LIVING SOUND is a new documentary film on the never-before-told story of Ethel Gabriel, an unsung legend in the music recording industry. Gabriel produced more than 5,000 recordings over a phenomenal 40-year career for RCA Records, overseeing a roster of artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Tommy Dorsey, Dolly Parton, Perry Como, Chet Atkins, Roger Whittaker, and Glenn Miller. Despite her prolific career as a record producer and executive, and being awarded 15 Gold Records and a Grammy, she has remained largely unknown within the industry she helped build.
Maine-based filmmakers Caroline Losneck and Christoph Gelfand are co-directing the film with producer/researcher April Tucker and in association with SoundGirls, an organization supporting women in professional audio. Tucker, a Los Angeles-based audio engineer, had discovered a news article about Gabriel and was fascinated by her story. “Here was this woman who had been in the industry for over 40 years,” she recounted, “and I had never heard of her, and none of my colleagues had ever heard of her.”
The filmmakers have launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to support the production. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ethelgabrieldoc/livingsound
The documentary delves into Gabriel’s largely untold saga as one of the era’s most driven and successful record producers. Her keen ear and business savvy single-handedly rescued RCA’s failing Camden label and built it into a juggernaut, creating the massively successful Living Strings series in 1968. By 1982, she had become the first woman to be named to a VP position at a major record label. She retired from RCA in 1984 but remained active in the industry well into her late 80s.
For the filmmakers, creating the movie has been a race against time. Gabriel was already 97 years old and living with Alzheimer’s when they first met and losing some of her ability to remember the important stories and people from her five-decade career. Listening to some of the music she produced helped to resurface some of those memories. It was only when she passed away in March 2021, at the age of 99, that Ethel Gabriel finally began to gain some recognition, with tributes in the NY Times, Washington Post, NPR, and more.
Chronicling Gabriel’s story has been a true labor of love for Losneck and Gelfand. “It’s an honor to be able to tell Ethel’s story,” Losneck declared. “We want to help establish Ethel Gabriel’s rightful place in the landscape of music industry history. She’s one of the greats, and her story is one that many of us identify with–and it is so very relevant today. Her legacy matters.”
About SoundGirls
Founded in 2013, SoundGirls supports women working in professional audio and music production. Our mission is to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers.
SoundGirls provides support, career development, and tools to help those working in the field advance in their career, and works to inspire and empower young women and girls to enter the world of professional audio and music production. SoundGirls seeks to expand opportunities for girls and women in these fields and to share resources and knowledge through cooperation, collaboration, and diversity.
