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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Remembering George Martin


The man who was called "The Fifth Beatle," Sir George Martin passed away at 90. While the cause of his death is unknown, what is known is the treasure of music he gave the world.

Martin was born in London in 1926 and fought in World War II in the Royal Navy. After leaving his military services in 1947, he studied piano and oboe. By the 1950s, he was recording jazz and comedy records for Parlophone Records where he would become the head of A&R.

In 1962, he met Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, who introduced him to the band. After hearing the Fab Four, he would eventually sign them to his label and produce all of their albums, except for Let It Be, which was produced by Phil Spector.

He guided The Beatles inside the studio and out. Paul McCartney described him as his "second father" and while the band would go on to change music history, one of the reasons was due to Martin being behind the decks. From the opening chords of "A Hard Day's Night" to his string arraignments on "Yesterday," "Elenore Rigby," and "The End." As well as asking an orchestra to play out of tune for "A Day in the Life," the mark on not just the Liverpool band's music he had would stretch onto the rest of music forever.

After the Beatles split in 1970, he continued to work as a producer. He would go on to produce the score and theme song of the James Bond film, Live and Let Die, which McCartney recorded with his post-Beatles band Wings. He also worked The Who, Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, Celine Dion, some of the solo work of McCartney and Ringo Starr. In 1997, he worked with Elton John and produced “Candle In the Wind,” which was a tribute to Princess Diana and would go on to become one of the biggest selling singles of all time.

As tributes pour into the man who passed away on Tuesday night, the world will now remember the mark and legacy of someone who shaped the soundtrack of our lives.





A photo posted by Sean Ono Lennon (@sean_ono_lennon) on

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