New York, NY (Top40 Charts / Leslie Hindman Auctioneers) Caribou Ranch was a recording studio built in the Rocky Mountains by Grammy award-winning musician and producer
James William Guercio. During its tenure, the studio hosted over 178 musicians and produced 45 top ten albums, 18 Grammys and 20 number-one Billboard Hits.
Caribou Ranch is being inducted into the Colorado
Music Hall of Fame in 2015 along with
Joe Walsh & Barnstorm and Dan Fogelberg. Featuring over 400 lots, the auction and public exhibition will be held at the Denver Design Center and includes studio instruments, memorabilia and ranch furnishings.
Highlights include a Steinway & Sons grand piano, circa 1910, used while recording "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" from Elton John's 1974
Caribou album. This album was recorded at and named after the studio where his next two albums would also be recorded. A Burton acoustic left on the ranch by a visiting Willie
Nelson is available. Another highlight is the Wm. Knabe & Co. baby grand piano, which was played by Elton John, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Frank Zappa and countless others. This is the primary piano on which
Elton John wrote Rock of the Westies. It was pictured with
Michael Jackson in a 2014 Rolling Stone special edition.
Included is a Hammond B3 organ with the sound of rare and unique
Leslie cabinet speakers, used by nearly every artist who recorded at Caribou; a Gibson Thunderbird bass played by Terry Kath of Chicago; and the sleek black Bosendorfer grand piano heard on many of the jazz albums recorded by artists such as Chick Corea and Al Di Meola. From Mr. Guercio's private collection is a 1985
Black Chevrolet Corvette with personalized
Caribou plates.
"Rocky Mountain Way" was the first hit recorded on the ranch, and soon after word got out that Mr. Guercio had created a state of the art recording studio away from big city distractions. As the first destination recording studio, music history was made by illustrious artists and groups such as Elton John, Stephen Stills, Billy Joel, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, Frank Zappa, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, U2 and many more.
"Our life on
Caribou Ranch was wonderful and memorable, but the ranch has new owners now, and we have moved on to our next
Caribou adventure," said
James W. Guercio. "We felt it was time to share with the fans some of the memories and stories that remain from that magical time."
About
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
For over three decades,
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has been recognized as one of the nation's preeminent fine art auction houses having earned an international reputation for achieving the highest prices while setting standards for integrity and quality customer service.
Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind a global reach of buyers and a team of professionals committed to conducting high profile auctions. The firm was founded in
Chicago in 1982, sold to Sotheby's in 1997 and reopened in 2003. www.lesliehindman.com.
