Unless you’re a dedicated musicologist – or you grew up in England in the 1960’s – you may never have heard of Joe Meek. Joe Meek was one of the greatest pop music producers of the 1960’s, with over 40 hits in England – and a #1 hit in America. He was one of the first pop music producers to use multitracking, to compress and alter the sounds of instruments for pop music, and to challenge the established idea of what a 3-minute pop song should sound like. He was also a paranoid schizophrenic who believed that Buddy Holly was communicating from the spirit world – until one day in 1967, when he took a shotgun, killed his landlady and then turned the gun on himself.
Wow… makes Phil Spector look like a choirboy, doesn’t he?
I should note that Joe Meek also had a streak of bad luck. He turned down an offer to produce an unknown group from Liverpool – the Beatles, I think they were called – and he also passed on recording David Bowie and Rod Stewart. He did record some of Tom Jones’ early tracks, and was able to sell them when Jones became an international superstar.
Well, on today’s edition of K-Chuck Radio, I’ve got ten tracks that were produced or engineered by Joe Meek, and you can see that his creations influenced a thousand other artists.
HUMPHREY LYTTELTON
Bad Penny Blues
Joe Meek altered the piano’s sound for this recording; despite Humphrey Lyttelton’s protests, it became a big hit in England. And somewhere down the road, it became the musical inspiration for the Beatles’ “Lady Madonna.” Don’t believe me? Take a listen.
JOHN LEYTON
Johnny Remember Me
This song was one of those “blood in the grooves” tunes that populated the late 1950’s – you know, “Tell Laura I Love Her,” “Teen Angel,” “Last Kiss,” those kind of songs. This was actually a #1 hit in England.
THE TORNADOS
Telstar
If you ever want to win a bar bet, this song – not any song by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones – was the first by a British band to hit #1 in America. It won Joe Meek the Ivor Novello Award for biggest-selling song of 1962. It was also the basis for a nasty lawsuit involving whether Meek had plagiarized the melody of a French composer for Telstar – the case was settled in Meek’s favor, but only after Meek had died.
HEINZ
Just Like Eddie
Heinz Burt was the bassist for the Tornados, and he had a few hits of his own. This rockabilly homage to Eddie Cochran was the biggest of them. It was written by Geoff Goddard, Joe Meek’s longtime songwriter and collaborator.
THE HONEYCOMBS
Have I the Right?
Another worldwide smash, the Honeycombs were named for their female drummer, Honey Lantree. This hit actually reached #5 in America, and still gets played on some oldies radio stations.
THE HONEYCOMBS
Eyes
This is a lesser-known Honeycombs hit, and it actually discusses homosexuality, which was an arrestable offense in England in the 1960’s.
THE CRYIN’ SHAMES
Please Stay
This version of the smooth Drifters’ hit was later re-recorded by current pop chanteuses Duffy for her Blackferry album.
THE CRYIN’ SHAMES
Nobody Waved Goodbye
If I ever do a K-Chuck Radio segment on the ten most depressing and hopeless pop songs of all time, I’m going to rank this one at about track #5.
MIKE BERRY
Tribute to Buddy Holly
I mentioned before that Joe Meek had an inordinate fascination with Buddy Holly; that he believed Holly spoke to him in dreams. That might explain this tribute song.
Ten songs by a forgotten pop music pioneer. Right here… on K-Chuck Radio.
Chuck The Writer 