Editing Geoff Emerick (section)

==Working with the Beatles and others==
{{see also|Recording practices of the Beatles}}

Emerick worked as an assistant engineer to Smith on several of the Beatles' early recordings, including "[[She Loves You]]" and "[[I Want to Hold Your Hand]]". From early in 1964, his involvement with the band was limited due to his training program at EMI, as he progressed to lacquer cutter, mastering engineer and then balance (or recording) engineer.<ref name="Womack/Encyclopedia p 256">{{cite book|last=Womack|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Womack|year=2014|title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn= 978-0-313-39171-2 }}</ref> During that time, he helped record other artists for the label, including [[Judy Garland]],<ref name="Womack/Encyclopedia p 256" /> and assisted at the EMI artist test of [[the Hollies]].<ref name="isbn">{{cite book |last1=Emerick|first1=Geoff |last2=Massey|first2=Howard |title=Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles |publisher=Penguin|location=New York, NY |year=2006 |page=387 |isbn=978-1-59240-179-6 }}<!--|access-date=27 August 2009--></ref>  After working his way up to the recording engineer's position, Emerick engineered the 1966 [[Manfred Mann]] single "[[Pretty Flamingo]]", which became a number 1 hit in the UK.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite news|first=Todd|last=Leopold|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/06/geoff.emerick/index.html | publisher=[[CNN]] | title=The teenager who shaped The Beatles |date=7 April 2006 | access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref>

In April 1966 at the age of 20, Emerick took over as the Beatles' recording engineer, at the request of producer [[George Martin]], when Smith became a producer.<ref name="Womack/Encyclopedia p 256" />  Emerick's first album in this new role was ''[[Revolver (The Beatles album)|Revolver]]'', starting with the sessions for the song "[[Tomorrow Never Knows]]".<ref name="Womack/Encyclopedia p 256" /> It was Emerick's suggestion to record [[John Lennon]]'s vocal through a [[Leslie speaker]] on the song, to capture the ethereal sound Lennon wanted, and to [[Close mic|close-mic]] Starr's drums, formerly a prohibited practice at EMI Studios.<ref name="cnn.com"/>  In 1967, Emerick engineered "[[Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!]]", one of the most musically complex songs on ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. Lennon told Martin he wanted to re-create the "carnival atmosphere" of the [[Pablo Fanque]] circus poster that inspired the song. For the [[middle eight]] bars, Emerick spliced together multiple recordings of [[fairground organ]]s and [[calliope (music)|calliope]] in an attempt to create the effect; after a great deal of unsuccessful experimentation, Martin instructed Emerick to chop the tape into pieces with scissors, throw them up in the air, and re-assemble them at random.<ref>{{cite book
| last=Lewisohn
| first=Mark
| year=1988
| author-link=Mark Lewisohn
| title=The Beatles Recording Sessions
| url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesrecording00lewi
| url-access=limited
| publisher=[[Harmony Books]]
| location=New York
| isbn=978-0-517-57066-1
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesrecording00lewi/page/n98 98], 99, 105–106
}}</ref> Later in 1967, he engineered [[the Zombies]]' ''[[Odessey and Oracle]]'' and [[Tomorrow (band)|Tomorrow]]'s [[Tomorrow (Tomorrow album)|self-titled debut album]].<ref name="GuardianObit"/>

Emerick abandoned work on ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'' (also known as the "White Album") on 16 July 1968, and quit his position after McCartney, working for a frustrating three days trying to record "[[Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da]]", unleashed an angry swear word filled tirade.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/beatles-recording-engineer-geoff-emerick-dies-at-72/ |title=Beatles recording engineer Geoff Emerick dies at 72 |date=3 October 2018 |publisher=The Seattle Times |access-date=4 December 2022}}</ref> Emerick also objected to [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]], Martin's inexperienced assistant, being elevated to the role of producer in Martin's absence, with the band's acceptance.<ref>{{cite book|last=Womack|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Womack|year=2007|title=Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of The Beatles|publisher=Continuum|location=New York, NY|isbn= 978-0-8264-1746-6|page=224}}</ref> He returned to work with the Beatles on ''[[Abbey Road]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Christopher|last=Scapelliti|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/guide-recording-equipment-songs-and-instruments-featured-beatles-abbey-road-album |title=Guide to the Recording Equipment, Songs and Instruments Featured on The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' Album |work=[[Guitar World]] |date=26 September 2017|access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> Emerick received [[Grammy Awards]] for the engineering of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''<ref>{{cite web|first=Tim|last=De Lisle|url=https://www.newsweek.com/2017/05/26/beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-paul-mccartney-john-lennon-george-608717.html|title=The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' at 50: Why it's still worth celebrating|date=14 May 2017|work=[[Newsweek]]|access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref> and ''Abbey Road''.<ref name="Grammy" />

Despite his departure from the White Album sessions, Emerick remained on good terms with the Beatles, particularly [[Paul McCartney]], who invited Emerick to quit EMI and come and work for their company [[Apple Corps]] in 1969. In addition to engineering duties, Emerick oversaw the building of the band's [[Apple Studios (recording studio)|Apple Studio]] in the Apple Corps building.<ref name="GuardianObit">{{Cite news|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/03/geoff-emerick-beatles-recording-engineer-experiments|title=Geoff Emerick threw himself into The Beatles experiments|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=4 October 2018|access-date=4 October 2018}}</ref>