KPBS Midday Edition

Musical About Legendary Recording Studios Premieres At San Diego Rep

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Megan Burke / News Editor

Published August 7, 2019 at 11:15 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Stan Ross at the mixing board of Gold Star Recording Studios in an undated photo.

Celebrated musicians from The Ronettes to The Ramones all recorded songs at Phil Spector's Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Those stories are told in a world premiere musical now playing at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.

Recording music is a whole lot easier now than it used to be. A quiet room, some good software and editing apps and you’re on your way.

That’s not the way it was back in the day of Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Technicians worked with some of the biggest names in music to roll out hit after hit, creating each performer's unique sound.

Students from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts perform in "33 1/3 – House of Dreams," in an undated photo.

Gold Star is the studio where Phil Spector developed his famous "Wall of Sound." The Ronettes recorded "Be My Baby" and The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations."

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Gold Star is also the studio that’s at the center of a world-premiere musical now playing at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.

Brad Ross, the son of Gold Star co-founder Stan Ross, and his friend Jon Rosenberg, the two San Diegans behind, “33 1/3 - House of Dreams,” joined Midday Edition Wednesday to talk about the musical and its inspiration.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Megan Burke

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Megan Burke is an Emmy-award winning news editor overseeing the environment, health, and racial justice and social equity reporting beats. Prior to her current role as editor, Megan spent more than a decade as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition, a daily radio news magazine and podcast. Other news production credits include KPBS Evening Edition, KPBS Roundtable, and San Diego’s DNA, a two-part documentary highlighting the region’s oldest traditions and culture using personal artifacts and oral histories of San Diegans.

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