Bill Dooley

Bill Dooley (born June 17, 1954 - died March 19, 2010, Santa Monica, CA) was an American Recording, Mastering, and Chief Technical Engineer. With a career spanning nearly four decades, Bill first became involved in professional audio recording in 1973. While a student at the Berklee College Of Music, Bill demonstrated a natural talent for engineering. During his time there, he was instrumental in the construction of a new campus studio and was responsible for the recording of many live performances and student ensembles. Following his time at Berklee, Bill found himself as the Chief Engineer at New York City’s legendary Sear Sound, and eventually became the Chief Engineer at Atlantic Studios (a position only previously held by Tom Dowd), spending a decade working a their historic facility at 1841 Broadway. He also spent time in Atlantic’s post-production department where he apprenticed as a disk-mastering engineer under George Piros and Dennis King. After relocating to Los Angeles, he became a Staff Engineer at A&M Recording Studios where he was involved in the renovation of the facility and worked extensively as a Mastering Engineer there too. He left to become Director of Recording at Record Plant, Los Angeles and also had tenures as Director of Recording at Brooklyn Recording Studio, Extasy Recording Studios, and The Village Recorder. In 2003, Bill moved back to mastering, becoming the Chief Mastering Engineer at Paramount Recording Studios, a position he held until his death. Additionally, Bill was also the Chief Technical Engineer at Interscope Records' No Excuses Studios, a space commissioned by his long-time colleague, Jimmy Iovine, from its opening in 2007 until his passing. There Bill worked alongside veteran audio engineer and Studio Manager Ed Goodreau and seasoned engineer, producer, A&R Director, and Interscope Records Vice President of Studio Operations, Chuck Reed, to plan, oversee construction of, and supervise installation of two recording studios, three writing rooms, and a private concert venue; transforming an empty warehouse into a world-class recording facility. In his time there he also mentored and trained a slew of top audio engineers and music industry professionals including Ryan Shanahan, Tal Oz, Matt Benefield, Stephen Breuhaus, Matt Bang, James Guffey, Daniel Williams (5), Todd Averback, Will Sandalls, Josh Mosser, Priya Prins, Jonathan Merritt, James Hunt (7), Brian Allison, Malachi Mott, and Katherine Neis. Bill's mastering credits would easily fill several books, but his mixing and engineering credits are almost equally numerous. Over the course of his career he managed to work with an incredibly diverse roster of top artists including: Madonna, King Sunny Ade, Cheap Trick, Chaka Khan, Judas Priest, Herbie Mann, The Trammps, Meat Loaf, Blondie, Mötley Crüe, Reba McEntire, AC/DC, and countless more. Though his most prominent legacy will be as a brilliant technician and a gifted engineer, to those that knew him, Bill will be remembered as one of the most genuinely nice people in the recording industry. He was a caring father and grandfather, a devoted husband, a generous friend, a patient teacher, a BBQ and hockey enthusiast, and an all around wonderful human being; he is greatly missed. Professional Credits: Chief Engineer: Sear Sound and Atlantic Studios. Staff Engineer: A&M Studios. Director of Recording: Record Plant, Los Angeles, Brooklyn Recording Studio/One On One South/Extasy Recording Studio South (1991-2003) and The Village Recorder. Chief Mastering Engineer: Paramount Recording Studios 2003-2010. Chief Technical Engineer: No Excuses Studios 2007 - 2010.