Some time between 1972-1975, I produced some NRBQ recordings that included “Riding In My Car”.

There were 6 partners in Good Vibrations Sound Studios.  Each was allowed to record one Artist of his own choice and produce an album for no cost.  Elliot Sacks was one of the partners.  He had no technical or artistic chops to my knowledge but he always seemed to be at every concert and often to the studio.  Elliot had found this group NRBQ, that he wanted to record.

He scheduled the recording sessions with me as the engineer.  I set the studio up and recorded a few songs but the performances were lackluster.  Elliot asked me what to do, so I went into the studio and started having conversations with the band about getting the most into a song.  I ended up running back and forth between the control room and the studio trying to get every band member to give his all.

By the time the sessions were over, the band was appreciative of my input as we all now felt we had a number of hit songs in the can.  “Riding In My Car” was one of those.

Time went on.  I left Good Vibrations saying I would not allow the studio to function again until my partners agreed to pay up their back bill for all the Latin Sessions we recorded.  One of the things I took from the studio was the NRBQ tapes.  I did not think my separation from Good Vibes should impact on the NRBQ recording.

After a few months, two of the guys from NRBQ drove into NYC and met me at my mother’s house where I was storing the multi-track tapes.  I gave them the tapes with no contracts or paperwork saying if something comes of this I should be involved.  I left it on them to be fair.

I never heard from them again.  Perhaps they had re-recorded everything.  I don’t know.

An album came out a year later with “Riding In My Car” as the quintessential summer-time song.  That song became the signature song for that group.  I do not know if those very recordings were the ones I had recorded and produced the basic tracks for, but they sure sound like them.

I went to look at the album jacket.  All it says is Mixed at Bearsville Studios by another engineer, with no recording credit given.

I would like to know if my tracks were ever used.