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The Rock Hall’s Award for Musical Excellence will be bestowed by the Band’s Robbie Robertson upon three recording-studio legends: Cosimo Matassa, Glyn Johns and the late Tom Dowd.

Matassa was a teenager when he opened his J&M Recording Studio in 1945 in New Orleans, his hometown. Rock history was made in the modest facility when Fats Domino, Little Richard, Roy Brown and others recorded there under Matassa’s astute supervision. His skills as a recording engineer kept him in demand, with a lengthy client list that also included Aaron Neville, Lloyd Price and Professor Longhair.

Matassa turns 86 on Friday, the day before the Rock Hall ceremony.

Johns, 70, is a highly regarded recording engineer and producer from Epsom, England, who has worked with numerous Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, including fellow 2012 honorees the Small Faces and the Faces. Johns’ credits also include landmark albums by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin and the Eagles, among others.

Faces singer Rod Stewart happened to bump into Johns last month.

“I haven’t seen him since 1974, when he finished the last Faces album,” Stewart said.

“He told me, ‘I’ll see you in Cleveland!’ He’s a lovely man. What a gentleman, in the true meaning of the word.”

Drummer Kenney Jones of the Small Faces and the Faces (and, later, the Who) hailed Johns as one of the best engineers and producers in the music business.

“His records are really lovely and clean and very warm-sounding,” Jones said. “And he gets the best drum sound in the world.”

Stewart worked with Dowd, too, on several solo albums, including “Atlantic Crossing” and “Blondes Have More Fun.”

“He was like my second dad,” Stewart said.

Dowd, a New Yorker, was an aspiring nuclear physicist at Columbia University until a sideline as a freelance recording engineer became his full-time gig. With a keen ear for natural-sounding recordings and a mastery of studio technology, Dowd had a hand in landmark albums and hit singles for the Allman Brothers Band, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, the James Gang and many others.

Dowd died in 2002.

“Sitting here talking to you, I can still smell his pipe and picture him standing in the studio with his watch, making sure that we all kept in time, bless him,” Stewart said.

“And coming to get us all out of the bar. You know — ‘C’mon, boys, time to record!’ ”

With thanks to John Soeder, The Plain Dealer
to read more from John go to https://www.cleveland.com/rockhall/index.ssf/2012/04/bluesman_freddie_king_rock_imp.html

And dont forget SMILER members have been buying our special souvenir Hall of Fame poster to celebrate the indution, if you have not got your poster yet you still have time, and every one who buys one will be entered into a draw to win Rod’s 30 Years a SMILER member signed calandar.
to buy a poster go to https://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/about_smiler/info/badge.php

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JKIAN April 08, 2012 at 10:33AM

I have a bootleg tape of Freddie King and his band playing @ the old Sugar Bowl in 1972….all I can say is WOW!! Now wonder he was so revered by Clapton.

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allon22 April 08, 2012 at 11:45PM

Glyn Johns? Damn right. Overdue. Absolutely on anybody’s short list of greatest producers in rock and rock. Exactly the kinda groundbreaker the R&RHOF should be honoring. And ditto for the rest of this year’s inductees (with the exception of Guns and Roses—I mean, really??–Got no idea how or why THEY made the cut).

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uabill123 April 09, 2012 at 5:06AM

Wow, How exciting that ZZ Top and Carole King will be here ,what an honor. I loved growing up as a teenager and watching Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, I lived for it as a young teen. What the heck else was a 13/14/15 year old to do on a Fri or Sat night? I loved watching Ike and Tina Turner and all those fantastic bands on there. My parents loved Rolling on the River!! It is such an exciting time here in Cleveland,can’t wait until the 14th!! Lets bring Chuck Berry here to give some honors as well,not a ticket in Lindale!! He actually went in and paid his own ticket many years back. Lets get Rush,Deep Purple and many other well deserved bands nominated here, How about Tommy James and the Shondells? Tired of all the negative comments on Guns and Roses,they deserve to be in there,now shut up already!!!

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