Legendary EMI/Abbey Road recording engineer Geoff Emerick, has sadly passed away at the age of 72. Geoff Emerick helped transform music recording with his creative flair, innovation and passion. Born in London in 1946, he began his career at the tender age of 15 when he joined EMI/Abbey Road Studios. Remarkably, on his second day working at the studios, he sat in on The Beatles first-ever recording session on 4 September 1962. In April 1966, at the age of 20, Emerick was promoted to engineer on the first session for Revolver. Emerick took over from Norman Smith, who had worked with The Beatles on almost all the sessions from Love Me Do to Rubber Soul.
Emerick's youthful age and willingness to experiment with recording techniques aligned perfectly with The Beatles' quests for new sounds. He went on to be a fundamental part of The Beatles' legacy, playing a vital role in the recordings of Sgt. Pepper, The White Album and Abbey Road. Emerick went on to be a Grammy Award winner for his work on Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, as well as Paul McCartney and Wings' Band on the Run. He is credited on albums by Elvis Costello, Badfinger, Supertramp, Cheap Trick and America, among many others.
In 2006, he released the book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. Giles Martin, son of Sir George Martin, tweeted upon hearing the news: "RIP Geoff Emerick one of the finest and most innovative engineers to have graced a recording studio. I grew up with him as he worked so much with my father. We have all been touched by the sounds he helped create on the greatest music ever recorded". Denny Laine, who was a member of Paul McCartney and Wings also tweeted: "Geoff was a brilliant engineer and a fine man. Geoff Emerick was a true pioneer of the recording industry, playing a huge part not only in Abbey Road Studio's own history, but in music history itself, through his innovative work with The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Stevie Wonder and more. His contribution to some of the world's greatest musical recordings and his impact on popular music and audio technology is immeasurable, and he will be greatly missed. Isabel Garvey, MD, Abbey Road Studios said: "We are hugely honoured to be part of Emerick's story and we are committed to ensuring his legacy lives on at the studios".
