Hurricane Smith

Norman Smith Aka Hurricane Smith 22 February 1923 – 3 March 2008 Was An English Musician And Record Producer. He Was The Engineer On All Of The Recordings By The Beatles Up Until 1965 When EMI Promoted Him From Engineer To Producer. The Last Beatles Album He Recorded Was Rubber Soul. In Early 1967 He Began Working With A New Group Pink Floyd Producing Their First Three Studio Albums The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn A Saucerful Of Secrets And Ummagumma. During The Sessions For The Song "Remember A Day" Drummer Nick Mason Became Agitated That He Couldn't Come Up With The Right Drum Part For The Song. Smith However Knew What He Wanted With The Drums So He Played The Part Himself. Still Pink Floyd Outgrew Their Producer Somewhat Referring To Him As "Normal" Instead Of Norman Although Numerous Books Quote John Lennon As Having Come Up With The Nickname. In 1968 Smith Produced One Of The First Rock Concept Albums The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow. In 1971 Smith As A Recording Artist Under The Name Of Hurricane Smith Had A UK Hit With Don't Let It Die. In 1972 He Enjoyed A Transatlantic Hit With Oh Babe What Would You Say? Which Became A US # 3 Hit. This Recording Was A Demo Of A Song That He Had Written For A Different Artist To Record. When He Played It For Record Producer Mickie Most Mickie Was Impressed Enough To Tell Him To Release It As It Was. Also From Smith's Self-Titled Debut Album Was A Second Hit Single A Cover Of Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Who Was It?". Some Minor Hits Followed Like My Mother Was Her Name 1972 Beautiful Day Beautiful Night 1973 And To Make You My Baby 1974 . However His Subsequent Attempts At Producing Successful Recordings Proved Elusive. In 2004 Smith Released A New CD From Me To You SFMCD030 Which Is Freely Available And Includes New Recordings Of His Biggest Self-Penned Hits "Don't Let It Die" And "Oh Babe What Would You Say?" And Includes Messages In The Sleeve Notes From Sir Paul McCartney And Members Of Pink Floyd. Interviews On The Disc Can Be Cited To Confirm The Information Given Above. Norman Smith Has Written A Book The Sound Of The Beatles Published In June 2006. Smith Wrote A Memoir Entitled John Lennon Called Me Normal. It Debuted On 16 March 2007 As A Limited Edition At The Fest For Beatles Fans In Secaucus New Jersey. There Smith Appeared And Sang "Oh Babe". The Book Contains Never Before Published Pictures Newly Revealed Historical Facts About The Beatles And Pink Floyd At Abbey Road Studios As Well As Details Of Smith's Life As An RAF Glider Pilot. --- From Wikipedia --- read less