The recording studio, previously owned by DiaDan Holdings Ltd. recently hosted a recording session by Maxwell’s All-Stars, featuring some of Los Angeles top studio musicians, including blues guitarist Hadley Hockensmith, singer Charlean Carmon, bass player Abraham Laboriel and drummer Bill Maxwell, who also produced the “Up to the Mountain” session, a gospel groove number written by Patty Griffin and inspired by the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
In October 2018, country star Blake Shelton and producer Scott Hendricks popped in to record a string session for an upcoming release. And in September 2018, the 120-member Southeast Symphony squeezed into the Evergreen Stage for a week of rehearsals. Yes, it’s a big studio (3,000 square feet) but was built to accommodate up to 80 musicians. The Southeast Symphony certainly pushed the space’s limit.
Earlier in 2018, smooth jazz saxophone legend Kenny Gee recorded at the Evergreen Stage, joining a long list of top-ranked musicians who have used the facility over the past 40 years, including Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Beyonce, Billy Joel, Placido Domingo and Justin Timberlake.
Those with long memories might recall that the Evergreen Stage wasn’t always a famed recording studio. In fact, the building used to house a well-known movie theatre.
The Magnolia Theatre opened in the 1940s, and was built for Al Minor, who also operated the Major Theatre in Los Angeles. The Magnolia was designed by Jacques DeForest Griffin. Its main feature was the marquee, topped with a 170-foot pylon said to be inspired by the Eiffel Tower. The theatre’s capacity was 800 and its parking lot could hold 300 cars. The Magnolia’s exteriors were featured in the 1954 film Pushover, in 1975’s Night Moves, and in 2016’s La La Land, as well as other movies.
In 1964, the theatre was remodelled by then owner Jack Grossman, who updated the marquee and installed air conditioning and a new box office. The main attraction in this remodel was the front façade, which was fashioned in Italian marble. The renovations reportedly cost $60,000, a large sum for the time.
In 1979, the Magnolia Theatre closed its doors forever and was subsequently re-built and re-opened to house a state-of-the-art recording studio.
As well as a mecca for top musicians, the Evergreen Stage has also been a popular soundstage for movie and television projects, including Back to the Future, When Harry Met Sally, Urban Cowboy, The Blues Brothers, Star Trek The Motion Picture and Octopussy, as well as t-v shows Friends and Dallas.