Tom Dowd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tom Dowd |
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Dowd demonstrates how he mixed "Layla"
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas John Dowd |
| Born | October 20, 1925 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 27, 2002 (aged 77) Aventura, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | audio engineer, record producer |
| Years active | 1947–2002 |
| Labels | Atlantic Records, Apex Studios, Criteria Studios |
Thomas John Dowd (born October 20, 1925 – died October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer. He worked for a famous company called Atlantic Records. Tom Dowd was known for inventing a cool way to record music called multitrack recording. He worked on many different types of music, like blues, jazz, pop, rock, and soul.
Contents
Tom Dowd's Amazing Music Career
Early Life and Learning
Tom Dowd was born in Manhattan, New York City. When he was young, he learned to play many instruments. These included the piano, tuba, violin, and string bass. His mom was an opera singer, and his dad was a concertmaster. This means his dad led an orchestra.
Tom finished Stuyvesant High School when he was 16. He then studied music at City College of New York. He also played in a band at Columbia University in New York. Later, he even became a conductor for a band there.
Working with Science and Sound
When Tom was 18, he joined the military. He continued his work in physics at Columbia University. He worked on a very secret project. This project was so advanced that university courses could not teach him more.
Making Music History
After his military work, Tom Dowd got a job at a studio that recorded European classical music. Soon after, he started working at Atlantic Records. His first big hit was "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" by Eileen Barton.
Tom quickly became a top recording engineer at Atlantic Records. He recorded many famous artists. These included Ray Charles, the Drifters, the Coasters, and Bobby Darin. He even recorded Bobby Darin's hit song "Mack the Knife."
He also captured amazing jazz performances. Some of these jazz legends were John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. Tom Dowd had a clever idea for Ray Charles' song "What'd I Say." He suggested splitting the song into two parts. These parts were released on both sides of the same record.
Tom worked as an engineer and producer for a very long time. He started in the 1940s and continued into the 2000s. He helped create albums for many, many artists. Some of these famous names include Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cream, the Allman Brothers Band, and Aretha Franklin. He also worked at Apex Studios in the 1950s.
In 2002, Tom Dowd received a special award. It was called a Grammy Trustees Award. This award honored his lifetime achievements in music. He passed away on October 27, 2002, in Florida. He had been living and working at Criteria Studios there for many years.
Tom Dowd's Lasting Impact
Tom Dowd truly helped shape the sound of music. He worked with so many great artists. Because of this, he had a huge influence on music in the second half of the 20th century.
He was the one who encouraged Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records to get a special machine. This machine was an Ampex eight-track recorder. This made Atlantic the first recording company to use multiple tracks.
Tom Dowd is known for making the eight-track recording system popular. This system was used for commercial music. He also helped make stereophonic sound more common. He even invented new ways to change sound after it was first recorded.
In 2003, a movie was made about his life. It was a documentary called Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. In 2004, an actor named Rick Gomez played Tom Dowd. This was in the movie Ray, which was about musician Ray Charles.
In 2012, Tom Dowd was honored again. He was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This happened after he passed away.
Discography
Singles
- Derek and the Dominos - "Layla"
