(from wikepedia.com)
". . . Despite not being able to play a musical instrument or write notation, (Joe) Meek displayed a remarkable facility for writing and producing successful commercial recordings. In writing songs he was reliant on musicians such as Dave Adams, Geoff Goddard or Charles Blackwell to transcribe melodies from his vocal "demos". He worked on 245 singles, of which 45 were major hits (top fifty). He pioneered studio tools such as multiple over-dubbing on one- and two-track machines, close miking, direct input of bass guitars, the compressor, and effects like echo and reverb, as well as sampling. Unlike other producers, his search was for the 'right' sound rather than for a catchy musical tune, and throughout his brief career he single-mindedly followed his quest to create a unique "sonic signature" for every record he produced.
At a time when many studio engineers were still wearing white coats and assiduously trying to maintain clarity and fidelity, Meek, was producing everything on the three floors of his "home" studio and was never afraid to distort or manipulate the sound if it created the effect he was seeking. Meek was one of the first producers to grasp and fully exploit the possibilities of the modern recording studio. His innovative techniques—physically separating instruments, treating instruments and voices with echo and reverb, processing the sound through his fabled home-made electronic devices, the combining of separately-recorded performances and segments into a painstakingly constructed composite recording—comprised a major breakthrough in sound production. . .
. . . In 1993, former session singer Ted Fletcher introduced the Joemeek line of audio processing equipment. The homage to Meek was due to his influence in the early stages of audio compression. The name and product line were sold to the American company PMI Audio Group in 2003. The current product line includes a microphone series called "Telstar", named after Meek's biggest hit. Meek's reputation for experiments in recording music was acknowledged by the Music Producers Guild who created The Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production in 2009. MPG chairman Mike Howlett said the award was "paying homage to this remarkable producer's pioneering spirit". The winner of the inaugural award in 2009 was producer and musician Brian Eno. Meek was ranked the greatest producer of all time by NME. . ."
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