SANTA MONICA BLVD & VINE STREET · HOLLYWOOD, CA · 1950–1984

SANTA MONICA BLVD & VINE STREET · HOLLYWOOD, CA · 1950–1984

The Studio

The Studio

A small room on a busy corner became ground zero for Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Stan Ross at the recording console, Gold Star Recording Studios
Stan Ross at the recording console, Gold Star Recording Studios
Stan Ross at the recording console, Gold Star Recording Studios

“None of us knew we were cutting history, at that time I was making a living. Now we look back and we go ‘hey, we had hits.’ It was history, music history.”

“None of us knew we were cutting history, at that time I was making a living. Now we look back and we go ‘hey, we had hits.’ It was history, music history.”

“None of us knew we were cutting history, at that time I was making a living. Now we look back and we go ‘hey, we had hits.’ It was history, music history.”

—STAN ROSS

Engineer, Co-Owner of Gold Star Recording Studios

THE HISTORY

Gold Star spanned the four most important decades in American pop music, including the turbulent ‘60s and ‘70s. Owner/pioneers Stan Ross and David Gold turned Los Angeles into ground zero for Rock ‘n’ Roll — using guerrilla tactics to build a successful business with virtually nothing except their imagination, creativity, and moxie.

There is much nostalgia around this era of the music business, but Gold Star remains one of the only LA recording studios remembered for a unique, unmistakable sound of its own — literally the “Wall of Sound” — built on a custom echo chamber and creative recording techniques found nowhere else.

THE STOREFRONT ON SANTA MONICA BLVD, HOLLYWOOD

FOUR DECADES, ONE ROOM

From Swing to the Wall of Sound

From Swing to the Wall of Sound

The musical eras this story moves through — Gold Star itself opened its doors in 1950.

Late 1940s

The Swing Era

1950s

Rockabilly & Rhythm and Blues

1960s–70s

The Evolution of Rock & Roll

Into the 1980s

Gold Star Was There Through It All

THE TWO MEN BEHIND THE WALL

Stan Ross

CO-OWNER & ENGINEER

David Gold

CO-OWNER & EQUIPMENT DESIGNER

Two very different men, one shared obsession: getting the sound right, whatever it took to build the room that could make it.

Session musicians recording at Gold Star Recording Studios

A GOLD STAR SESSION, HOLLYWOOD

IN THEIR WORDS

What It Felt Like to Be There

What It Felt Like to Be There

“Stan Ross was the Godfather of West Coast Rock N’ Roll.”

“Stan Ross was the Godfather of West Coast Rock N’ Roll.”

— Kim Fowley, Record Producer & Artist

“That’s like walking into Abbey Road and saying, oh, the Beatles recorded here.”

“That’s like walking into Abbey Road and saying, oh, the Beatles recorded here.”

— Marky Ramone, The Ramones

“Even if you weren’t working there, you knew that something good was going on at Gold Star. It was part of our lives.”

“Even if you weren’t working there, you knew that something good was going on at Gold Star. It was part of our lives.”

— Don Randi, Session Musician, The Wrecking Crew

“Gold Star just had that wonderful, wonderful, down-home vibe.”

“Gold Star just had that wonderful, wonderful, down-home vibe.”

— Bill Medley, The Righteous Brothers

“Despite the many hit singles made there, Gold Star is just as significant for the memorable albums that were produced at the studio. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass recorded their first six albums at Gold Star. Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys recorded parts of ‘Pet Sounds’ there. Spector produced the Ramones’ ‘End of the Century’ and Leonard Cohen’s ‘Death of a Ladies Man’ there.”

“Despite the many hit singles made there, Gold Star is just as significant for the memorable albums that were produced at the studio. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass recorded their first six albums at Gold Star. Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys recorded parts of ‘Pet Sounds’ there. Spector produced the Ramones’ ‘End of the Century’ and Leonard Cohen’s ‘Death of a Ladies Man’ there.”

— George Varga, Music Editor