Wally Heider, founder of one of popular music's most celebrated recording studios, dies of lung cancer, aged 66, at the home of his daughter Laurie Lee in Santa Clarita, California, USA. Starting as a sound engineer in the 1940s, Heider worked with bandleaders including
Woody Herman and
Buddy Rich at his Hollywood studios. Later, after opening a
San Francisco studio complex in 1969, he was instrumental in recording the San Francisco music scene, and worked with rock bands including
Crosby, Stills And Nash,
Santana,
Creedence Clearwater Revival and
Jefferson Airplane.