Feb 2022 folk-rock fullband biab wikipedia atlas-obscura
At 7am, I thought I would start a feast of songs today with a quick Atlas Obscura random page to write about. Hit a great subject. Joe Meek was a sound engineer and Record producer in the 60s in London England. He pioneered many modern recording techniques.
He died in a murder suicide in 1967, killing his landlady, then himself. There is a plaque on the building where he lived and worked.
Memorial Plaque: Joe Meek- Record Producer- The Telstar Man- 1929 - 1967 Pioneer of Sound - Recording Technology Lived, Worked, and Died Here
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/meeksville-sound-plaque
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Meek
I took the chord structure of his most famous song, Telstar, referenced the main theme, and got to work.
Had a rough draft by 10. Then I fell into the weeds of directing a robot band arrangement for it. Family obligations, etc... and here it is 9:30 pm. About 10 hours past time to FAWM it and move on.
Telstar Man © Sean McGaughey Feb 12, 2022
Basic Chord Riff
A F#m D E, A F#m Bm E
Cho 1:
Joe Meek
Record Producer
The Telstar Man
Lived Here
103 Holloway Road
Vi
Joe Meek rented 3 floors
Above a leather goods store
In his humble home and studio
He crafted sounds never heard before
Chorus2 :
Joe Meek
Record Producer
The Telstar Man
Lived here, Worked here,
An alchemist of sound
A recording pioneer, tinkering in his studio
Creating sounds till then unheard on the radio.
With over 50 hits, he made house-hold names
He also said the Beatles would never be famous.
Chorus 3:
Joe Meek
Record Producer
The Telstar Man
Lived here, Worked here,
Meeksville Studios
A 60s star maker, He was King of the Charts
But inside those walls on Holloway Road,
Joe was falling apart.
Oppression, depression hemming him in.
His star was tarnished then came to a fiery end.
Bridge
Bm F#m
One day the pain was too much to bear.
Bm E
Shot the landlady then himself and his story ends there.
Chorus 3 :
Joe Meek
Record Producer
The Telstar Man
[Lived here, Worked here,
And he died here X2]
@keithcuts Feb 2022
What a creative prompt to write about!
The track is a fun groove.
The lyrics tell the tale to a tee!
Nice job !
@roblincoln Feb 2022
Great tribute to one of the coolest music producers of the 1960's. Always loved Telstar so this was a pleasure to hear.
@markg Feb 2022
Of course I've listened to Telstar, and love the audio references in your composition.
I didn't know the story of Joe Meek and you tell it well.
Well done!
@jtsteam Feb 2022
Nice to get that Telstar reference in - I've always liked that tune. It's a sad story and I like the way your robot band has presented it.
@sheamiejay Feb 2022
Great way to tell his story. With one of his songs. It brings you back to that era with the melody and the instrument choice.
@timfatchen Feb 2022
Joe Meek! I'd forgotten. The ice-cream sequence and the Telstar quotes set the scene, neat narrative, good production, all up a good ode to his memory. And I'm back in the early 1960s again. High school. Bad luck for the poor landlady though.
@standup Feb 2022
Joe Meek! Love that you used the Telstar melody.
@valeriecox Feb 2022
Wow. That is a really sad story. Worst part is, he took the landlady with him. That's a tragedy upon tragedy. The track sounds really good though.
@tuneslayer Feb 2022
Of course I've known of Telstar all my life but none of the story behind it. This is a great find, great storytelling even if the story is tragic, and skillful use of the Telstar riff. Well done.
@billwhite51 Feb 2022
ive always loved telstar, didnt know any thing about joe meek. thanks for giving a history lesson in the form of such a cool song.
@robheron1 Feb 2022
Sweet! I want to dis this for being a Weird Al thing, but it's just too good, and educational. Thanks!