Phil Ramone

Philip Phil Ramone was a South Africanborn American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 cofounded A160amp R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business partner Jack Arnold at 112 West 48th Street, New York, upstairs from the famous musicians watering hole, Jim amp Andys, and several doors east of Mannys Music. The success of the original AampR Recording allowed it to expand into several studios and a record production company. He was described by Billboard as legendary, and the BBC as a CD pioneer.

Ramone was born in South Africa and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, USA. As a child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Princess Elizabeth at age ten. In the late 1940s he trained as a classical violinist at the Juilliard School, where one of his classmates was Phil Woods. Ramone opened his own recording studio before he was 20. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States on December 14, 1953.

Source: Wikipedia