Guercio was the founder of Caribou Ranch, a popular recording studio in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. The first radio hit recorded at Caribou was Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way". In addition to Chicago (starting with "Chicago VI"), the studio has been used by numerous other artists: 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. Unfortunately, the studio complex was shut down and never used again after a March 1985 fire destroyed the control room and caused about $3 million in damage. In 1978, the Caribou Ranch lent its name to a pro soccer team, the Colorado Caribous of the North American Soccer League. Co-owned by Guercio and future Washington state governor Booth Gardner, the Caribous were not a success on or off the field: they finished in last place, drew poor crowds at Mile High Stadium, and wore uniforms that many observers thought made the team into a laughingstock (brown and tan, with a strip of leather fringe across the chest). Guercio and Booth sold the club, after the 1978 season, to interests in Atlanta who renamed them the Atlanta Chiefs. After the split-up with Chicago and the Caribou Ranch fire, Guercio became disenchanted with the recording industry and pursued a career in large-scale cattle ranching, property development, and oil and gas exploration, drilling and production, particularly coalbed methane wells. In the late 1980s, Guercio purchased the Country Music Television (CMT) channel. In one of his more well-publicized transactions, in the early 1990s he sold CMT to media tycoon Ed Gaylord and Westinghouse Broadcasting.