The Legend of Caribou

A space heater ended an astonishing era at Caribou Ranch outside Nederland.

The 1985 fire caused by the overheated appliance closed a studio that was home to many of the biggest pop music recordings of the '70s and early '80s. From Elton John to Joe Walsh, Chicago to Earth, Wind & Fire, U2 to John Lennon, the ranch hosted and recorded a who's who that generated sales well in excess of 100 million albums. Along the way, everyone had a lot of fun.

Now owner James Guercio has swung the ranch’s gates open for the first time since the fire to tell the story of the legendary studio that got its start after a missed flight. Pop music writer Mark Brown, videographer Laressa Bachelor and photographer Javier Manzano created this report.

Reliving the ranch

After a 1985 fire closed the recording studio, some people thought Caribou Ranch shut down. But it remained a working cattle operation where owner Jim Guercio raised his family, kept a low profile and concentrated on other business interests.

Music isn't only thing Caribou's Guercio has turned to gold

Caribou Ranch owner James Guercio would like a book written about the ranch, but it should really be about him.

Lennon's visit had the staff on their toes

By the mid '70s, the staff at Caribou Ranch was pretty blase about having big names around. But when John Lennon visited for four days in July 1974, everyone struggled to keep their cool.

Pioneer Inn eventually warmed to musicians

The sign outside the Pioneer Inn made John Carsello hesitate: "No longhairs or unkempt beards allowed."

Land around ranch used in many ways

During the early 1900s the land on which Caribou Ranch sits was one of the country's largest Arabian horse ranches. Later, it was a potato farm. When James Guercio purchased the land in 1971, he started at 2,700 acres. During the next 30 years he added surrounding parcels to expand it to about 4,500 acres at its peak.