Al Schmitt on the Record

Al Schmitt has worked with the best and brightest in the recording industry, including Jackson Browne, Dr. Dre, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Usher, and Neil Young, to name just a few. He has recorded and mixed over 150 gold and platinum records and earned twenty Grammy Awards and two Latin Grammy Awards for his work by such artists as Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Chick Corea, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Luis Miguel, Paul McCartney, Steely Dan, and Toto.Schmitt was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame in 1997, and received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. In 2015, he was presented with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Records building – the first engineer to be so honored. He lives in Los Angeles.Maureen Droney, currently Managing Director of the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, is a former recording engineer for artists including George Benson, Aretha Franklin, John Hiatt, Whitney Houston, Tower of Power, and Carlos Santana. Prior to joining the Recording Academy, she was the Los Angeles editor for Mix magazine, as well as a contributor to numerous other performing arts publications. She is also the author of the book Mix Masters: Platinum Engineers Share Their Secrets for Success and coauthor of The Pensado Papers, about the rise of the audio industry web phenomenon, Pensado's Place. She lives in Woodland Hills, California.

Even before I first worked with Al in the early 1970s, he was a recording studio legend. Al mixed my 1973 album The Way We Were and a duet I did with Frank Sinatra in 1993. He was at the control boards again in 2009 on an album I recorded with Diana Krall. He’s always a consummate professional who cares deeply about his craft. In addition to that, he’s a fellow Brooklynite, so we speak the same language! Al deserves the many accolades he’s received over the years from his fellow music industry colleagues.

• Foreword by Sir Paul McCartney Acknowledgments Chapter One. But I’m Not Qualified, Mr. Ellington! Chapter Two. The Beginning: Early Days, New York, New York Chapter Three. Learning from the Greats Chapter Four. The West Coast Calls: Los Angeles in the Sixties and Seventies Chapter Five. Like Riding a Bike Chapter Six. Mixing: Philosophically and PragmaticallyChapter Seven. Practicalities: A Day in the LifeChapter Eight. Artists, Friends, and Mentors: What I’ve LearnedChapter Nine. Life’s Been Good to Me So Far: Life Lessons and the Secrets to My Success Chapter Ten. Some Closing Thoughts Appendix A. Working with Al Appendix B. Recording Session Layout Diagrams Appendix C. Selected Discography: The Essentials