Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American[1] record producer.
Described by Sound on Sound magazine as having "his name on more hit records than anyone else in the history of popular music",[1] he is well known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan Adams. He has mixed some of the most iconic live shows in music history, including Live Aid, The Concert for New York for 9/11, and most recently, the Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts at Wembley Stadium and The Forum. Records he mixed have won eight Grammys. His most recent nomination was for Best Immersive Audio Album, "The Savior". He has also been nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning two for Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary Special and 25th Anniversary Rock-n-Roll Concert.
As a teenager, Clearmountain had many friends who were musicians or aspirants. He loved music, and played bass guitar in a bar band, but felt he did not want to rely on these capricious beings for his career.[2] Always more interested in the technical side, Clearmountain had a makeshift studio at home equipped with a two-track reel-to-reel tape recorder, some microphones and a talkback. He also loved to make tape recordings of the band's concerts. According to an interview with Sound on Sound, Clearmountain was immediately attracted when he entered a professional recording studio for the first time.[2]
His band had been making a demo recording at Mediasound Studios on 57th Street in New York. Determined to make a career in the technical side of the music business, he visited frequently and pestered the studio for a job. He was eventually hired as a gofer.[2] Clearmountain claims that after making about two deliveries, he found staff at the office had been looking for him – they had apparently been expecting him to be working on a recording session, as an assistant engineer. The star-struck new assistant engineer found that his first session was with Duke Ellington.[2]
According to Clearmountain, he was hired as Chief Engineer at the Power Station recording studio as they were opening in around 1977, and had a say in designing the recording studios and choosing the equipment as a rock music studio.[2]
Clearmountain also played bass on the Dead Boys' first album, Young, Loud and Snotty, before Jeff Magnum rejoined the group.
Clearmountain is married to Apogee Electronics CEO Betty Bennett.[3]
About Apogee Studio: Apogee is a rare place where both music and music products are created, right here in Santa Monica. Part recording studio, product development lab, and high fidelity music venue, Apogee Studio is the child of music industry power couple Betty Bennett and Bob Clearmountain. The soulful digital audio technology at the heart of home and pro studios worldwide is produced by Apogee Electronics, a company founded and run by Bennett for over 38 years. Songs that have ascended to our worldwide music consciousness have one audio engineer in common more than almost any other, the legendary music mixer Bob Clearmountain. If you're lucky enough to get on the guest list with up to 180 other music fans for a show at Apogee, personally mixed by Bob and hosted by Betty and KCRW, it's an intimate experience you'll never forget.