Global InformationJoe Meek information
Joe Meek | |
|---|---|
 Meek at his home recording studio, c. 1960s | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert George Meek |
| Also known as | Robert Duke, Peter Jacobs |
| Born | 5 April 1929 Newent, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 3 February 1967 (aged 37) Holloway Road, London, England |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Record producer, sound engineer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1954–1967 |
| Labels | UK: Triumph (co-owner), Pye Nixa, Piccadilly, Decca, Ember, Oriole, Columbia, Top Rank, HMV, Parlophone USA: Tower, London, Coral |
Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967)[5] was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like overdubbing, sampling and reverberation.[6]
Meek is considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio as an instrument, and becoming one of the first producers to be recognised for his individual identity as an artist.[7][8]
Charting singles Meek produced for other artists include "Johnny Remember Me" (John Leyton, 1961), "Just Like Eddie" (Heinz, 1963), "Angela Jones" (Michael Cox, 1960), "Have I the Right?" (the Honeycombs, 1964), and "Tribute to Buddy Holly" (Mike Berry, 1961). The Tornados' instrumental "Telstar" (1962), written and produced by Meek, became the first record by a British rock group to reach number one in the US Hot 100.[9] It also spent five weeks at number one in the UK singles chart, with Meek receiving an Ivor Novello Award for this production as the "Best-Selling A-Side" of 1962. He also produced music for films such as Live It Up! (US title Sing and Swing, 1963), a pop music film. Meek's concept album I Hear a New World (1960), which contains innovative use of electronic sounds, was not fully released in his lifetime.
His reputation for experiments in recording music was acknowledged by the Music Producers Guild who in 2009 created "The Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production" as a "homage to [the] remarkable producer's pioneering spirit".[10] In 2014, Meek was ranked the greatest producer of all time by NME, elaborating: "Meek was a complete trailblazer, attempting endless new ideas in his search for the perfect sound. ... The legacy of his endless experimentation is writ large over most of your favourite music today."[11]
At the time of his death, Meek possessed thousands of unreleased recordings later dubbed "The Tea Chest Tapes". His commercial success as a producer was short-lived, and he gradually sank into debt and depression. On 3 February 1967, using a shotgun owned by musician Heinz Burt, Meek killed his landlady, Violet Shenton, and then shot himself.
- ^ Brend 2005, p. 55.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Savage2006was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Joe Meek and Telstar's tragic tale". The Independent. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ Chusid, Irwin (2000). Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-372-4. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ "Joe Meek". Nndb.com. 3 February 1967. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
- ^ Fact (28 February 2013). "Joe Meek's experimental pop classic I Hear A New World gets expanded reissue". Fact. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ Patrick, Jonathan (8 March 2013). "Joe Meek's pop masterpiece I Hear a New World gets the chance to haunt a whole new generation of audiophile geeks". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ "Approfondimenti - Joe Meek - Joe Meek - Suoni da un altro mondo :: Gli Speciali di OndaRock". Ondarock.it. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ James E. Perone (2009). Mods, Rockers, and the Music of the British Invasion. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-275-99860-8.
- ^ "Brian Eno wins the first Joe Meek award". Audioprointernational.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Joe Meek (23 July 2014). "The 50 Greatest Producers Ever | No. 1 Joe Meek". Nme.Com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2014.