Famed Fantasy Studios in Berkeley set to close
BERKELEY, Calif. (BCN/KTVU) - Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, perhaps best known as where the El Cerrito band Creedence Clearwater Revival made music in the early 1970s, is set to close in September.
An email sent out Friday, signed by seven Fantasy employees, said the building hosting the studios at 2600 Tenth Street is being sold, and that Fantasy's run that started in 1949 will end with the sale. Its last day in business will be Sept. 15.
Many musicians - a stylistically varied group, ranging from CCR to Journey and Santana to Tony Bennett, Counting Crows and Green Day -- made recordings there. Fantasy was first a mostly comedy label, and later primarily a jazz label before CCR released its first album on Fantasy Records
in 1968.
Joel Selvin, former San Francisco Chronicle music critic says the closure comes as no surprise as the recording industry has changed.
"The music industry has drifted away from the Bay Area since 1981 and the recording industry has drifted away from studios like Fantasy," said Selvin.
Drifted away because of technology, says Selvin.
Artists can now record on a computer and bypass the expense of a recording studio.
According to a biography on Fantasy's website, it was CCR's huge success that allowed Fantasy to build its Berkeley studio in 1971. Before that, it had operated out of a building at 30th and Peralta Streets in Oakland.
Chris Isaak's hit, 1990 song, "Wicked Game" was recorded at Fantasy. Its unique ethereal sound is nostalgic, befit for use in David Lynch's film Wild At Heart.
More recently, Berkeley's Green Day had recorded there.
Selvin shared a photo of Tom Dowd, a well-known music engineer and producer, who did work at Fantasy Studios.
He worked with artists including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Rod Stewart.
Selvin recalls a memorable moment at the studio during a listening party for Journey.
"I remember 'Don't Stop Believin.' I remember thinking Journey's gong to be breaking through with this record," said Selvin.
By his estimation, Selvin said the peak for Fantasy came in the mid to late 1980s when recording stars such as Carlos Santana and Huey Lewis made music there.
"That place was humming. There were people in every studio," said Selvin. "It was like a playpen for musicians. That was '85, '86,'87. That was when the record industry was made of money."
In 1971, under film producer Saul Saentz's ownership the studio took a different direction enjoying great success as a post-production center for movies, TV and video. "Toy Story," "Good Will Hunting," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Psycho" were among the movies to have some production work done at Fantasy.
Wareham Development bought the building 11 and a half years ago and now intends to sell.
"These giant recording studios that Fantasy was a prime example of are just dinosaurs. We're not going to see them again," said Selvin.
No matter the fate of the studio the music that was recorded there is enduring. Selvin said he didn't think that more than 35 years later, he would still hear Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" as often as he does to this day.
Video Produced by Corduroy Media
KTVU's Amber Lee contributed to this story