The 'Fifth Beatle' George Martin dies at 90
Legendary British music producer Sir George Martin often called the 'Fifth Beatle' who transformed the Beatles into international stars, died at the age of 90. The news of his death was announced by Ringo Starr, who later wrote: "God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family... George will be missed". Tributes from the music world poured in on Twitter.
Game changer for the Beatles
George Martin was a record producer, arranger, composer and the head of EMI's Parlophone Records when he met the Beatles in early 1962. In spite of a cult following in parts of England, the Beatles had little success in getting a recording deal. In November 1962, the band recorded 'Please Please Me' under Martin's supervision which went on to become their first world-wide hit.
George Martin: The arranger
Most of the Beatles' orchestral arrangements and instrumentation were written or performed by Martin. It was George Martin's magic as an arranger that "strings (on "Eleanor Rigby"), brass (on "Got to Get You Into My Life"), marching band (on "Yellow Submarine") and solo French horn (on "For No One"), as well as a tabla player (for Harrison's "Love You To")" were added.
205 of Beatles tracks produced by Martin
In a career spanning 7 decades, George Martin produced 205 commercially released Beatles tracks.
Martin and his royal associations
In recognition of his notable work in the music industry and popular culture, George Martin was made a Knight Bachelor in 1996. In 1997, he produced Elton John's new version of "Candle In The Wind" to honor the late Princess Diana; it was a chart-topper and sold 37 million copies. In 2002, he arranged music for the musical celebrations for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
George Martin's work with other musical honchos
Martin produced recordings for many other artists, including names like Matt Monro, Cilla Black, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, The Fourmost, David and Jonathan, Elton John, and Celine Dion to name a few.
Musical score for movies, books
Martin produced music for two James Bond themes. The first being "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey in 1964 and "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings in 1973. Martin also wrote a memoir All You Need is Ears. In 1983, he edited Making Music: The Guide to Writing, Performing and Recording. In 1993, Martin published Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt Pepper.
Awards and recognition that came Martin's way
He won 6 Grammy Awards; in 2008, he received the Grammy Foundation's Leadership Award. Martin was honoured with 2 Ivor Novello Awards - Special Award for Outstanding Services to British Music in 1964, and the Award for Outstanding Services to British Music in 1979 George Martin was nominated for an Oscar for his composition on Beatles film 'A Hard Day's Night'.
World’s most successful record producer
In 1963, Martin's productions spent 32 weeks at number 1 position and he holds the record of being "the world's most successful record producer with 30 number ones in the US and UK singles charts".
Share this timeline