Geoff Emerick, Beatles chief engineer, dies at age 72 – Variety

Geoff Emerick, the Beatles' chief engineer who worked on some of the group's most memorable albums, passed away, according to his manager, William Zabaleta. He was 72 years old and reportedly suffered a heart attack.

Said Zabaleta in a statement to Variety"Today, at around 2 am, I was returning from Arizona to Los Angeles to search for Geoff so that we could carry gold records and platinum plates at our show in Tucson. On the phone, he had complications and dropped the phone. I called 911, but by the time they arrived, it was too late. Geoff has long suffered from heart problems and a pacemaker. … when it is your time, it is your time. We lost a legend and a best friend for me and a mentor. "

Emerick, born December 5, 1945, began working as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road at the age of 15 and, just months after, was face to face with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo . Starr in the London studio. He did his apprenticeship and then worked on the early recordings of the Beatles such as "Love Me Do," "I want to hold your hand," "She Loves You," and "A Hard Day's Night." Then became the chief engineer of the group, he "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band "," The White Album "and" Abbey Road ", as well as the single" Penny Lane "/" Strawberry Fields Forever ".

Related

In addition to George Martin, Emerick was the brain behind the scenes that helped shape the sound of the Beatles. When John Lennon asked Emerick to sound like "the Dalai Lama singing on a mountain" for "Tomorrow Never Knows" in "Revolver, " One of the effects used by Emerick was to put Lennon's voice in a rotating Leslie speaker. As Andy Babiuk describes in the book "Beatles Gear", "Emerick's open approach and willingness to ignore standard recording practices and techniques when needed was exactly what the band was looking for."

Talk to Variety In July 2017, Emerick cited "A Day in the Life" as a highlight of his time with The Beatles. "The night we put the orchestra on, the whole world went from black and white to color," he said.

Emerick won a Grammy Award for his work on "Sgt. Pepper's "and" Abbey Road "as well as Paul McCartney and" Band on the Run "from Wings. He is credited with the albums of Elvis Costello ("Imperial Chamber"), Badfinger, Supertramp, Cheap Trick and America. In 2006, he published the book "Here, there and everywhere: my life records the music of the Beatles".

Emerick had planned numerous appearances, including a Saturday in Tuscon under the Geoff Emerick's London Revival banner, where he was to talk about his work with The Beatles. He was also to be a Beatles expert at The White Album International Symposium, November 8-11 at the University of Monmouth, New Jersey, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of The White Album ", reissued as a box with jacks and a new 2018 mix.

Denny Laine, who was a member of Paul McCartney and Wings, tweeted on hearing the news: "Geoff was a brilliant engineer and a talented man."

Photo below: Brian Epstein, George Martin and Geoff Emerick in 1967.