Editing Atlantic Records (section)

===Tom Dowd===
Recording engineer and producer [[Tom Dowd]] played a crucial role in Atlantic's success. He initially worked for Atlantic on a freelance basis, but within a few years he had been hired as the label's full-time staff engineer. His recordings for Atlantic and Stax influenced pop music.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tom-dowd-603058.html |title=Tom Dowd: Influential producer for Atlantic Records |work=The Independent |date=November 2, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919080151/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tom-dowd-603058.html |archive-date=September 19, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Dan Daley |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/engineers-who-changed-recording |title=The Engineers Who Changed Recording |website=Sound on Sound |date=October 2004 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403201611/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/engineers-who-changed-recording |archive-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref>

Atlantic was one of the first independent labels to make recordings in stereo: Dowd used a portable stereo recorder which ran simultaneously with the studio's existing mono recorder. In 1953 (according to ''Billboard'') Atlantic was the first label to issue commercial LPs recorded in the experimental stereo system called [[binaural recording]].<ref name="Kramer p. 38">Kramer 1958, p. 38.</ref> In this system, recordings were made using two microphones, spaced at approximately the distance between the human ears. Thd left and right channels were recorded as two separate, parallel grooves. Playing them back required a turntable with a special tone-arm fitted with dual needles; it was not until around 1958 that the single stylus microgroove system (in which the two stereo channels were cut into either side of a single groove) became the industry standard.<ref>{{cite web |author1=David Edwards |author2=René Wu |author3=Patrice Eyries |author4=Mike Callahan |url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlantic12001463.html |title=Atlantic Album Discography, Part 2: 1200 Jazz Series (1949–1966) |website=Both Sides Now Publications |date=October 6, 2005 |access-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref> By the late 1950s stereo LPs and turntables were being introduced. Atlantic's early stereo recordings included "Lover's Question" by Clyde McPhatter, "[[What Am I Living For]]" by [[Chuck Willis]], "I Cried a Tear" by LaVern Baker, "Splish Splash" by Bobby Darin, "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters and "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles. Although these were primarily 45rpm mono singles for much of the 1950s, Dowd stockpiled his "parallel" stereo takes for future release. In 1968 the label issued ''History of Rhythm and Blues, Volume 4'' in stereo. Stereo versions of Ray Charles "What'd I Say" and "Night Time is the Right Time" were included on the Atlantic anthology ''The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings, 1952–1959''.<ref name="Atlantic Records Story" />

Atlantic's New York studio was the first in America to install [[multitrack recording]] machines, developed by the [[Ampex]] company. Bobby Darin's "Splish, Splash" was the first song to be recorded on an 8-track recorder. It was not until the mid-1960s that multitrack recorders became the norm in English studios and EMI's [[Abbey Road Studios]] did not install 8-track facilities until 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abbeyroad.com/visit/history-of-abbey-road/1960s/ |title=Abbey Road Studios – History – 1960s |website=Abbeyroad.com |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927001221/http://www.abbeyroad.com/visit/history-of-abbey-road/1960s/ |archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>

Atlantic entered the LP market early: its first was ''This Is My Beloved'' (March 1949), a 10" album of poetry by [[Walter Benton (poet)|Walter Benton]] that was narrated by [[John Dall]] with music by [[Vernon Duke]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=David Edwards |author2=René Wu |author3=Patrice Eyries |author4=Mike Callahan |author5=Randy Watts |url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlantic100400.html |title=Atlantic Album Discography, Part 1: 100 & 400 Series (1949–1954) |website=Both Sides Now Publications |date=August 29, 2010 |access-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref> In 1951, Atlantic was one of the first independent labels to [[Record press|press]] records in the 45rpm single format.  By 1956 the 45 had surpassed the 78 in sales for singles. In April of that year, Miriam (Abramson) Bienstock reported to ''Billboard'' that Atlantic was selling 75% of its singles as 45s. During the previous year, 78s had outsold 45s by a ratio of two to one.<ref name="broven66"/>