Record Producer, Audio Engineer. He worked with legends like: Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, James Brown, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced such hits as: "Layla," "Respect," "Free Bird" and John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." After serving as a sergeant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II (WWII) and working on the Manhattan Project while attending Columbia University, his record producing career spanned over 50 years, beginning in 1947 at a music publishing company before joining Atlantic Records. He is credited with introducing the eight-track multi-track recorder into a major recording studio in 1957. In the mid-1960s, he left Atlantic and started his own independent producing career. In the early 1970s, Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida became Atlantic Records South and Dowd produced-engineered various albums at Criteria. Clapton, a long-time friend of Dowd, once called him "The ideal recording man." In 1992, he won a Grammy Award for co-writing liner notes for Aretha Franklin's retrospective album, Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings and in 2002, he was presented a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). In 2012, Tom Dowd was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the Award for Musical Excellence category.
Record Producer, Audio Engineer. He worked with legends like: Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, James Brown, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced such hits as: "Layla," "Respect," "Free Bird" and John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." After serving as a sergeant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II (WWII) and working on the Manhattan Project while attending Columbia University, his record producing career spanned over 50 years, beginning in 1947 at a music publishing company before joining Atlantic Records. He is credited with introducing the eight-track multi-track recorder into a major recording studio in 1957. In the mid-1960s, he left Atlantic and started his own independent producing career. In the early 1970s, Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida became Atlantic Records South and Dowd produced-engineered various albums at Criteria. Clapton, a long-time friend of Dowd, once called him "The ideal recording man." In 1992, he won a Grammy Award for co-writing liner notes for Aretha Franklin's retrospective album, Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings and in 2002, he was presented a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). In 2012, Tom Dowd was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the Award for Musical Excellence category.
Bio by: Craig Alan Kestner
Advertisement
See more Dowd memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
