Mevio Music

My good friend and legendary voiceover guy Joe Klein made a great blog post about Russ Terrana, the man behind the mixing board for many many Motown Classics. Here’s an excerpt:

Last weekend in Detroit, Michigan, Motown Records celebrated its 50th ANNIVERSAY with a star studded gala, attended by many of the fabled label’s most well known stars and the legendary founder of the company BERRY GORDY. The night after the Motown celebration, Michael was posthumously awarded four AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS, making him the most celebrated artist in that award’s history. To see coverage of the anniversary event as aired by WXYZ-TV in Detroit, click on the image above or CLICK HERE.

My close friend of nearly 35 years, RUSS TERRANA wasn’t invited to attend the Detroit gala, for whatever reason. But, had he been, he certainly wouldn’t have been out of place! Russ is the brilliant and gifted sound recording engineer who recorded and mixed no less than 89 number one hits for the Motown family of labels, nearly half of the label’s chart-topping singles! If that isn’t enough, he engineered hundreds more songs that made the top 40 and worked on thousands of individual album tracks during his twenty years at the storied record label. Included in the list of hits Russ touched are nearly all of the early classic recordings of the JACKSON 5 and MICHAEL JACKSON.

To say that Russ spent decades “standing in the shadows of Motown” would be a potent understatement. But, despite his immeasurable role in truly shaping the Motown sound, the modest and gifted engineer I have known for decades didn’t warrant a mention in the 2002 documentary of the same name that chronicled the core musicians behind the company’s legendary music. Russ truly is, pardon the pun, one of the real “unsung heroes” of Motown—and the pop music world!

A little over two weeks ago, Universal’s Motown Records released the first “new” Jackson 5 album in decades. I WANT YOU BACK! UNRELEASED MASTERS. The album is a collection of twelve never-before-heard recordings of the Jackson 5, recorded nearly forty years ago, that feature a young, pre-teen Michael Jackson singing the lead vocals alongside his brothers. The tracks on the new album were recorded at the same time as the early Jackson 5 smash hits and had been cast aside rather than released nearly forty years ago.

The producer of the new J5 release is HARRY WEINGER, vice president of A&R for UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES. It was Weinger who tapped Russ to mix down several tracks for the new J5 album. Russ was the very same recording engineer who mixed down the original Jackson 5 hit singles and albums, beginning in 1969 and up until the time the Jackson 5 departed the label for Epic Records in 1975.

Russ is a brilliant and naturally gifted sound recording engineer, whose accomplishments go way beyond Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. He has mixed down a mind-boggling total of 93 number one singles, most of which were for the Motown family of labels, but there were others outside of the label as well, including superstar WHITNEY HOUSTON, NATALIE COLE and ISAAC HAYES. Russ’ storied career as a sound recording engineer dates back to Detroit in 1966 and runs up until 1991, when he left the music business and moved on to other endeavors. He remained with Motown until Berry Gordy sold the label to Polygram in 1988 and then closed down the Hollywood Hitsville recording studio.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY

Save money on athletic shoes at Eastbay.com

15% off any order –
Use code AFTOP515 at checkout
Use code AFBANG15 at checkout

20% off any order $75 or more-
Use AFTOP520 at checkout
Use AFBANG20 at checkout