A Hollywood landmark preserved – CBS News

Near the corner of Sunset and La Brea, there’s a Hollywood studio that for singer-songwriter John Mayer is also a state of mind. At the entrance, he said, “We’re kind of standing on a dividing line where every time you drive in as an artist, you can shake off whatever’s behind you, literally, and you can just think about the work you want to make.”

When Mayer and director Joseph McGinty Nichol (known as McG) bought the place recently, they landed a piece of Hollywood history – a studio built by Charlie Chaplin.

Back in the silent movie days, his Tramp character made Chaplin one of the biggest, wealthiest stars on the planet, says Hollywood historian Marc Wanamaker: “He had plenty of money. And Sydney Chaplin, his brother, was the business manager. And they decided they should have their own studio. They felt they were creating something special, artistic, in this new, budding industry.”

Chaplin made nearly all his films here, and since then, the place has had quite a run. In the 1960s, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss turned part it into the famed A&M Recording Studio. Then, it became the home of Jim Henson’s Muppets. The front gate even featured a statue of Kermit the Frog dressed as Chaplin’s Tramp.

When Henson’s company moved out, the historic lot’s future looked uncertain. McG said, when he learned the lot was for sale, “It was the worst-kept secret in Hollywood. And we heard about it and, you know, John sniffed around and did it his way, and I sniffed around and did it my way.”

Mayer said, “And then he sort of turned away from that idea.”

“Couldn’t afford it!” McG whispered.

Mayer said he was advised that the lot was probably more money than it was worth. “And then we looked at one another and it was like, ‘Well, maybe we could go in on this together?'”

“It’s a very challenging time for the recording studio industry, in the world, because of technology and the ability to record at home,” McG said. “It’s also a very tricky time for Hollywood itself. And I’m of a vintage where I saw aerospace leave Southern California. It made me sad. And now we’re seeing Hollywood leave Southern California. And I think it’s a defining characteristic of our town.

“So, if we have a chance to lead by example and plant our flag and try to do the right thing by the people who helped define the culture of this town, cheers, we’re all about it,” he said.

Mayer and McG renamed the lot Chaplin Studios, and gave it a light refresh.

McG, director of blockbusters like “Charlie’s Angels” and executive producer of the TV show “The OC,” claimed Chaplin’s old office.  Asked if he feels the spirit of Charlie Chaplin there, he replied. “I do. I mean, I do my best.”

Asked if he believes in the spirits of the place, Mayer said, “I’m somewhere between earthly and spiritual.”

That’s a combination that’s served Mayer well in his 25-year Grammy-winning career. He oversees the recording studios, and the extraordinary legacy of the A-List artists who’ve made music here. Carole King recorded “Tapestry” in Studio B, which stayed on the charts for more than five years. In Studio A, just about every pop star of the ’80s gathered under one roof to sing “We Are the World.”

Joni Mitchell, whom Mayer called “the matron saint of recording in this area of town,” recorded many of her iconic albums, like “Blue,” in Studio C, which Mayer has made into his personal studio.

“This is the perfect-size planter to grow a seed in,” he said. “We all want to drive home with a song. And if we can’t, it gets under our skin. And we come in the next day, we think we know it. I think I got it today. I think I got it today. And when you get it, you walk on air! And when you don’t … we’ll get it tomorrow.

“Maybe today’s the day you write ‘Thriller.’ Chances are it’s not. But the only way you get to the chance that it is, is you keep showing up,” he said. “This place is for people who keep showing up.”

Asked the best moment he’d had in this room, Mayer replied, “I recorded a song called ‘New Light’ in this room, which was a pretty big hit for me.”

With its recording studios, soundstage and multiple places to just hang out, Mayer and McG envision Chaplin Studios as a place where artists might naturally bump into each other and collaborate. “The vision of the whole campus is, you know, a collection of artists doing their thing,” McG said.

The payoff for their reportedly $44 million investment is uncertain. But Mayer doesn’t seem worried: “I’m happy if my bottom line stays about even,” he said. “I don’t think about making any money. This was just about keeping he place going. To have a few things in life that are what I call emotional assets, just something important, that’s three-dimensional, it’s a part of a very well-rounded life, I would say, to have something like this.”

Asked if the Chaplin legacy has now become part of their legacies, McG replied, “I feel like there’s been three eras of this facility. There’s the Chaplin era, there’s the A&M era, and there’s the Muppet era. And Chaplin got the longest standing ovation, when he returned from exile at the Academy Awards, in the history of the Academy Awards. And we hope it’s the echo of that applause that fills us moving forward.”

“That’s nice,” said Mayer. “That’s makin’ it!”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with John Mayer (Video)

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Story produced by Reid Orvedahl. Editor: Lauren Barnello.

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