Bob Doherty

Bob Doherty was the favored engineer of many producers of independent jazz, R&B, and doo wop material through the '40s and '50s. One of Doherty's haunts of note was the famed WOR Studio B in New York City, later he would switch to Studio 16; more than one producer trying to explain away the faults of a particular project has admitted problems began as soon as they found out that one of these studios, and Doherty along with it, would not be available. He was known not only for getting great sound, and getting it quickly, but for rolling with the punches. A typical example would be a session for producer Joe Davis in which the band was ready but the vocalist was a no-show. An instrumental was cut instead and it turned into a hit; no small thanks to the rip-roaring sound Doherty fashioned for the horns. This is just one anecdote in a long series of sessions that includes early jazz classics by artists such as Charles Mingus as well as the warblings of a then eight-year-old Leslie Uggams. The engineer was also part and parcel of many historic doo wop sessions by the likes of the Crickets and was put into service in the early days of the Atlantic label. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide