It’s been 42 years since Clarke Rigsby launched Tempest Recording, the studio that sits behind his Tempe home, where he’s recorded sessions for such legendary figures as Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Pharoah Sanders, Bo Diddley, Frankie Vali and the list goes on. Musicians from all genres have relied on Clarke to produce successful, quality recordings. From jazz to country, classical to blues and everything in between, Clarke retains his reputation for being “musically militant.” Tech savvy engineering and production experience are invaluable assets in the recording process, but in the end, the music is first.

Despite arriving in the Valley at an inauspicious time – in the heat and humidity of August on the day Elvis Presley died in 1977 – Clarke Rigsby has built himself an auspicious career as a music producer, including work with Sir Paul McCartney. Rigsby established his own Tempest Recording studio [maybe include a hyperlink to his studio’s about page here: About | Tempest Recording] and has worked with Arizona luminaries such as Alice Cooper, Ray Herndon, Jessi Colter, Waylon Jennings, Joey DeFrancesco, Lewis Nash, Steve Gadd, Emilio Castillo, Al Casey, Alice Tatum, Big Pete Pearson and Bob Corritore, just to name a few. He has also worked with musicians from all over the country like Glen Campbell, Kris Kristofferson, Rascal Flatts, Hank Williams Jr., Little Steven Van Zandt, Don Was, Tony Joe White and Kim Wilson.

His credits include an Emmy with his writing partner Kevin Stoller for their work on the PBS special “Wildflowers.” He also received a BMI award for his work on Burt Reynolds’ early 1990s TV series “Evening Shade.” He has been at the control board for live satellite radio broadcasts, and Valley denizens fondly recall “Studio Z,” the long-running live-music show he produced for long-departed adult-alternative radio’s KZON.

These are just a few of his credits, and the list of musicians he admires and has worked with is way too long to include here. Typical of his style, he said that he couldn’t have been inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame without the support of his team and his wife, Mary Ann Kinsman, “who puts up with my stuff every day.” See his acceptance speech here.

Tempest Recording web site