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Overdub - To record a new musical part on an unused track in synchronization with previously recorded tracks.
Information
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously taped musical recording.
There were earlier precedents (such as Sidney Bechet's 1941 song, "Sheik of Araby"), but perhaps the first overdubbed recording on multi-track magnetic tape was inventor and guitarist Les Paul on his 1947 "Lover (When You're Near Me)", featuring eight different electric guitar pieces. His later work would be seminal in the popularization of multi-track recording.
In the years since, overdubbing has become very common, and in 2006, is probably the norm for recording most types of popular music. Typically the rhythm section is recorded first (these are called the "basic tracks"), then solo instruments (such as piano, guitars) are usually recorded, followed finally by singing.
Overdubs can be used for a variety of reasons. One of the most obvious is for convenience; for example, if a bass guitarist is temporarily unavailable, the recording can be made and the bass track added later. Similarly, if only one or two guitarists are available, but a song calls for multiple guitar parts, a guitarist can play both lead and rhythm guitar (such as in Cream's hit, "Sunshine of Your Love", when it would have been physically impossible for Eric Clapton to solo and play rhythm at the same time). Singers who also play an instrument find overdubbing a convenience, since it allows them to focus on one role at a time.
In other cases, overdubbing can be used to enhance the quality of a track, such as adding orchestral pieces (i.e. "A Day In The Life"). Obviously, the alternative (fitting an entire orchestra into a recording studio) would have been less attractive. The members of Queen overdubbed their voices to create the chorus effect for "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Numerous recording artists have made albums with only (or mostly) themselves performing, using overdubs to serve as their own 'one-man band', including Paul McCartney (McCartney, McCartney II, and 2005's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard), Mike Oldfield, Todd Rundgren (Something/Anything?), and Prince, on many of his 1980s classics.
Overdubbing has sometimes been viewed negatively, when it is seen as being used to artificially enhance the musical skills of an artist. The early records of the Monkees were made by groups of studio musicians recording backing tracks to the songs (often in a different studio, and some before the group was even formed), which were later overdubbed with the Monkees' vocals. While the songs became hits, many critics cried foul, and Michael Nesmith in particular disliked having to "duplicate someone else's records" for their television show. No cheating was intended in the practise (with the emphasis on the TV program, and with the four members not an experienced group, it was felt that using studio 'ringers' would be more efficient), and numerous other singers and groups had studio help, but this didn't save them from critical and public scorn.
See also
"Overdubbing"