Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English
sound engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...
and
record producer
A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
who worked with
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
on their albums ''
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
Abbey Road
''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...
'' (1969). Beatles producer George Martin credited him with bringing "a new kind of mind to the recordings, always suggesting sonic ideas, different kinds of
reverb
In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...
Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, was a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in 1971 in London by former The Beatles, Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; a ...
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s for his work in the music recording field. His 2006 memoir ''Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles'' caused controversy for its factual errors. In 2018, Emerick died from a heart attack at the age of 72 in Los Angeles, California.
Early career at EMI
Geoff Emerick was brought up in Crouch End in north London and educated at Crouch End
secondary modern school
A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...
. One of his teachers there heard about a job at EMI and suggested he apply. At age 16, he was employed as an assistant engineer. On 4 September 1962, his second day at work,
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
came to EMI Studios (now
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
) to carry out their second recording session for the company. To familiarise Emerick with his work, he was placed under the supervision of another assistant engineer, Richard Langham, assistant to recording engineer Norman Smith, who would be working on the session. As a new recruit, Emerick was not entitled to receive overtime pay, but he was fortunate enough to witness the Beatles recording for the first time with their new drummer,
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
, on what became the band's debut hit single, " Love Me Do".
Working with the Beatles and others
Emerick worked as an assistant engineer to Smith on several of the Beatles' early recordings, including " She Loves You" and " I Want to Hold Your Hand". From early in 1964, his involvement with the band was limited due to his training program at EMI, as he progressed to lacquer cutter, mastering engineer and then balance (or recording) engineer. During that time, he helped record other artists for the label, including Judy Garland, and assisted at the EMI artist test of the Hollies. After working his way up to the recording engineer's position, Emerick engineered the 1966
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...
single " Pretty Flamingo", which became a number 1 hit in the UK.
In April 1966 at the age of 20, Emerick took over as the Beatles' recording engineer, at the request of producer George Martin, when Smith became a producer. Emerick's first album in this new role was ''
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
'', starting with the sessions for the song " Tomorrow Never Knows". It was Emerick's suggestion to record
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
's vocal through a
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided ...
on the song, to capture the ethereal sound Lennon wanted, and to close-mic Starr's drums, formerly a prohibited practice at EMI Studios. In 1967, Emerick engineered " Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", one of the most musically complex songs on '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Lennon told Martin he wanted to re-create the "carnival atmosphere" of the Pablo Fanque circus poster that inspired the song. For the middle eight bars, Emerick spliced together multiple recordings of fairground organs and
calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses".
Mythology
Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
in an attempt to create the effect; after a great deal of unsuccessful experimentation, Martin instructed Emerick to chop the tape into pieces with scissors, throw them up in the air, and re-assemble them at random. Later in 1967, he engineered the Zombies' '' Odessey and Oracle'' and Tomorrow's self-titled debut album.
Emerick abandoned work on ''
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
'' (also known as the "White Album") on 16 July 1968, and quit his position after McCartney, working for a frustrating three days trying to record " Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", unleashed an angry swear word filled tirade. Emerick also objected to Chris Thomas, Martin's inexperienced assistant, being elevated to the role of producer in Martin's absence, with the band's acceptance. He returned to work with the Beatles on ''
Abbey Road
''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...
''. Emerick received
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
for the engineering of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and ''Abbey Road''.
Despite his departure from the White Album sessions, Emerick remained on good terms with the Beatles, particularly
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
, who invited Emerick to quit EMI and come and work for their company Apple Corps in 1969. In addition to engineering duties, Emerick oversaw the building of the band's Apple Studio in the Apple Corps building.
After the Beatles
Following the Beatles' break-up in 1970, Emerick continued to work with McCartney. He served as recording engineer on McCartney albums such as '' Band on the Run'' (1973), which netted Emerick another Grammy, '' London Town'' (1978), '' Tug of War'' (1982) and '' Flaming Pie'' (1997). Emerick later said that he had always been perceived by the other ex-Beatles as "Paul's guy". As a result, for their solo recordings, Lennon and
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
chose to work instead with Phil McDonald, another former EMI engineer.
Emerick was the sound engineer on Robin Trower's 1974 album '' Bridge of Sighs'' and was credited by both Trower and producer Matthew Fisher for that album's sound. He also recorded some of the backing tracks for the debut album by Stealers Wheel, but resigned early on in the process, handing over to Apple recording engineer John Mills to continue working with producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Stealers Wheel album featured " Stuck in the Middle with You" and went on to receive the Dutch Edison Award.
Following the success of EMI's '' The Beatles at Abbey Road'' presentation in 1983, Emerick prepared an album of the Beatles' studio outtakes, to be titled '' Sessions'', for release. The former Beatles initiated legal proceedings to prevent EMI from issuing the album, saying that the work was substandard; when made available on bootleg compilations, his mixes and editing of some of the tracks were widely criticised by collectors. In the mid-1990s, these recordings were used for the '' Beatles Anthology'' CD releases.
Emerick also worked on albums by
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
Badfinger
Badfinger were a Welsh rock music, rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (musician), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recognised for th ...
,
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...
,
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...
,
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981.
The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music inc ...
Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of a ...
and
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...
. His other recording projects included Matthew Fisher's first solo album, ''Journey's End'';
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
's demo tape to EMI, which landed her a record deal; and
Nellie McKay
Eleanora Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is an English–American singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera#United States 2, The Threepenny Opera'' (2006).
Early life and education
McKay was born in London ...
's critically acclaimed 2004 debut CD '' Get Away from Me''. In 2003, he received his fourth Grammy, a Special Merit/ Technical Grammy Award.
In 2007, Emerick produced a re-recording of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' in honour of the album's 40th anniversary. It included performances by contemporary artists such as
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentthe Killers,Travis and Razorlight. Emerick used much of the original equipment to record the new versions of the songs, and the results were broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 2 June that year.
From 1984, Emerick resided in Los Angeles.
''Here, There and Everywhere''
In 2006, Emerick released his memoir, ''Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles'', co-authored by music journalist Howard Massey. The book caused controversy for its factual errors, its allegedly unfavourable portrayal of Harrison, bias towards McCartney, and belittling and dismissal of Harrison and Starr's contributions. According to Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez, Emerick's recurring theme that Harrison lacked prowess as a guitar player until the late 1960s is more reflective of Emerick's personality, and is countered by several other sources, and some of his descriptions of the Beatles' recordings are negated by the availability of bootleg compilations of the band's multitrack masters.
Historian Erin Torkelson Weber said that, apart from Lennon's account in '' Lennon Remembers'', the book also presents arguably the most negative depiction of Martin as a record producer. The publication led to an Internet flame war, as former Beatles engineer Ken Scott challenged the accuracy of Emerick's recollections and stated that, before writing the book, Emerick had contacted him and other EMI technical staff saying he had limited memory of the events. Scott's 2012 autobiography, ''From Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust'', sought to correct Emerick's statements in ''Here, There and Everywhere'', especially with regard to Harrison's musicianship and character.
Death
Emerick died from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on 2 October 2018, aged 72. He had been hospitalised two weeks beforehand after experiencing trouble walking, but was ruled to have been dehydrated. His manager, William Zabaleta, recalled talking to Emerick for the last time: "While on the phone, he had complications and dropped the phone. I called 911, but by the time they got there, it was too late. Geoff suffered from heart problems for a long time and had a pacemaker. When it's your time, it's your time. We lost a legend and a best friend to me and a mentor."
Paul McCartney commented on social media: "He was smart, fun-loving, and the genius behind many of the great sounds on our records. I'm shocked and saddened to have lost such a special friend."