When record producer-engineer Elliot Mazer died of a heart attack at his home in San Francisco on Feb. 7, at the age of 79, he left behind a rich musical legacy. That includes important contributions in the ’60s and ’70s to Nashville’s evolution as a recording center. Most notably, Mazer helped develop the genre-busting session supergroup Area Code 615, launched Linda Ronstadt’s hit-making career, produced Neil Young’s most commercially successful album, and helped establish Quadrafonic Sound Studio as ground zero for the growing number of rock and folk sessions in the city in the 1970s.
Mazer first came to Nashville in 1966 with Latin recording stars Trio Los Panchos for sessions at Columbia’s Studio B. He was just an observer on those dates as a representative of their publisher. But he did make an opportune suggestion to the group during the sessions, that they cover the Beatles’ “Girl,” and the result was the international hit “Muchacha.” Those sessions made a lasting impression on the producer.