Mr. Smith Goes To Heaven

Norman Smith, Abbey Road audio engineer for the first half of The Beatles' career, died last night. He was 83 years old.

More to come when I get some time...I'm busy engineering my self at the moment. This mix is for you,"Normal".

UPDATE: Well, that mix turned out great...until the computer crashed. Still trying to get it back up. IS digital really better than tape? Sometimes I wonder...

UPDATE II: I have it back up and running, tentatively. I was able to back up all of the work I have been doing the past few weeks...something I should be better at, I admit. All is safe at the moment, and I burned the mixes I needed. Yay. Thanks, Norm!!!


Back to the Norman Smith post...a quick Google search turns up this interesting page, a recent (2006) interview with Mr. Smith.

"Rubber Soul" was the last record he engineered for The Beatles, before becoming an EMI staff producer and heading up the first three Pink Floyd albums. He also produced the influential LP "S.F. Sorrow" by The Pretty Things.

He had a vaudevillian music act, singing under the name "Hurricane Smith". His song "Oh, Babe What Would You Say" was a #1 U.S. hit.

This is the guy who got the sound of the young Beatles on tape. "She Loves You", "Twist and Shout", "A Hard Day's Night". "Help!", "Norwegian Wood". Smith was present at and partly responsible for all of the music that initially made the Beatles famous. He was replaced by the legendary Geoff Emerick for the "Revolver" sessions.

Thanks for taking the care to get the recordings right, Norm. All of our lives would be different if you had not been as big a fan of The Beatles as the rest of us.