Historical Figure
George Martin
d. 2016
English record producer (1926–2016)
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Biography
Sir George Henry Martin was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" due to his extensive involvement in each of the Beatles' original albums. Martin's formal musical expertise and interest in novel recording practices facilitated the group's rudimentary musical education and desire for new musical sounds to record. Most of their orchestral and string arrangements were written by Martin, and he played piano or keyboards on a number of their records. Their collaborations resulted in popular, highly acclaimed records with innovative sounds, such as the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Timeline
The story of George Martin, told in moments.
Signed the Beatles after every other label in London passed. He was producing comedy records for Parlophone at the time. He thought Ringo's drumming was weak and said so.
Produced Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's. He figured out how to record backwards guitar, double-tracked vocals, and string arrangements that no pop record had ever used. The Beatles called him "the fifth Beatle."
Produced Let It Be and Abbey Road in reverse order. Abbey Road was the last album they recorded together. He knew it was the end.
Died at home in Wiltshire at 90. He'd been losing his hearing for years. Paul McCartney said the world lost a truly magical person.
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