: John has passed away*

Bob F · Jul 12, 2010

From the The Santa Clarita Valley Signal:

John Palladino: Have mike, will record

Unassuming resident of Friendly Valley looks back on 40-year studio career

By Stephen K. Peeples
Signal Online Editor
Posted: July 11, 2010 8:23 p.m.

Longtime Friendly Valley resident John Palladino was a recording engineer and producer for Capitol Records for more than 40 years, and engineered dozens of Frank Sinatra sessions for the label between 1953-1962.

Part 1 of 2

Friendly Valley residents know 90-year-old John Palladino as one of the community’s founding fathers and board members who’s lived there since 1970, even before its conversion to a retirement haven for Santa Clarita Valley seniors.

And parishioners at St. Clare’s Catholic Church in nearby Canyon Country know Palladino as the bright-eyed, spry guy who volunteers with other seniors at Mass and afterward shoots pool with the guys for grins.

But not everyone knows the role Palladino played as a top sound recording engineer in Hollywood for more than four decades, from the early 1940s to the early 1980s.

He spent many of those years at Capitol Records’ studios in Hollywood, as he and his contemporaries developed a crisp, well-rounded sound that was the envy of other labels and studios.

Palladino’s career spanned the eras of wax and acetate monophonic recordings to multitracking and the dawn of stereo and digital recording.

[more]

For more on Sinatra’s Capitol sessions and Palladino’s later sessions, see Part 2 of this story next Monday.
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(Be sure to check out all of the photos.)

Ere · Jul 12, 2010

Very cool story, thanks for posting!

dale 88 · Jul 12, 2010

Thanks, and I love seeing those shots of Radio Recorders.

MLutthans · Jul 12, 2010

Wow! Thanks, Bob!!!! (You made my day with this.)

Matt

MLutthans · Jul 12, 2010

I've got a bunch of those 16" discs with the exact same labels in my garage...and to think that two Palladinos may have been involved with their production. That is so cool. Thanks again, Bob!

Ere · Jul 12, 2010

It's totally cool that he met his wife - also a recording engineer - there. Bet there are some interesting stories from her.

ArneW · Jul 12, 2010

Ere said: ↑

It's totally cool that he met his wife - also a recording engineer - there. Bet there are some interesting stories from her.
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The article implies that Evelyn Palladino already died some years ago (unless they split at a really old age).

Steve Hoffman · Jul 12, 2010

That's a beautiful picture with Lee Gillette.

Ere · Jul 12, 2010

Yes. Nonetheless, they must have had some very interesting times.... do you suppose that female engineers were hired during the war?

MMM · Jul 13, 2010

Great to see an article published about John, and the pictures of him now and then. I'll call him after Part 2 comes out next week.

Thanks for posting, Bob.

stevelucille · Jul 13, 2010

Very cool! Looking forward to part 2!

Bob F · Jul 19, 2010

John Palladino: Have mikes, will record (Part 2 of 2)

Former producer recalls engineering sessions for Frank Sinatra, among others

By Stephen K. Peeples
Signal Online Editor
Updated: July 18, 2010 8:26 p.m.

John Palladino lines up a shot on the pool table at St. Clare's Catholic Church, where the former Capitol Records engineer and producer volunteers most days.

John Palladino was a Capitol Records staff producer by early 1971, when he was checking out artwork for Quicksilver Messenger Service's "What About Me" album and reading John Lennon's infamous "Working Class Hero" interview with Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner.

John Palladino (left) and Lee Gillette engineer "Tone Poems of Color," the first recording at Capitol Studios in the tower on Vine Street in Hollywood. Frank Sinatra conducted sessions for the instrumental album in Studio B.

Frank Sinatra cuts loose recording a track for the "Sinatra's Swingin' Sessions!!!" album with arranger Nelson Riddle in Studio A at the Capitol Tower in 1961.

John Palladino's favorite car is his 1970 Porsche 911, which he keeps garaged at home in Friendly Valley.

Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 last Monday, we covered John Palladino's early career as a top Hollywood recording engineer. We left off as he began to recall engineering many of the historic Frank Sinatra sessions for Capitol Records between 1953-1962. That's where we'll pick up today.

[more]
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Great read! Palladino's descriptions of Sinatra and working at Capitol are priceless.

Bob F · Jul 19, 2010

Seeing a 90-year-old guy standing next to his Porsche 911 gives me hope for the future!

Ere · Jul 19, 2010

Another great read, thanks.

MMM said: ↑

Great to see an article published about John, and the pictures of him now and then. I'll call him after Part 2 comes out next week.
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I'd love to hear any anecdotes he has about recording Nat and the trio, or Peggy Lee - and how common or uncommon it was for women to be working as engineers then...

Sneaky Pete · Jul 19, 2010

Great article thanks for the link.

Bob F · Jul 19, 2010

ArneW said: ↑

The article implies that Evelyn Palladino already died some years ago (unless they split at a really old age).
Click to expand...

Part 2 answers that:

Palladino's wife of 48 years, Evelyn, died in 1999, but her son and his stepson, Hal Blanchard is alive and well, as are John's sisters Rose and Marie and brother Anthony (their fifth sibling, James, was a B-24 pilot killed during World War II). Palladino also has four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, some of whom are just learning about his illustrious past.

Looking back down his long and winding road, Palladino is glad he wasn't in any other profession.

"To me, anyone in the music business when I started was very fortunate," he said. "That kind of career, and being in that environment - it was like, ‘How can I enjoy my work so much and still get paid for it?' There is no better job in the world than one where you can make music and get paid."
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I love that closing quotation.

ROLO46 · Jul 19, 2010

In England wartime studio managers were all women.

MMM · Jul 20, 2010

Very cool to see John with his Porsche. Love it...

Steve Hoffman · Jul 20, 2010

Hey Martin,

In 1982 or so I got an acetate from Capitol that was a "Beatles Medley". The note was signed by John Palladino. I guess he engineered it or something.

Was this ever actually released? I know the Medley craze was around then but I have no idea...

Dugan · Jul 20, 2010

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

Hey Martin,

In 1982 or so I got an acetate from Capitol that was a "Beatles Medley". The note was signed by John Palladino. I guess he engineered it or something.

Was this ever actually released? I know the Medley craze was around then but I have no idea...
Click to expand...

I'm not Martin but I can answer this. That's The Beatles Movie Medley released in conjunction with Capitiol/EMI's REEL MUSIC comp. It peaked at #12 on Billboard.

MLutthans · Dec 18, 2010

Here's a photo from 1959 of (standing) Lee Gillette and John Palladino. Anybody know who the seated gentleman is? This is from a Stan Kenton live recording for which Gillette and Palladino are credited as producers, but there's no engineering credit, at least on the original LP that I have.

Matt

MLutthans · Dec 18, 2010

Regarding the photo above, my pal Dave Dintenfass at Full Track Productions says:

Hi Matt,

I see an Ampex 300 transport in a portable case plus another case with three
Ampex 350 electronics, so am guessing they did 3-track (this would have been
the first 300-3 setup; the later 300-3 machines used special Ampex 351
electronics introduced in 1958). There is an Ampex 600 or 601 on a table,
possibly for a mono recording or maybe for testing purposes. I don't
recognize the monitor amps and a few other items.

Interesting!

-dave
Click to expand...

McLover · Dec 18, 2010

And Dave Dintenfass is an expert on all things Ampex. He's also a member on the Ampex listserve.

MMM · Jan 28, 2012

A follow-up and related article to Stephen Peeples' two original pieces on the great John Palladino:

http://www.the-signal.com/archives/31868/

http://www.the-signal.com/archives/32423/

McLover · Jan 28, 2012

John Palladino is still one of my top favorite recording engineer of all time.

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Sinatra's Capitol mixer John Palladino: "Have Mike, Will Record" -UPDATE: John has passed away*

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Sinatra's Capitol mixer John Palladino: "Have Mike, Will Record" -UPDATE: John has passed away*

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