vocal track. Another of Gold's innovations was a small transmitter that allowed him to broadcast mixes so that they could be picked up on a nearby car radio, which was especially important to recording artists in the era when AM radio was the dominant broadcast medium. Artists The studio was the venue for hundreds of chart-topping recordings by scores of leading pop and rock artists including Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Hugh Masekela, The Chipmunks, The Champs, The Cascades, Bobby Troup, Phil Spector, Ray Vasquez, Darlene Love, Donna Loren, Delaney Bramlett, Liza Minnelli, Brian Wilson, Sonny & Cher, Dobie Gray, Billy Strange, The Rose Garden, Merle Haggard, Modern Folk Quartet, Buffalo Springfield, The Seeds, Duane Eddy, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, The Ronettes, Dick Dale, The Sonics, The Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, Jackie DeShannon, William Shatner, Iron Butterfly, Black Oak Arkansas, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Fairport Convention, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Jan and Dean, Dr. John, Dick and Dee Dee, Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Meat Loaf, The Champs, Gram Parsons, The Murmaids, Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Kim Fowley, The Sunrays, The Baja Marimba Band, The Turtles, Bobby Darin, The Cake, The Who, The Monkees, Tommy Boyce, The Band, The Go-Go's, The Ramones, Flamin' Groovies, Blondie, Dan Hartman, Gary Numan, Legs Diamond, Led Zeppelin, Herb Jeffries, The Association, Art Garfunkel, Neil Norman, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Maurice Gibb. It was also widely used by music, film, television, radio and Broadway artists including Frank Loesser, Ben Weisman, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Fain, Bob Sherman, Dick Sherman and Dimitri Tiomkin and it was the recording ‘home’ of the pioneering ABC-TV prime-time pop show Shindig!. Donna Loren, a cast member of Shindig!, recorded there early in her career on the Crest label. Jazz artists who recorded there include Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Oscar Moore, The Hi-Los and Louis Bellson. Singer-songwriter Johnette Napolitano, co-founder of Concrete Blonde, was the studio's receptionist in the early 1980s. Closing Shifting economics caused Gold Star to close its doors in 1984, as newer technology allowed bands to make their own recordings. Several months after the studios were vacated, a fire destroyed the building. A mini-mall was later constructed on the site. On March 11, 2011, Ross died of complications following an operation to correct an abdominal aneurysm. He was 82. References External links David Gold Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2015) Recording studios in