Dowd is understandably proud of Atlantic's storied past, particularly in light of the obstacles faced by what was then a struggling independent. "Victor, Columbia and EMI were using cutting heads that cost $2,000 and $3,000 apiece and weighed nine pounds," Dowd points out. "We were trying to compete with $150 and $200 cutter heads. We were going by the seat of our trousers."

Dowd made the transition from engineering to production by becoming a valuable technical resource in the studio. For instance, he constructed finished masters by using bits and pieces from various takes of a song, blurring the distinction between engineering and production.

"Here I am mixing down the first and third take up to point X, figuring out which one I want to use for the intro and which one for the chorus, then back to the other one until we get to the solo," Dowd explains. "All of a sudden I'm coming from a different place than they're accustomed to."

When he left Atlantic at the end of the '60s, Dowd quickly established himself as one of rock's preeminent producers, supervising such classics as Live at Fillmore East by the Allman Brothers Band and Layla by Derek and the Dominoes, an album Dowd considers one of his proudest moments.

Yet, Layla was initially a commercial failure. "When I walked out of the studio after having done that album, I said, 'That's the best album I have made since The Genius of Ray Charles,'" Dowd recalls. "When it didn't sell I was talking to myself saying 'I'm wrong. There's something missing somewhere.' But Atlantic stuck to their guns and a year later the thing was the rock 'n' roll national anthem of the world."

Dowd also collaborated with Eric Clapton on 461 Ocean Boulevard, There's One In Every Crowd and EC Was Here, albums that included such songs as "I Shot the Sheriff," "Let It Grow," "Further On Up the Road" and "Knocking On Heaven's Door."

Moreover, Dowd produced Rod Stewart's Atlantic Crossing and A Night On the Town, featuring such tracks as "The First Cut Is the Deepest," "Sailing," "Tonight's the Night" and Stewart's first rendering of "This Old Heart of Mine."

For Atlantic Crossing, Stewart's first American recording, Dowd suggested setting up shop in Muscle Shoals, Alabama using such players as guitarist Steve Cropper and the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. However, Stewart was shocked to discover that the band Dowd hired was not quite as he envisaged.