Ron and Howard Albert, known as the Albert Brothers, are an American record production and audio engineering duo. They are best known for their work at Criteria Studios and later Audio Vision Studios, both in Miami, Florida.
History: In 1967, 14-year-old Ron Albert began working at Criteria Studios as a typist in the tape library. After the studio's owner and chief engineer, Mack Emerman, fell ill, Ron filled in as an engineer and eventually became the primary engineer. In 1970, following his discharge from the U.S. Army, Howard Albert joined his brother at Criteria Studios. The brothers became known as "Fat Albert Productions" and, alongside figures such as Ahmet Ertegun, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, and Jerry Wexler, helped establish Criteria as a major international recording studio. They became co-vice presidents and business partners at Criteria before selling their shares in 1983. In 1987, they partnered with Steve Alaimo to form Vision Records and Audio Vision Studios. In 2022, they sold Audio Vision Studios. Both brothers are now retired.
Notable Work: The Albert Brothers engineered or produced albums for numerous major artists, including:
- Derek and the Dominos — Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (featuring "Layla")
- The Allman Brothers Band — Eat a Peach and Idlewild South
- Aretha Franklin — Young, Gifted and Black, Spirit in the Dark, and others
- Crosby, Stills & Nash — CSN (4× platinum), Stephen Stills 2
- Eric Clapton — The History of Eric Clapton
- Manassas — Manassas (gold record)
- Other artists include Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Bee Gees, James Brown, B.B. King, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Marley, and many others.
Drum Sound Development: The Albert Brothers are credited with pioneering the "Fat Albert" drum sound (also called the "Miami Sound"), achieved by multi-miking each component of a drum kit — a technique that was innovative at the time. This signature sound attracted numerous prominent artists to Criteria Studios.
Recognition: Howard Albert has stated the duo has approximately 40 gold records and 30 platinum records. Their work has sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. They were inducted into the Florida Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
