Overview
- Abbey Road Studios announced McDonald’s death and remembered him as a much-loved engineer who is survived by his wife, Sandra; the studio did not release a cause of death or funeral details.
- McDonald began at EMI’s Abbey Road in 1964 and has a first documented Beatles session dated to the June 1965 recording of “Yesterday.”
- He trained under engineers including Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott, became a balance engineer by 1969, and played a central role on the Beatles’ Abbey Road album, sharing the 1970 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical.
- After the Beatles split, McDonald engineered solo projects for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and worked on landmark albums such as All Things Must Pass, Imagine, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, The Madcap Laughs and Traveling Wilburys Vol.1.
- Abbey Road said staff welcomed McDonald back for a studio visit last year and that his death has prompted tributes from colleagues, family and the recording community while underscoring his technical influence on modern studio practice.