Geoff Emerick

Born 5 December 1945 in Crouch End, North London, England, UK; died 2 October 2018 in Los Angeles, USA.

English recording studio audio engineer, who was best known for his work with The Beatles’ albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (the “White Album”), and Abbey Road. He was widely regarded as one of the best engineers in recording history.

Early career at EMI
Emerick first started working at EMI at the age of 15, as an assistant to engineer Hollies.

After working his way up to the position, Emerick engineered the 1966 number one UK John Lennon's vocal through a Leslie speaker on that song, to get the ethereal sound Lennon wanted. He received Grammy Awards for the engineering of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. He abandoned work on The Beatles on 16 July 1968, fed up with the tensions and arguments that hampered the sessions.

Despite his departure from the "White Album" sessions, Emerick remained on good with the Beatles, particularly Apple Studios.

After the Beatles
His post-Beatles career included work with Robin Trower's album Bridge of Sighs, and is credited by both Trower and producer Matthew Fisher for that album's acclaimed sound.

In 2003, he received his fourth Grammy, this time for lifetime Technical Achievement.

In 2006, Emerick released his memoir, Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (Gotham Books, ISBN 1-59240-179-1), co-authored by veteran music journalist Howard Massey.

On 3 April 2007 it was announced that Emerick would be in charge of a re-recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by contemporary artists, including Razorlight. Emerick used the original equipment to record the new versions of the songs, and the results were broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 2 June, marking the album's 40th anniversary.