The Second Track

The Janitor's Reverb That Launched a Thousand Dreams

Episode Summary

Before Phil Spector built his Wall of Sound, before Abbey Road's famous echo chambers, there was Bill Putnam Sr. tinkering with concrete pipes and bathroom tiles in a converted garage studio. This is the story of how Universal Recording's makeshift echo chambers accidentally created the lush, dreamy sound that would define everything from doo-wop to psychedelic rock.