spotlight

A space heater ended an as-

tonishing era at Caribou Ranch

outsideNederland.

The 1985 fire caused by the

overheated appliance closed a

studiothatwashometomanyof

the biggest pop music record-

ings of the ’70s and early ’80s.

From Elton John to Joe Walsh,

Chicago to Earth, Wind & Fire,

U2 to John Lennon, the ranch

hosted and recorded a who’s

who that generated sales of

more than 100 million albums

combined.Alongtheway,every-

onehad a lotof fun.

Now owner James Guercio

has swung the ranch’s gates

open for the first time since the

fire to tell the Rocky’s Mark

Brown the story of the legend-

ary studio that got its start after

amissedflight..8

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James Guercio first saw theRocky Mountains in the ’60s, whiletouringasaguitaristforChad&Jer-emy, when disc jockey Hal Mooretook him to Central City. (“I walkedthe streets of Central City andlooked at the trees and the moun-tains. I said someday this would bewhere to live.”) Later, as a produc-er in New York and Los Angeles,confining union rules about whathe could and couldn’t do behindthemixing deskfrustratedhim.

James Guercio: They’dunion-izedthe studios. Icouldn’t touch abutton.TheyheardI wascueingstuff sothey puta unionstewardinand threatenedto fine me. Iwas19and I justsaid, this isnot thecreative process.

In1968Ihad beenup in BillingsandBozeman and found areallyprettyranch.Wewent into this bar;Ihad kindalong hair. I think it wasinBigfork.Theseguyssaid, ‘You’rebuyingthatranch and building astudio?We’llgive you ahaircutwitha chainsaw.’You can’t makethatup. Itwas like Deliverance.

Guerciobecame close withTexasentrepreneur LaytonHum-phrey,who helped searchfor aranch.The pairwerestrandedatthe oldStapleton airport in ’69when theymissed a connection.

Guercio:Hesays, ‘Youknow,rightoutside ofBouldermyuncleownedthe prettiest ranch when Iwasa kid, buthe sold it a longtimeago.’ . . . Wedrove in here, andtherewere peopleeverywhere. Aquick-drawcontest. A barbecue.Horses.Tents. Five hundredto1,000 people, cars everywhere.Andeverything was paintedturquoise. Itwas goingto be (asubdivision)called the CaribouRanchCountry Club Estates.

Laytonsaid, ‘That’s the rightplace. It’sgot a college.They’renotgoingto cut yourhair witha

chainsaw. . . andyou’re an hourfromStapleton.’

It tookGuerciotwo years topurchasethe main ranch.

Kenny Passarelli: Jimmywasaworkingmusicianfromthe start.He’sa guy who’sa visionary fromwayback. (Hebuilt Caribou) fromamusician’spoint ofview. Hewantedaplace wherehecould liveand atthesame timedosome recording.

Guercio: Iwasatapoint inmylifewithhuge successandIsaid, ‘Youknow,peopleare going toconformtomyenvironment. I’m notgoingtoconformto theirs.’ Theyall refused—Chicago,all theseguys. ‘We’re notgoing upto themountains.’ Theyeventually did,but when I firststartedIhada lotof resistance.

Richie Furay: Itwasquitetheplace. Jimmytookcare ofyou. Ilivedabout threemiles fromCari-boufor a long time.Theonething Irememberis the mealswereincredible. It was five-stardiningupthere. Andthe studio itself,youwere isolated.You werethere to dobusiness.You were thereto work.

Passarelli: It turnedintosome-thingwaybeyondbelief, adestina-tionrecordingspot. Thosedidn’texist.

ProducerBill Szymczykand JoeWalshwerethe first touse thestudio, bothhaving justmoved toColorado.

Szymczyk: IwaslivinginLosAngeles in ’71 when the earth-quakehit . . . to me that wasa sign.

Walsh:After theearthquakehejust freaked outand movedtoColorado.

Szymczyk:Walshcamethroughwith The JamesGang.Hesaid, ‘I’m thinking aboutquittingthe band andstarting a solocareer.’ I said, ‘Moveouthere.’ I’mnotsure how he foundNederland,tobe honest withyou. Hejust

wantedtobe as isolatedas possi-ble.Weknew (Guercio)wasbuilding(a studio). ‘OhmyGod, astudiohere,how nicewould thatbe?’Wewentover whenhewasinthebeginningstages of it.

Guerciogavestudio designerTomHidley amandateto makethebigbarn atCariboutheworld’sbestrecordingfacility.

Guercio: I said,‘Tom, I’llgive youcarteblanche.’ Hejustdidthehayloft —thecontrol roomandthemonitors.He wasthetopdesigner inthecountry.

Walsh:Theyhadoneroomdone,stillworkingon theother.That’swhen I formedtheband Barnstorm.Wewere thefirstalbumthatcame outofCaribouRanch.

The 1972 sessionsnearlyderailedwhenGuercioheadedtoHollywoodto pro-duceanddirect theRobertBlakemovie, “ElectraGlideinBlue.”

Szymczyk:Hewasgoingtoputiton holdagoodsix, eight months.Joeand I justganged upon himandsaid, ‘No, no,no, no, yougetsomethingin here forus.’He wentawaytodo hismovie andJoe andI

movedin.

Caribouhadyet to become aluxuryrecordingsite, though.

Passarelli: Wewererecordingwhenthebarnwas being complet-ed.Wewere(urinating) downtheelevatorshaft.

Szymczyk:Wewereonourown.Therewas no maintenanceguy.No

studiomanager.Nothing.Thebuild-ingswerethere buttheyhadn’t beenrefurbished.Therewasa messhall fromwhenit was awork-ingranchbut therewasno one there tocook.We showed upwithour lunch.

Walsh:Therewasagreat artisticcommunity in thosedaysaroundDenver.TommyBolin wasaliveand well.(Stephen)Stills wasinColoradowithManassas.RichieFurayfrom BuffaloSpringfieldwasthere.Awhole

bunchof folks. It was arealcre-ativetime forall ofus.

Guerciobrought in a$250,000custom-madeOlivemixingboardthatwasn’t reliable.

Guercio:TheOlivewasway

Continued on next page

After a 1985 fire closed the recording studio,some people thought Caribou Ranch shut down.But it remained a working cattle operation whereownerJimGuercioraisedhisfamily,keptalowpro-file and concentrated on other business interests.

Now, some of those businesses are being man-agedbyhischildrenandGuercio ismovingbackin-tomusicwiththeupcomingreissueofaDennisWil-son album, Pacific Ocean Blue. The time seemedright to end his silence and reopen the gates to theranch near Nederland that once hosted artists

ranging from Joe Walsh to Elton John, StephenStills to Michael Jackson, and produced recordsthatsold in excess of 100million copiescombined.

So on a recent wintry day Guercio, Kenny Pas-sarelli (bassist for John and Walsh, among others)and longtime ranch manager John Carsello sat nearacracklingblaze inthe lodgetorecall threedecadesof music history. Rocky pop music writer MarkBrown spoke with several other musicians, includ-ing Walsh and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Po-co),about their memories to fill in this recollection.

John Lennon spent part of his famous “lost weekend”there. Michael Jackson did some recording for Bad. BillyJoel penned New York State of Mind. And Stevie Wonder?

Well, he drove a car up at the famous Caribou studio.

RockyMountainNews.com

Reliving the ranch

STAKING A CLAIMHow a stubbornrecord producer

found a musical paradise

FIRST NOTESAn earthquake resultsin a seismic shift in the

recording landscape

$16,000The rate for aweek of record-ing at CaribouRanch in the ’70s.Included: unlim-ited use of thestudio and ranchfacilities (snow-mobiling, horse-back riding), aswell as room andboard for up to10 people. Notincluded: record-ing tape andlong-distancephone calls.

“It was always a big adventure. Theyhad the mess hall, then all those littlecabins. Horses. We had nice chilledFrench wine in our saddlebags, herds ofelk, galloping out in the countryside.Sometimes they’d light a big bonfire. Itwas very much like summer camp.”Henry Diltz, legendary rock photographer, about the ’70s recording

sessions he shot at Caribou Ranch

Caribou Ranch owner James Guerciowould like a book written about theranch,but it shouldreally be abouthim.

The Chicago native, 62, picked up theguitar at 5, playing traditional Italian mu-sic for Sunday dinner. He later touredwith Dick Clark’s traveling rock revue,wrote hits for Chad & Jeremy, producedthe Grammy Award-winning album oftheyearforBlood,Sweat&TearsandChi-cago’sbiggesthits.

He revived the Beach Boys in the ’70s,founded Country Music Television and is

a major landowner in Colorado and Mon-tana.He also has his hand in cattle ranch-ing, as well as energy and mineral invest-ments. On the side, Guercio has amassedone of the world’s largest private collec-tionsofGen.George Custer’spapers.

Guercio has been married more than30 years to the former Lucy Angle, a ’60sand ’70s supermodel who appeared onthe covers of Elle, Mademoiselle, Lookand more. She does extensive volunteerwork for groups that range from Mealson Wheels to the Center of the American

West.Youngest son Peter Guercio is a junior

at the University of Colorado. Will Guercio,28, handles the real estate and develop-ment portions of the Guercio empire; hebrokered the first subdivision approved inNederlandin25 years.

Daughter Kate graduated from DukeUniversity, was a talent agent in Holly-wood for years, then came home for herMBA and now is chief operating officer ofGuercio’sCaribou holdings.

“My role is to put myself out of work,”

Jim Guerciosaid.Caribou Records is being revived with

the March reissue of the late Beach Boysmember Dennis Wilson’s only solo al-bum, Pacific Ocean Blue, with a seconddisc ofunreleasedWilson songs.

“It’s the only piece of Beach Boys workthat somebody else owns (besides theBeachBoys),” Guerciosaid.

Caribou Films also is gearing up to pro-duce movies from Ivan Doig (The WhistlingSeason) and Les Roberts (The Irish SportsPages),with scriptsnearly complete.

JAVIER MANZANO/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

James Guercio, with his daughter Kate inside the ranch’s main lodge, has a variety of business interests outside the music industry.

See for yourselfn Take a video tour of CaribouRanch with James Guercio andranch manager John Carsello.

n The Rocky’s Mark Brown discussesthe studio in a video.n View an audio slideshow of albums shot atthe ranch, and listen tomusic recorded there.

By Laressa Bachelor/Rocky Mountain News

cover story the legend of caribou

Stories by Mark Brownn Rocky Mountain News

A musical timelineSelected albums recorded ormixed at Caribou Ranch:n Barnstorm, 1972, Joe Walshn The Smoker You Drink thePlayer You Get, 1973, Joe Walsh,(single, Rocky Mountain Way)n Down the Road, 1973, Manas-sas, with Stephen Stills (single,Isn’t It About Time)n All American Boy, 1973, RickDerringer (single, Rock ’n’ RollHootchie Koo)n Chicago VI, 1973, Chicago,(singles, Feelin’ Stronger EveryDay, Just You ’N’ Me)n Caribou, 1974, Elton John

n Chicago VII, 1974 (single,Wishin’ You Were Here)n Captain Fantastic and theBrown Dirt Cowboy, 1975, EltonJohnn Trouble in Paradise, 1975,Souther-Hillman-Furay Bandn Open Our Eyes, 1975, EarthWind and Fire, included the songCariboun That’s the Way of the World,1975, Earth Wind and Firen One Size Fits All, 1975, FrankZappan Blue Sky, Night Thunder, 1975,Michael Martin Murphey (single,Wildfire)n Illegal Stills, 1976, Stephen Stills

n Hideaway, 1976, American A Night on the Town 1976, RodStewart (single, Tonight’s theNight)n Chicago X, 1976 (single, If YouLeave Me Now)n Wired, 1976, Jeff Beckn Home is Where the Heart Is,1976, David Cassidyn Even in the Quietest Moments,1977, Supertramp (single, Give aLittle Bit)n Simple Things, 1977, CaroleKingn Pacific Ocean Blue, 1977, Den-nis Wilsonn Nether Lands, 1977, Dan Fogel-berg

n I’ve Always Been Crazy, 1978,Waylon Jenningsn Phoenix, 1979, Dan Fogelbergn L.A.(Light Album), 1979, BeachBoysn Horizon, 1980, Eddie Rabbit(singles, Drivin’ My Life Away, ILove a Rainy Night)n To the Bone, 1981, Kris Kristof-fersonn Age to Age, 1982, Amy Grantn Young Blood, 1983, Carl Wilsonn Christmas Album, 1983, AmyGrantn Michael Jackson recording forBad, 1984n Unguarded, 1985, Amy Grant

Top: A rainbow hovers over the barn that wasconverted into a studio at Caribou Ranch.Above, center: Stephen Stills, who often recordedat the ranch, was photographed with his guitarsduring a break in a ’70s recording session.Above: Carl Wilson recorded two solo albums, aBeach Boys album and sessions with Chicago.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CARIBOU RANCH

More memoriesn John Lennon visited to record with Elton John..10n Musicians looking to blow off steam went down to thePioneer Inn to jam and party..11n The land where the ranch sits has had many lives..11

“Theone thing I remember is themealswere incredible. It was five-stardiningup there. And the studio itself,youwere isolated.You were there todo business. Youwere there to work.” Richie Furay, of Buffalo Springfield

Music isn’t only thing Caribou’s Guercio has turned to gold

.Caribou Ranch managerJohn Carsello, on the porch ofthe mess hall, says musicianswould just show up. “TheIn-a-Gadda-Da-Vida guys,Iron Butterfly, were sittingout there one day when I wasdriving out. They said, ‘Hey,you think we can get in here?’I brought ’em in.”

JAVIER MANZANO/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

On thecoverChicago VI,Supertramp’sEven in theQuietest Mo-ments, EltonJohn’s Caribouand U2’s LiveUnder a BloodRed Sky wereall worked onat CaribouRanch.

ALBUMSCOURTESY OFTWIST & SHOUT

8 SPOTLIGHT ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS SATURDAY 1/26/08 SPOTLIGHT 9

By the mid ’70s, the staff at CaribouRanch was pretty blasé about having bignamesaround.ButwhenJohnLennonvis-ited for four days in July 1974, everyonestruggledtokeep their cool.

“It was very funny. There were a lotof stars up here,” said ranch managerJohnCarsello. “But whenJohn came up,weallcouldn’t believe it.”

It was during Lennon’s 14-month“Lost Weekend,” when he was separat-ed from Yoko Ono and included his infa-mous ejection from the Troubadour fordrunkenlyheckling the SmothersBroth-ers. He was accompanied to Caribou bygirlfriend May Pang for a long weekendto add guitar and vocal to Elton John’stakeonLucy in theSky With Diamonds.

“We had a great time,” Pang said in arecent phone interview. “John enjoyedthat. It wasn’t his show. He could do itforsomeone elsethen walk away.”

It was a nice break for Lennon, par-ticularly because the U.S. governmentwas trying to have him deported for hisantiwar stance. “It was at the time hewas trying to get his green card andthey were trying to throw him out,”

Carsello said. “I remember him saying,‘Yeah, I hope they let me stay in NewYork. It remindsme ofhome.’ ”

Certainly the Caribou staff made Len-nonfeelat home,Pangsaid.“Everybodymade us feel really comfortable. Eltonwanted to be sure that John had fun.That’sexactly whatJohn did have.”

“The boss said whatever John want-ed, let’s make sure he gets it — the bossmeaning Elton,” Pang continued. “Youcould see everyone was all excited andtheywereafraid to sayanything.”

Carsello’ssister and mother happenedto be visiting that weekend and ate din-ner in themesshall withthe crew.

“It was (guitarist) Davey Johnstone’slittleboy’sbirthday.Soweall sangHap-py Birthday. My sister goes, ‘Now I cansayIsangwith Elton Johnand JohnLen-non,”Carsello said.

“He had a great sense of humor. Hewas fantastic,” said owner James Guer-cio, though Lennon nearly roasted atnight. “Elton cranked the heat and wehad to help him open the windows. I said,‘You can move wherever you want’ buthesaid, ‘Elton wantsmeto stayhere.’ ”

Guerciowasinadelicateposition,be-cause he’d helped Paul McCartney mixthe 1971 Ram album; Lennon felt sever-al of the songs on that album were digsat him. Lennon had also gone on therecord years before dismissing Guer-cio’s “sterile” and “antiseptic” produc-tion of the second Blood, Sweat andTearsalbumandits hitSpinning Wheel.

“He was eating breakfast one morningandIsaid, ‘Listen, John, let’s clearthisup.’He said, ‘Oh no, I knew this was going tohappen. . . . I knew you were going tobring that up,’ ” Guercio said with alaugh. “I said, ‘No, John, you’re right. Ihad a dysfunctional group. I had to findasinger. Itwas totally antiseptic.’ ”

That broke the ice, though “we werekind of guarded because I didn’t wanttoget into Paul. Itwas definitely tense.”

Lennon and Pang set the town on itsear when they borrowed Carsello’s carfor a trip down to Nederland for tooth-brushesandavisit toBouldertobuycow-boy boots. “He freaked everyone out intown,” Carsello said, but he signed auto-graphsforanyone whowanted one.

“John was not opposed to just going

out.Heenjoyed allthat—thequaintcoun-try, just walking down the street. Helovedthat partofAmericana,”Pangsaid.

The recording sessions were quick.Halfway through Lucy in the Sky, theguitars and vocals take on a reggaefeel. “That wasJohn’s idea. John alwaysliked ska and reggae music,” Pang said.“He did that and (the single’s B-side)

One Dayat a Time.”Pang said: “I was not prepared (for the

altitude). I don’t think John was prepared.In the recording studio I said, ‘John, what’sthis?’ He said, ‘That’s an oxygen tank.’ Ididn’t understand that the air was thiscrispand thinthatyou mightneed it. WhenJohn was recording, every so often they’dtakesome oxygen,get some breathin.”

aheadof its time. I loved it.Thefirst twothingsI cuton itwereNo. 1records:(Chicago’s)Feelin’StrongerEvery Dayand Just You ’n’Me. (But)BillSzymczyksaid, ‘Jim,this isa scienceproject. Igottabeable to walk inhere andwalkout.’We founda Neve(board)that(Beatlesproducer)GeorgeMartin hadthatcame from London. . . for people(whoneeded) something that’s bullet-proof.”

Withhit singles like Walsh’s “RockyMountainWay”hittingradio,suddenlytheranchat9,000feet lookedideal forcreatingmusic,andnot just for itsstate-of-the-art facilities.

Guercio:Elton(John)wouldwriteawholealbuminoneweek andcut it inoneweek.No distractions,you’resetup.That wasthewhole concept. Itbotheredmeto be pushingthe clock,so Inever allowedclockshere.

Passarelli:Wemadethose(first)recordsandpeople were listening.EltonJohncameto Cariboufor theCaribousound— asoundthat was likenoother soundin theworld.

John Carsello: Iwasshowingthebandandeverybodythe control roomandyouknow whatEltonsaid? Hegoes, ‘Is thiswhere(Rick Derringer’s)AllAmericanBoywas done?’ Isaidyes.Hesaid, ‘That’s thesound Iwant.’

Guercio:Youcouldsinganoctavehigher.The soundsweredifferentatthatelevation andInever knew that.Wedidn’tunderstandthis. The engi-neersallhadtheories . . . (Producer)TommyDowd,great guy,he was anatomicscientist. He’dtell mewhat I’mtellingyou. Hecalled and said, ‘I gottabringRod(Stewart) up, he can’thitthesenotes.’He came upandwe putRodandBritt Eklandina cabin . . . IfYouLeave Me Now,Chicago, theyhadtocome uphere.Could never hit thenotes(at sea level).

Passarelli:Allofasuddenit turnedintothisdestination. Peoplewantedtocomeand recordhere. I don’tknow ifthat’s reallywhathe hadin mind origi-nally.

Guercio: I realizedafter Ihadall thisinvestmentthat wehadto have cooksandwehad to letpeople in.EventhoughStephen(Stills) thinksweovercharged,we nevermade a penny.After theAmyGrants andsomeoftheseactsthat hadno money . . .whatweshould havedonewas taken points.

Altitudehad itsdrawbacks.Passarelli: (Bluesman)FreddieKing

iscomingupwith hisbus.Three hun-dredpounds, he’sabigman. I’ll neverforget.Hesaid, ‘Yeah, I’mgoingto needtheoxygenmask rightaway.’

Szymczyk: Ifanyonewantedtogoboogieatnightyou were indeep (trou-ble).You hadto go downthe highwaytoget to Boulder.The J. GeilsBand,theywere just complete cityguys. Ihadtoconvince them, ‘Come onguys,comeout there.’ Theywerenot at allforthe ideato come to Caribouto mixforaweek andahalf.

Bydaythree they werebitching andmoaning, ‘Whydoyouhave us here?’Therewas nothingto dobuteat, sleepandwork.Forsome that wasthe draw-ingcard, for others it woulddrive them

nuts.Somebands ducked downto the

Pioneer Innin Nederland to jamwithlocalbandsand blowoff steam. Onenight the lateDanFogelbergbroughtupa womanfrom thebar inhisnewToyotaLandCruiser.The woman’sboyfriendfound outand called,de-mandingshe immediately leave.

Passarelli: Shewassofreakedoutthatshe grabbedhis keysandjumpedinhisnew Toyota.She didn’tmake theturnand endedup inthe lake(ontheproperty).Oneof theowners of thePioneer Innhad come upwith Danfromthe bar(with) $2,000 in cashfromthebarandreceipts.Somebody hadto godownthere (inthe lake) andget it.Theyhadto putthem in thedryerwiththe clothes— drying$2,000fromthePioneer Inn.

Carsello:Dan’sgoing, ‘Ohno,mycar’sruined!’But it started. . . . I said,‘We have todo aToyotacommercial!’

Henry Diltz (legendary rock pho-tographer):Theladieswereaparticu-larly nice featureof that place.Youcouldbecome friends,youknow?Those littleColorado hottiegirls.Therewaslots of fraternizationgoingon.Thesegirls lived upthere.Theyservedbreakfast, lunchand dinner,madeyourbedandput wine inyour room.Theywerethere later in theevening incaseyouwantedanybodyto talkto.

Passarelli:Thestudiowasthepartyplace.The cabins,sure.But whenyouweren’t recordingyou wereupstairsplayingpool, tryingto clear your earsouta littlebit, justhaving agrandoldtimeup there, tosay the least.

EltonJohnand hisbanddrovedowntothe Red Barn in Boulder for burgersone day.At thetime hewas therichestrockstar in music history.

Carsello:Hesaid, ‘I’mgoingtogointhereand freak themout.’ He’sgot hisappleglasseson with thediamondstuds.And all thepeopleare freakingout.We were in theparking lot,watch-ingthroughthewindow. He cameoutwithtwosacks ofhamburgers andhotdogs.

Storiesaboundfrom thestudio’sheyday,when it wasconstantlybookedwiththebiggestnames inmusic:Earth, Wind&Fire, JohnLennon,America,David Cassidy,StevieWon-der,StevieNicks andmore.

Kate Guercio (daughter): Asakidgrowingup Ineverknew that theywereanydifferent. I lovedriding hors-esand I’dtakepeople horsebackriding. . .not reallyknowingthey werereallyfamous. Itwas quite auniqueupbring-ing;but Istillhad chores.

Guercio:MichaelJacksonwashereduringThriller.Wewereableto keep itquiet for aboutaweek.

Carsello: People justshowupatthegate.The In-a-Gadda-Da-Vidaguys,IronButterfly, weresittingoutthereonedaywhenIwas drivingout. Theysaid, ‘Hey,youthinkwe canget inhere?’ Ibrought ’emin.

Passarelli: (In1975)wetookaheli-copter tosee theRolling Stonesat CSU.Jimmyarrangedahelicopter. Itwasunbelievable.

EltonJohn joined theStonesonstageforwhatwas supposed tobe asong ortwo.

Guercio:Eltonwouldn’tgetoff thestage. (TheStones’ road managersaid)‘Jimmy,gethim off thestage!’ (I re-spond) ‘It’s EltonJohn! It’s agreat pianoplayer.’ ‘Mickwants himoff the stage!’

Carsello: Theythrewusallout.Theroadmanagercamebackstageandsaid, ‘Everybody fromElton John’sbandandtheCaribouRanch, youhavetoleave!’But weused their limosto gobackuphere.Wepulled throughMc-Donald’son theway back,a limo entou-ragethrough McDonald’s.

Themain lodge andits multiplebedroomsare filledwith stuffedhuntingtrophiesfrom the turn of the century.

Guercio:Chicagousedtocall this‘Slaughter in BambiLand.’ Mywife

collectedall of theanimalsand putthemherebecauseshedidn’t approve. Therewasa guy downthe roadwho was abig-gamehunter. Someoftheseareweird —ababy grizzly mounted. Hekilled a babygrizzly. Itgave methecreeps.

Carsello: Thegirlsusedtoplaypranks onthe bands. Theytook thewildboarand put it inBilly Joel’s bed.LibertyDeVitto, Billy Joel’s drummer,usedbaby powder.Theyreplaced itwithpowdered sugar. He startssweat-ingthroughhis shirt. It wasgreat stuff.

Andyes, the rumorwastrue:StevieWonderdrove a carat the ranch whilerecordingwith John.

Guercio: I lethimdrivemyJeep.Everybodywent ‘Auughh!’ Ihadthewheel(withoutanyone knowing). I said, ‘OK,goalittle bit,oh no, too far!’ Itwas thegreat-est thing in his life.Henever forgot that.

Passarelli: (Wonderwould)walkaroundwith a Polaroidtakingpictures.

Guercio:Hesaid, ‘Jimmy, isthis true?EverywhereIshoot is the wilderness?’‘Yes,Stevie.’

Carsello:Steviehelpedoneofthegirlschange a flat tire. All the otherguysare standing aroundwatching hertryto do it. Steviecomesout of thecabinandchanges the tirefor her.

Passarelli: WhataboutwhenAlGreencame uphere?

Guercio:Hewouldn’tget inthestationwagon. He said, ‘I ain’tgettinginno wagon. Where’smylimo?AlGreenrides in a limo!’

Passarelli: EltonJohn’sCaribouwasallwrittenhere.

Carsello: MauriceWhite(ofEarth,Wind& Fire)wrote Shining Staruphere, walkingaround looking at thesky.Eddie Rabbitt,Driving MyLifeAway,StepBy Stepand I Love a RainyNight, three No.1s ina row, all writtenuphere. Running Bear, that’s the housewhereDon’tLet the SunGo Down onMewas written (byJohn). Billy Joel

wrotea lot ofsongs. He wrote NewYorkState ofMind uphere becausehewasup here: ‘Been high in the Rockiesunderthe evergreens.’

Guercio:U2mixedtheirRedRocksthing(Under A BloodRed Sky) . . . theycame upto hangout andthen theyendedupstaying and mixingthat RedRocks show.

Thecover ofSupertramp’s “Eveninthe Quietest Moments” features asnow-coveredgrand pianoon topofaCariboumountain.

Carsello: That’sLakeEldora, rightbehind the ranch.Weactually hauledthe pianoupthere andblew snow onit.

Passarelli:Thatpianointheotherroom— Elton wrotethe entire Rock ofthe Westies album innine days. He satwiththe lyric pages at thatpiano.

Carsello: TheBeachBoys cominguphereand recordingWishin’ YouWereHere (withChicago) was incredible —all inthe studio at the same time, stuffyou justwish you’dhada motion-picture camera.When the Beach Boysdid thattake of Wishin’You WereHere,theytriedall night. AndCarl (Wilson)said, ‘OK,we’ll do one more.Rightnow.’Andthat’s the take youhear onthesong.

In March1985 a fire started.Whilemost of the studio wasunscathed, thecontrol roomwas a near-total loss.

Carsello: Itwasanelectrical firefroma spaceheater in the kitchen. Itstarted inthe insulation and justsmol-deredfromthere.

Guerciocouldhave rebuilt,but thethrill hadfaded as the music industrygrewmoredecadent.

Furay:Theydidn’t reallyrespectwhat Jim hadgoing. I guess musicianscanbe like that. Theycan trash theplace out. I thinkJim gotfrustratedwiththat as well.

Passarelli:Thereweresomecre-ativethings thatcame out of(drugs).But it also hada bitterend anddestruc-tive end.People werespendingtoomuch onrecords. Budgets weretoohighbecause peoplewere toohigh.

Guercio: Ihadkidstoraiseandtherewerea lot ofdrugs showing up. I justdidn’twant it. Then wehadthe fire. Isaid, ‘Takea break.’

Thoughthe studio properclosed in’85(Amy Grant’s“Unguarded” was thelastalbum recorded there), that wasn’tthe endofmusic at the ranch.ProducerPatLeonardbroughtJeff Beck upinthe’90sandset upa ProTools rig ina cabin.

Guercio:Hehadall thesedelays—the drummer’s in London, the bassplayer’s inL.A. Hehad it all synchro-nized.They’re playing (elsewhere),andJeffBeck issitting on the frontporch.

Thelegendis that songsandalbumsmadeat Caribou sold100million copies.

Guercio: Ineveraddeditup,butthat’s low.Chicago says theydid 100(million),and wedid 50 (million)ofthemthere. (Thatdoesn’t count EltonJohn, Joe Walsh,Supertramp oroth-ers.) I thought with ourtrackrecordwewerethe highest-ratedstudio intheworld,but Inever provedit.”

Musicianshave urged GuerciotoreopenCaribou, to no avail.

Guercio:Wemightnow.Mixing.Youcoulddopost (production), youcoulddofilm.Spielbergand these guysarehavingthe same problemswith unionmixing.Wecoulddo itall uphere.”

Thereal issue is the currentstate ofthe music industry.

Guercio:There isno(music) busi-ness.Everybody’sout ofbusiness.

Continued from previous page

STIR CRAZYNot everyone prized the

mountain solitude

IT REALLY HAPPENEDFrom Stevie Wonder driving

to Michael Jackson’ssecret sessions

FIRST ENDINGHow drugs and a fire ended

a musical era

Lennon’s visit had the staff on their toes

SONIC BOOMHigh altitude creates problems and

a distinctive sound

cover story

MUSICAL MUSEMore than one song

was inspired by the ranch

JAVIER MANZANO/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Bassist Kenny Passarelli, who recorded with Elton John and Joe Walsh, credits Guercio withturning Caribou Ranch into the first “destination recording spot.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARIBOU RANCH

The only known photo of John Lennon’s session with Elton John.

“Elton (John)wouldwrite a wholealbum inone weekandcut it in one week.Nodistractions, you’re set up.That was thewholeconcept.” James Guercio, owner, Caribou Ranch

10 SPOTLIGHT ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS SATURDAY 1/26/08