James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter and director.
He played on several recordings, wrote Chad & Jeremy's 1966 Top 30 pop hit "Distant Shores", and is listed as a "contributor" to Frank Zappa's 1966 debut album Freak Out!
In April 1970, he produced the "Shoes for Industry" segment of their LP Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers.
In the CNN biography "Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago", the group revealed that "millions of dollars" had gone to Guercio while he was their manager.
[4] The film starred Robert Blake and featured Peter Cetera and other members of Chicago in bit parts.
In addition to Chicago (starting with Chicago VI), the studio has been used by numerous other artists, including Elton John (for his Caribou album as well as Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies), Dan Fogelberg, Return to Forever, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Carole King, Stephen Stills, Waylon Jennings, Amy Grant, Supertramp, Badfinger and The Beach Boys.
In March 1985 the studio complex was shut down after a fire destroyed the control room and caused about $3 million of damage.
Co-owned by Guercio and future Washington state governor Booth Gardner, the Caribous finished in last place, drew poor crowds at Mile High Stadium, and wore uniforms that were ridiculed by numerous observers (brown and tan, with a strip of leather fringe across the chest).