Keith Harwood (1950 – September 3, 1977) was a British

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

, most notable for his work at

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...

with such musicians as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

(on '' Diamond Dogs'' in 1974), the

Pretty Things Pretty Things were an English Rock music, rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing", and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, i ...

and

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

. Harwood collaborated on engineering

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

albums '' It's Only Rock 'n' Roll'' (1974) and ''

Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976, by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first record after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit in December 1974. ...

'' (1976) with brothers Andy and

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English recording engineer and record producer. He has worked with many of the most famous rock recording acts from both the UK and abroad, such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, ...

, respectively. He also engineered a number of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

albums, including '' Houses of the Holy'' (1973), '' Physical Graffiti'' (1975) and '' Presence'' (1976). In 1977, Harwood was on his way home from Mick Jagger's Home Studio Stargroves in Hampshire when due to exhaustion, lost control of his car on the M4. He was killed after hitting a bridge near the Slough West exit. Confirmed by family member and close friends of his, one of whom worked with Keith at Olympic Studios and saw Keith's car being loaded onto a truck as he passed the accident scene. The Rolling Stones dedicated '' Love You Live'' to the memory of Harwood.

References

1950 births 1977 deaths British audio engineers Road incident deaths in London {{UK-music-bio-stub