George Martin, the Fifth Beatle, dies aged 90
Italian postcard by Gruppo Editoriale Lo Vecchio, Genova. Picture: poster for The Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968). George Martin was the musical director.
Yesterday, 8 March, record producer George Martin (1926-2016) passed away. Martin helped the Beatles achieve unparalleled global success after hearing one of their demo tapes in 1962, when a number of other labels had previously turned them down. The ‘fifth Beatle’ was a talented musician and producer who oversaw landmark albums and helped the band to stretch the boundaries of sound recording.
George Henry Martin was a carpenter's son from North London. Having taught himself to play the piano, he was running his own dance band at school by the time he was 16. He attended The Guildhall School of Music after five years in the British Fleet Air Army. In 1950, he started producing records for EMI’s Parlophone label and was noted for his comedy recordings with the likes of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and a young Peter Cook and Jonathan Miller. The Goons connection quickly endeared him to the Beatles. While Martin was initially sceptical about their ability as musicians and songwriters, he took to their humour and personalities immediately. Memorably George Harrison told him: “I don’t like your tie for a start” when Martin asked him if they disliked anything about the set up. So, Martin was willing to take a chance on The Beatles's innovative version of American R&B. In November 1962, the band recorded Please Please Me, with Martin suggesting they speed the song up. As they finished, Martin told them from the control room: “Gentleman you have just made your first No 1 record” – which became true in the New Musical Express chart (although it was No 2 in the Record Retailer chart which became the official UK chart).
After his groundbreaking work with the Beatles, Martin had earned his ticket to ride, and he worked with a spectrum of luminaries including Jeff Beck, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, America, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Rogers, Ultravox and Elton John. He produced Shirley Bassey’s theme song for the Bond movie Goldfinger (1964), and composed the score for a further Bond, Live and Let Die (1973), as well as producing its title song, which was performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. The Beatles were always quick to credit Sir George’s central role in the creation of the band’s sound. Before his death at the hands of Marc Chapman in 1980, Lennon said: “George had done little or no rock 'n' roll when we met him and we'd never been in a studio so we did a lot of learning together." Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to a “great man”, saying : “He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family. If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George.”
Sources: The Telegraph and The Guardian.
George Martin, the Fifth Beatle, dies aged 90
Italian postcard by Gruppo Editoriale Lo Vecchio, Genova. Picture: poster for The Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968). George Martin was the musical director.
Yesterday, 8 March, record producer George Martin (1926-2016) passed away. Martin helped the Beatles achieve unparalleled global success after hearing one of their demo tapes in 1962, when a number of other labels had previously turned them down. The ‘fifth Beatle’ was a talented musician and producer who oversaw landmark albums and helped the band to stretch the boundaries of sound recording.
George Henry Martin was a carpenter's son from North London. Having taught himself to play the piano, he was running his own dance band at school by the time he was 16. He attended The Guildhall School of Music after five years in the British Fleet Air Army. In 1950, he started producing records for EMI’s Parlophone label and was noted for his comedy recordings with the likes of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and a young Peter Cook and Jonathan Miller. The Goons connection quickly endeared him to the Beatles. While Martin was initially sceptical about their ability as musicians and songwriters, he took to their humour and personalities immediately. Memorably George Harrison told him: “I don’t like your tie for a start” when Martin asked him if they disliked anything about the set up. So, Martin was willing to take a chance on The Beatles's innovative version of American R&B. In November 1962, the band recorded Please Please Me, with Martin suggesting they speed the song up. As they finished, Martin told them from the control room: “Gentleman you have just made your first No 1 record” – which became true in the New Musical Express chart (although it was No 2 in the Record Retailer chart which became the official UK chart).
After his groundbreaking work with the Beatles, Martin had earned his ticket to ride, and he worked with a spectrum of luminaries including Jeff Beck, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, America, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Rogers, Ultravox and Elton John. He produced Shirley Bassey’s theme song for the Bond movie Goldfinger (1964), and composed the score for a further Bond, Live and Let Die (1973), as well as producing its title song, which was performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. The Beatles were always quick to credit Sir George’s central role in the creation of the band’s sound. Before his death at the hands of Marc Chapman in 1980, Lennon said: “George had done little or no rock 'n' roll when we met him and we'd never been in a studio so we did a lot of learning together." Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to a “great man”, saying : “He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family. If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George.”
Sources: The Telegraph and The Guardian.