They were just two Italian kids. One from Brooklyn and the other from Jersey. Jimmy Iovine, the one from Brooklyn, got the nod from Record Plant NY owner Roy Cicala to engineer some sessions for this new rocker who everyone in town knew was a pain in the ass and a low-rent client. Still, with Lennon retired and the studio open, Cicala took the date, though he wasn’t giving this guy named Springsteen to any one of his A-list engineers like Shelly Yakus or Jay Messina. This one was for Iovine and the guy in the tape room named Thom Panunzio; and together these two kids, these two gofers, tape ops and assistants, made rock and roll history, finishing Springsteen’s opus “Born to Run,” which was released fifty years ago this August.
To celebrate the occasion the Buzz Me in Podcast recently interviewed Panunzio about his Record Plant memories and the “Born to Run” sessions. While Iovine went on to production and audio fame and fortune, Panunzio himself was another one of Cicala’s kids who made good; in addition to Lennon and Springsteen, his album credits include Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, U2, Stevie Nicks, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, The Who, Joan Jett, Tom Petty and David Bowie. He helped Eddie Germano build The Hit Factory and later designed the studios for Interscope/Geffen/A&M, and topped his career at the Universal Music Group, as Executive Senior VP.
Thom tells some amazing stories about those “glory days.” Enjoy!
