In 1965, I had a chance to move the family back to the original hometown – Abilene, TX. I had earlier bumped heads with an individual by the name of Ben Hall who lived in Big Spring, TX, a few miles from Abilene, who had a state of the art studio for that time. As I recall, Ben was co-writing some with a young man named Buddy Holly – recording some. If I remember, Buddy and he had played in an occasional band with each other.

     Ben primarily wrote country and gospel music and recorded for that group. Ben told me later during our friendship he finally told Buddy that he just didn't understand his kind of music and sent him up to see a Norman Petty whom he had met at sometime earlier, who also had a recording studio. ("Big mistake" he once told me - "never thought that kind of music would go over".
Ben had started his recording career also in a garage. If I'm not mistaken, I heard him say at one time he wished he was back in his old garage studio. His state of the art studio included the latest in Ampex® recorders. Still in the monaural era, he had two track recorders and a new three track version. There was no thought of stereo recording, however, and the extra tracks were used to bounce back and forth between tracks and then have a final mix down to one track.

     The association with Ben, more than ever, excited me to try for the ultimate – recorded sound. Ben gave me hints to design my studio and I built it in my garage. It was in the double garage - first house I had ever owned with a double garage - and - you might say that Ben and I had perhaps the first "garage studios" in the West, his first and of course and most successful. I believe he told me he had started in his garage. Ben is still in Nashville having recorded almost every country star from the 60’s to the 90’s and still has a studio. He may not have been a musical star but he certainly was a star in the recording field. His contribution to the Country Western music is all over Nashville. I cherish an Alabama® album out of the late eighties where Ben was the recording engineer on most of the songs. His sixties' style of engineering is most notable on that album. Those good old stereo techniques he grew up with in the 60's and 70's shine in this album. I only wish I could play it for you.

     As it turned out I was exceptionally lucky; - I knew nothing about recording. With Ben as a teacher the sound was good and I sort of became a trademark for "garage studio sound" in my area. I actually began to meet some interesting people who came to my garage studio. Some I recorded and others who just visited. I look back now and know that even though I was never a great success in the recording field my satisfaction would be in the wonderful people I would meet while following that sound trail. I must tell you about a happening, in an era that will never occur again.