Where the Band Was: Los Angeles, January 28-29, 1985 (Clyde’s Story)

After three years working at a recording studio in New York called Aura Recording, I got an offer to work at A&M Records in Los Angeles. In 1981, my wife and I packed up and moved to California. There were a lot of long nights and weekends, but I was still surprised to see all four studios and three mixing rooms blocked out for Quincy Jones on January 28 and 29. I didn’t know what the project was, but I was told I would be working on it and wouldn’t be making any overtime. A few days later, I saw a news report about an all-star recording session at an unnamed studio in Hollywood with Quincy Jones. I thought about it, then said to my wife, “I think I’m working on that.”

Eventually, we found out what we were working on. A&M was chosen for a few reasons. Studio A was one of the larger rooms in town. The other rooms could be used as dressing rooms and break rooms for the singers. A&M also had a large sound stage on the lot which could be used as a party spot for the guests of the artist, none of whom would be allowed in the studios. Finally, the piece that really sealed the deal was that A&M had their own enclosed parking lot!

January 28 was picked because it was the night of the American Music Awards and most of the artists would be in town for that.

I arrived at work at 9:00 AM for a 9 PM session. Along with all the other assistants on staff, we began setting up. The track had been recorded the previous week, so we would be doing the vocal session only. We got envelopes with badges and charts of where people would be standing for the solos and where they would be standing for the chorus. We were told we would be recording the choruses at the end of the song first, so that most of the singers could leave when they were done. We set up microphones and headsets for the large group.

Michael Jackson showed up first, a few hours before everyone else. We put up the track and cued up to Michael’s solo “We are the world” section. He sang it, then sang it again, then sang it again. This was done a few times. What you hear on the record are several Michael Jackson vocals singing “We are the world.”

Slowly, the singers started arriving after the American Music Awards. I remember the Pointer Sisters arriving early, followed by Bruce Springsteen. Bruce had been in Syracuse the night before doing a show. He flew in to L.A. and rented a car at the airport. As I said earlier, one of the reasons A&M was chosen was for the secure parking. Bruce came in and announced, “I got a great place to park. Right across the street!”

Bruce was sitting in the control room, in front of the console. Before it got too crazy, I sat down next to him and told him I’d been going to his shows since 1974. I mentioned one specific show in New Jersey in 1977. It was a Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes show at a theater in Red Bank. Southside was sick and Bruce and Steve took over and sang all the songs. Bruce smiled and said, “Ah, that was a classic.”

Finally everyone arrived and we started the vocals. Most of the assistants were in the studio, fixing broken headsets and adjusting microphones. I was in the control room with engineer Humberto Gatica and Quincy Jones. The vocal session went on for hours as different parts and harmonies were tried out. Around midnight, during a break, Diana Ross was in the control room. She looked over at me and said, “How long is this going to go on?” I was about three feet away from Quincy Jones, pointed in his direction and said, “I don’t know. Ask him.”

I have to admit, one of the highlights of the night was going to the men’s room during breaks. I’d walk in there and see Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Hall and Oates… and then there’d be me. I really couldn’t believe I was part of this.

Another highlight was getting Bob Dylan to sign my sweatshirt. Everyone got “We Are the World” sweatshirts before the session. People were going around getting autographs. I got my nerve up, walked up to Dylan as he was talking to Willie Nelson and asked him to sign my sweatshirt. He wrote his name across the entire back of my shirt, then drew lines coming out of the autograph.

When he finished, I turned and thanked him. Being a huge Dylan fan, I needed to say something. I thought of people saying they like his early stuff, they like the electric stuff, they like the later stuff. I’ve been fan through all stages so I looked at him and said, “Uh, I…. I really like everything.” Brilliant comment, wasn’t it?

Finally, the chorus part wrapped up around 2:00 AM. We set the mics up in a semicircle for the soloists. We did the first run through. Quincy Jones heard it and said it was great, so many personalities. There were three or four singers around each microphone. Around the first mic was Lionel Ritchie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Kenny Rogers. Paul Simon was significantly shorter than the other three and too low in front of the mic. Humberto turned to me and said, “Get a box for Paul Simon to stand on.” This was the last thing I wanted to do. I opened the door to the studio, found another assistant (a good friend of mine) and said, “Get a box for Paul Simon to stand on,” turned and went back in the booth. Reluctantly, my friend found a box. He was maybe fifteen feet away from Paul Simon when he was spotted. Paul Simon knew what the box was for and waved him off (at the 22:40 mark in the video below). He just stretched a little when he sang.

After we got the solos done, it was time for the vamping during the chorus. It was probably around 4:00 when Bob Dylan started his. He seemed very uncomfortable. He couldn’t get it. He and Stevie Wonder went over to the piano and worked on his part. They kept doing it over and over. Each time they did, Dylan sounded better. Finally, he did it one time and I thought to myself, “Wow! That’s Bob Dylan!”

(That’s Clyde in between Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan)

Dylan finished and it was now Bruce’s turn. Dylan and Springsteen, those were the two I’ve always listened to more than anyone else. Now I was working with them. Bruce stepped up to the mic. From where I was standing in the booth, Bruce was on the left, the mic was on the right. Positioned perfectly between them was Dylan, who stuck around to watch Bruce. Quincy Jones explained to Bruce what he wanted and we rolled tape. Bruce nailed it. When he was done, he said, “Something like that?” Quincy Jones got on the talkback and said, “Exactly like that!”

After a few more soloists, we were done. By 7:00, they were all gone. By 9:00, the mics and headsets were put away and the studio readied for the next session. The guys all got together in the A&M Studio lounge and talked about what we saw and heard during the night. Finally, 11:00 in the morning, 26 hours after I arrived at work, I went home and went to sleep.