Ron Albert, along with his older brother Howard Albert, make up Fat Albert Productions, a Miami based production and engineering team. In 1965, 16 year old Howie Albert was in a Miami Rock band named The Nightcrawlers, and Ron was their 12 year old “band aid” (roadie). They recorded the song “Little Black Egg” at Lee Hazen’s studio, which was released on Henry Stone’s assorted labels that year. By 1967, Lee received an engineering job offer in Nashville, and Howie was drafted into Vietnam. Having been a small part of the music industry, the 14 year old Ronnie naively went to Criteria Studios for a job, Miami’s only major studio at the time. He became their typist for the tape library, and the following year, filled in as engineer when owner/engineer Mack Emerman fell ill during a major job. After that, he became a staff engineer, earning his first gold record for Brook Benton’s “A Rainy Night in Georgia” in 1969. At the same time, Atlantic Records had just sold, and co-owner Jerry Wexler bought a weekend home in Miami with the money while remaining on staff. Atlantic’s staff producers Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin followed Wexler’s lead, and as a result, they began using Criteria studios to record for Atlantic, moving their permanently within time. As Mack Emerman retired from engineering, Ron became the primary engineer for the studios, and he hired his brother Howard once he returned home from Vietnam. The Fat Albert/Atlantic combination, along with equipment designer Jeep Harned, turned Criteria studios into the most renowned studio in the world. By the mid-to-late 70s, they had more singles in the top 10 charts that NY and LA combined, recording Rock and Disco legends such as Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, The Bee Gees, The Eagles, Jimmy Buffet, etc., and Ron and Howard negotiated to become partners in the company. In 1979, the Wall Street Journal reported the music industry was going into a recession, and labels decided to quit sending their acts to Miami to record as a way to save money. By 1983, Criteria was in debt, so the Alberts sold their share of the company with the intent to retire. By 1987, they realized they did not have enough to remain retired, so they teamed with Steve Alaimo, former co-owner of Henry Stone’s T.K. Records, and formed Vision Records. Vision initially focused on the alumni of Criteria and TK such as Betty Wright and Stephen Stills, but eventually gave in to youth culture and also released Freestyle and Miami Bass records such as Shana and Beatmaster Clay D.