Editor,
Santana. The Grateful Dead. The Doobie Brothers.
Editor,
Santana. The Grateful Dead. The Doobie Brothers.
At 1737 S. El Camino Real — right here in San Mateo — Santana recorded their debut album. The Grateful Dead recorded Aoxomoxoa. The Doobie Brothers recorded their debut. Van Morrison recorded there. So did Janis Joplin’s band, Big Brother and the Holding Company — twice. And a young Bruce Springsteen recorded a demo there in 1970 for Bill Graham, who liked it so much he offered the band a record deal on the spot. The address was Pacific Recorders. And almost nobody in San Mateo knows it existed. Founded in 1968 by Paul Curcio, Pacific Recorders was the first 16-track recording studio in the entire Bay Area — using technology manufactured right down the road at Ampex in Redwood City.
Today, there is nothing at that address to indicate any of this ever happened. No plaque. No marker. No acknowledgment of any kind. I’ve written a letter to the City Council asking them to commission a historical marker at 1737 S. El Camino Real and place it on a future council agenda as an action item. The more voices they hear, the more likely it gets done. Would you take two minutes to email the City Council? Ask them to support a historical marker that shows Pacific Recorders and San Mateo was at the ground floor of the rock revolution! The City Council can be reached at citycouncil@cityofsanmateo.org.
This is our history. Let’s mark it.
Doug D’Anna
San Mateo
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(1) comment
Hi Doug and thanks for your letter and great idea. PR was indeed a hub of creativity. Very exciting time! I’ve contacted a council member/former mayor expressing support and referencing what Menlo Park did at McGoo’s on Santa Cruz Avenue.
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