The infamous Sound City will forever go down in history as one of the recording studios with the most history in the music industry. Multiple infamous records have been recorded and produced there such as Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” album and Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album. 

Sound City, however, is known for its troubling history as well. Located in Los Angeles, CA, it was the heart of the music industry in the seventies. Sound City was opened by partners Tom Skeeter and Joe Gottfried with the hopes to record number one records. The recording studio got off to a bad start as it was not nearly as up to date as other recording studios in Los Angeles. It didn’t have an advanced sound board as other recording studios had, and most people recalled it as a dirty place where you could “put your cigarette out on the carpet.” 

Sound City also had a bad reputation with drugs during the seventies. Most prominently during the recording of Mac’s “Rumors” album, the band was notoriously known for heavily using cocaine, even while they were recording. It has been said to be due to the band’s drama, yet Mac’s album was the head start Sound City needed to up their game. Through their swift uprising, Sound City had come very close to shutting down because of late bills. After “Rumors” aired, many others began to want to record there because of Mac and eventually because of “Nevermind” , Elton John and many more. 

Unfortunately, just as Sound City had caught up in pace to all the other recording studios, technology got more advanced. With the introduction of CDs and programs to record and cut clips together on a simple computer, Sound City was put at a loss. They couldn’t keep up with the neverending advancement of technology and they didn’t have the resources to get new equipment to make CDs. Inevitably, less people started working with Sound City, bringing them full circle to unpaid bills continuing to pile up.

In 2011, Sound City had to close, and much of the equipment was sold to other recording studios. However, Sound City leaves behind a prominent history within the music industry with over 100 albums achieving gold and platinum certifications.