It was always Daryl's dream to own a state of the art recording studio. He wanted a place where he could record and maintain complete control of all of the equipment and staff. Realizing that this would be an expensive proposition, he figured that he could offset the cost by making it available to other recording artists when we were not working there, or WHILE we were working there, since there were three separate recording rooms within the complex. He named the studio Rumbo Recorders, and it was extremely successful. Rumbo opened for business in 1979 in the San Fernando Valley, and over the years artists as diverse as Megadeth, Bob Seger and Barry Manilow recorded there. The clientele list was very long, and included Kenny Rogers, John Mellencamp, Stevie Nicks, Heart, Tom Petty, Guns and Roses (reportedly, their label booked the hard-partying rock band here not only because of the excellent recording capabilities, but also because Rumbo was a little outside LA and therefore far away from any distractions!). Many, many more artists recorded here, too....oh, and of course, Captain and Tennille!

After a couple of years, Daryl and I became absentee owners when we moved to Lake Tahoe, and would only go down to record at Rumbo from time to time. I remember that whenever I was at Rumbo, in my capacity as co-owner I would always introduce myself to the artists and make it a point to welcome them and tell them to let me know if there was anything they needed while they were there. It was my southern "gracious hostess" thing kicking in.

One of the studios inside Rumbo Recorders

In the mid '80s I had come down from Tahoe to do some work on one of my big band albums, when one of my staff mentioned to me that Joe Cocker was recording there that day. I had been a huge fan of Joe's ever since I saw him in the Woodstock film. When I saw the man himself approach me in the hallway, I introduced myself and offered my hand in greeting. He squinted at me for a moment, and then shouted at the top of his lungs in his Yorkshire accent, "OY THOUGHT YEW WERE FAT!" I decided that there was absolutely nothing I could say to follow that comment. I suspect that Joe was a bit addled by some kind of questionable substance at the time but I have laughed about that encounter with Joe many times over the years.