Rob Fraboni Biography
by Joe Viglione
Rob Fraboni grew up in southern California in an Italian family that included some accomplished musicians. Beginning a musical career as a drummer in a local band at the age of 12, he hitchhiked to Hollywood just three years later at 15 with many home recordings under his belt. The future industry executive quietly observed recording sessions at the renowned Gold Star Studios, which involved key artists and producers of the time, including
Phil Spector. He moved to New York City in 1971 and attended the Institute of Audio Research under the tutelage of educator
Al Grundy. There, Fraboni fused a previous knowledge of electronics with recording and studio techniques, developing his unique engineering and production style.
While in New York City, he landed an engineering job with
Herb Abramson at his A-1 Sound Studios and worked with the likes of
Dave "Baby" Cortez and
Michael Brown. Record Plant was his next gig with an engineering staff that boasted
Chris Stone,
Roy Cicala,
Jack Adams,
Shelly Yakus, and
Tom Flye. Fraboni was in a group of second engineers that included
Jack Douglas,
Jimmy Iovine, and
Dennis Ferrante, working with an impressive clientele during this period, including
Bob Dylan,
Allen Ginsberg,
Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles,
Eric Carmen's
the Raspberries, and
John Lennon.
In 1972, an opportunity presented itself at Village Recorderin Westwood, CA, through an old acquaintance from Gold Star Studios,
Doc Siegel. Hired as a maintenance engineer, Fraboni was made chief engineer within three months at "the Village" by owner
Geordie Hormel. Together with studio manager
Dave LaPalm, the Village Recorder was quickly built into one of the top U.S. studios.
In the spring of 1972, Fraboni engineered
Sail on Sailor for
the Beach Boys and mixed half of the
Holland album. This was his first charting record. He then worked for two weeks on friend
Jimmy Miller's final full
Rolling Stones album,
Goats Head Soup — a sign of things to come, as Fraboni would eventually produce
Keith Richards' material on
Bridges to Babylon and in 2001 win a Grammy for his production of the track "You Win Again," performed by
Richards for the
Hank Williams tribute record
Timeless.
From
Goats Head Soup to the waters of
Planet Waves, the Asylum debut of
Bob Dylan with
the Band formed another key relationship for Fraboni. Between
Dylan and
the Stones, the engineer had gained the respect of two of the biggest names in rock & roll, names which found Fraboni's personality and skills to their liking.
Dylan then invited him to be the sound consultant for the
Dylan/
Band Tour 74. Fraboni's subsequent recordings were with
Joe Cocker,
Eric Clapton,
Wayne Shorter,
Milton Nascemiento, and
Blondie Chaplin.
Using his knowledge and experience from different recording facilities, Fraboni designed and built Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, CA, to the precise specifications of
Bob Dylan and
the Band. As president and co-owner of the studio (1976-1985), he continued his work with that legendary ensemble, engineering and mixing
Northern Lights-Southern Cross, considered a comeback and critically acclaimed as a disc that recaptured
the Band's past glories.
From 1985-1990, Fraboni was the corporate vice president of Island Records in New York. Contracted by
Chris Blackwell, Island Records' founder, in April 1985 as music director of the Good to Go film project, he worked closely with
Blackwell in all creative aspects of the company, handling signings, A&R, product management, artist development, quality control, and remastering of artists' catalogs. During that tenure he was executive producer of
Melissa Etheridge's first solo effort; worked with
Robert Palmer; helped remaster
U2's
Joshua Tree; produced
Buckwheat Zydeco,
Nick Tremulis, and
John Martyn; signed
Etta James to Island; and remastered all of
Bob Marley's catalog for CD on Tuff Gong in 1989.
Leaving Island just prior to its sale to Polygram, he worked with
Phoebe Snow and
Wendy Wall. Fraboni started Domino Records in the early '90s, which released recordings by
Alvin Lee,
John Mooney,
Cowboy Mouth, and
Rusty Kershaw. With new backing for Ardeo Recordsin the mid-'90s, he released
Ivan Neville's
Thanks,
Gary Nicholson's
The Sky's Not the Limit, and
Bellevue Cadillac's
Black and White. He produced
John Mooney again for the House of Blues release
Against the Wall and in landmark sessions at
Keith Richards' home in Jamaica during Thanksgiving 1995, when he and
Richards co-produced some of the only nyahbinghi recordings ever made outdoors. Mindless Records released these as
The Wingless Angels. Fraboni's own QRS Entertainment label launched in 2003 with
About Them Shoes, a recording by
Hubert Sumlin which features appearances by
Clapton,
Keith Richards, and others. The label also has music by
Nick Tremulis,
Sir Mack Rice,
Sean Walshe, and
Blondie Chaplain.
Rob Fraboni was nominated for Producer of the Year at the New York Music Awards in 1989 for a
Wendy Wall album on SBK which won Best Folk Album of the Year. He received a Grammy nomination in 1982 for a
Bonnie Raitt record,
Green Light, as well as a Grammy nomination in 1978 for the
Last Waltz movie soundtrack.
The Stones'
Bridges to Babylon was nominated for Best Rock Album of 1997 (along with co-production, Fraboni was the consultant on that 1997-1998 tour) and as stated, he won a Grammy in 2002 for the
Hank Williams tribute when
Timeless got the award for Best Country Album.
