Van Halen / Doobie Brothers Engineer Donn Landee Passes at 79.

The article focuses on the career and legacy of veteran recording engineer Donn Landee, who passed away at age 79 in April. Over a 50-year career, Landee worked with prominent artists including Van Halen, The Doobie Brothers, The Doors, and Neil Young, notably engineering Van Halen's first eight albums and co-producing two of them. He also helped build Van Halen's private 16-track 5150 Studios and engineered Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo on Michael Jackson's "Beat It." Landee began his career in the 1960s, working at influential studios and later as a staff engineer at Warner Brothers Records, earning a reputation for collaboration and innovation in sound engineering.