Hank Cicalo
| Hank Cicalo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 25, 1932 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Recording engineer |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Labels | RCA |
| Associated acts | |
Hank Cicalo (born June 25, 1932) is an American recording engineer whose career has spanned over fifty years. Among the artists recorded by Cicalo are The Monkees, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and George Harrison.
In 1957, Cicalo started in the mastering room at Capitol Records, then progressed to second engineer and worked with many great engineers like John Krause, Hugh Davies, John Palladino, and Pete Abbott. Some of the artists’ albums he worked on were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Nat King Cole. He moved up to engineer while at Capitol and worked with such notables as Cannonball Adderley, Peggy Lee, Ed Ames and Lou Rawls.
In 1963, Cicalo began work for RCA Records in Hollywood. As one of the lead engineers at RCA, he worked with artists including Eddy Arnold, Vic Damone, Ann-Margret, Eddie Fisher, Peter Nero, Duke Ellington, Wayne Newton and Tommy Leonetti.
In the mid-1960s, Cicalo also worked closely with Tom Mack, producer for Dot Records. Their projects included The Mills Brothers, The Lennon Sisters, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Ernie Andrews, Frankie Carle, and Harry James. Their biggest project together was Lalo Schifrin’s Mission Impossible, for which Cicalo was nominated for his first Grammy Award.
While at RCA Records in Hollywood, California, Cicalo recorded The Monkees for Colgems Records. In total, he did four albums with the band, including The Monkees, More of The Monkees, Live 1967, and Headquarters. All three studio albums with the group went multi-platinum, each reaching number one on the Billboard charts.
The Monkees' Headquarters album was their first to feature all four band members playing instruments. Lacking experience as a recording group, the sessions dragged out from a normal two or three weeks to a full six weeks. Cicalo worked patiently with the Monkees and their producer Chip Douglas (himself a first-time producer), and the album came together as the band learned about making records. As a thank-you to Cicalo, the Monkees gave him the writing credit for their song "No Time" (included on Headquarters). This briefly got Cicalo into trouble, as RCA had a rule against engineers soliciting songs for recording. When matters were explained, Cicalo was able to collect the writer's royalties. Released to praise and brisk sales, Headquarters was a huge success.
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