Most of the classic catalog of the Beatles was produced by George Martin who passed away recently at the age of 90. The cause of death is yet to be released. The news was reported by Ringo Starr on Twitter in which he expressed his condolences to his family and said he would be missed. He also thanked Martin for his kindness and love. Over the years, there have been a lot of people who have claimed to be the fifth member of the Beatles, but if anyone can credibly hold this title, it is George Martin.
In 1962, he signed the Beatles to their first record and the producer also worked with them extensively on most of the music the band had recorded in the next eight years that included ‘Love Me Do’ and ended with the amazing ‘Abbey Road’. In 1971, John Lennon had said that Mr. Martin had made them what they were in the studio as he helped them in communicating with other musicians.
Martin was born in Highbury London on January 3rd, 1926. He begun to play piano at an early age and joined the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy in 1943. He worked in the Classical Music’s Department at BBC after World War II before moving to EMI. He spent most of his time producing records for British comedians like Dudley Moore, Bernard Cribbins and Peter Sellers. He had met the Beatles in 1962 when the band had developed somewhat of a cult following, but remained unsuccessful in getting a recording deal. The producer was approached by Brian Epstein, the group’s manager and they got him to listen to their demo tape.
In his memoirs, Martin said that the demo was not exactly a knockout and he understood why people had turned it down. However, he added that it had a roughness to it that he hadn’t heard before and more than one person was singing. On June 6th, 1962, he called the Beatles into the Abbey Road Studio for a test session and the band was thrilled. There was an obvious cultural gap between the group and Martin, but they respected each other. They agreed to fire Pete Best, the drummer, when Martin said he wasn’t cutting it.
He offered the Beatles their first recording contract weeks later. He also played in some Beatles songs like In My Life in which he played the piano. The cultural distance and age different between Martin and the band worked out well for everyone as he didn’t let drugs affect the recording music. In 1969, the band didn’t want any production gimmicks and handed their work to Phil Spector. Martin was undoubtedly shocked, but they called him back for Abbey Road. He said they were really friendly and amicable. Martin said that even though there was pressure for the group to reform, he didn’t think it would be a good idea so he simply worked with the members on their individual projects.
While Martin’s name will always be connected to the Beatles, he worked with others like Cheap Trick, Celine Dion, Jeff Beck and Kenny Rogers.
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