George Martin, the man best known as “The Fifth Beatle”, who is responsible for some ofThe Beatlesbiggest hits, passed away at the age of 90 yesterday. The beloved music producer’s death was first revealed byThe Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr’sTwitteraccount, and later confirmed by several other outlets includingCNN, who announced the producer died “peacefully in his home” in England. Here’s what the producer’s manager,Adam Sharp, had to say in a statement.
“In a career that spanned seven decades he was recognized globally as one of music’s most creative talents and a gentleman to the end. The family ask that their privacy be respected at this time.”
George Martinwas born to a working-class family in 1926, and in his 20s, he began his career in music by producing a number of classical music productions, taking over EMI’s Parlophone music label at the age of 29. He first metThe Beatlesand their manager Brian Epstein in 1962, and while he wasn’t thoroughly impressed with their music, he gave them a studio audition. He enjoyed their music except for the work of drummer Pete Best, which lead the group to replace him with Ringo Starr. Shortly thereafter, the group recorded their first single with Parlophone, “Love Me Do,” which was followed up by “Please Please Me,” which launched them to stardom in England.
George Martinwent on to produce all ofThe Beatles' studio albums, which spanned 23 #1 hits in the U.S. and 30 in the U.K. He also produced the soundtracks forThe BeatlesmoviesYellow Submarine,Help!andA Hard Days' Night, and he went on to work with the group’s individual members following their breakup in 1970.The Beatles’Paul McCartneyreleased a statement on his official websitePaulMcCartney.comaboutGeorge Martin’s death, which you can read in full below.
“If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it wasGeorge. From the day that he gaveThe Beatlesour first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. It’s hard to choose favorite memories of my time withGeorge, there are so many but one that comes to mind was the time I brought the song ‘Yesterday’ to a recording session and the guys in the band suggested that I sang it solo and accompany myself on guitar. After I had done thisGeorge Martinsaid to me, ‘PaulI have an idea of putting a string quartet on the record.’ I said, ‘Oh no George, we are arock and rollband and I don’t think it’s a good idea.’ With the gentle bedside manner of a great producer he said to me, ‘Let us try it and if it doesn’t work we won’t use it and we’ll go with your solo version.’ I agreed to this and went round to his house the next day to work on the arrangement. He took my chords that I showed him and spread the notes out across the piano, putting the cello in the low octave and the first violin in a high octave and gave me my first lesson in how strings were voiced for a quartet. When we recorded the string quartet at Abbey Road, it was so thrilling to know his idea was so correct that I went round telling people about it for weeks. His idea obviously worked because the song subsequently became one of the most recorded songs ever with versions byFrank Sinatra,Elvis Presley, Ray Charles,Marvin Gayeand thousands more. This is just one of the many memories I have of George who went on to help me with arrangements on ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Live and Let Die’ and many other songs of mine…The world has lost a truly great man who left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music. God bless you George and all who sail in you!”
George Martinalso produced hit songs from artists like Jeff Beck,Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Gerry and The Pacemakers, America, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Rogers, Cheap Trick, UFO and Celine Dion. He also composed a number of movie scores, including theJames Bondadventure Live and Let Die. He also produced the soundtrack’s title track byPaul McCartneyandWings, which was a Best Original SongOscarnominee. He was also a creative force behind Beatles Love, a widely popularCirque du Soleilshow staged by Julie Taymor, which has been a Las Vegas hit for more than a decade. Take a look at Ringo Starr’s tweet below honoring the late greatGeorge Martin.
