The musical world lost a great talent today. Producer George Martin, sometimes known as “The Fifth Beatle,” passed away today at 90 years old. He was a big name in the music world. Paul McCartney said that Martin “was like a second father to me.”
Martin signed the band to Parlophone Records in 1962. When he first met the Beatles, he said he “didn’t much like their songs.” But, he said, they learned how to write a hit song quickly.
The story broke when Ringo Starr tweeted this:
God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara George will be missed xxx ?✌️??☮
— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016
George produced most of the Beatles’ works from their first single, “Love Me Do,” until their last album, “Abbey Road.”
Martin was born in London in 1926; he started taking piano lessons when he was eight. He enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1943 at the age of 17 and served until 1947. After that, he worked in the classical music department for the BBC. He began recording music at Parlophone records in 1950.
He recorded many different styles of music, but he was focused on comedy and novelty records. In the early 50s, he was looking to bring more rock and roll acts to the label.
He recorded the first Beatles single, “Love Me Do,” in 1962, and it made it to number seventeen on the British charts. When making the Beatles music, he made use of many instruments that are not normally used in rock and roll: strings, brass, and harpsichords. He also contributed to “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!.”
He was knighted in 1996, becoming Sir George Martin. He made so many contributions to rock and roll that will last forever. He also was responsible for 30 number one hits in the U.S. and 23 number ones in the U.K. He will be greatly missed.
Featured image is by Capitol Records, available in the public domain.
