George Martin
For the author, see George R. R. Martin.Sir George Martin CBE (born
January 3,
1926 in
Holloway, London,
England) is sometimes referred to as "the
fifth Beatle", a title that he owes to his work as
producer of almost all of
The Beatles' records. In recognition of his services to the music industry and
popular culture, he is now a
Commander of the British Empire. He is also the father of producer
Giles Martin.
Martin attended the
Guildhall School of Music in the years after World War II, paying his way with a veteran's grant (he had served during the war in the
Royal Air Force). Following his graduation, he first worked for the
BBC's
classical music department, then joined
EMI in
1950, as assistant to Oscar Preuss, the head of EMI's
Parlophone Records. Taking over Parlophone as Preuss retired, Martin spent his first years with the
record label recording classical and
Baroque music,
original cast recordings of hit plays, and regional music from around the British Isles. He also produced numerous
comedy and
novelty records, working with offbeat acts such as
Peter Sellers,
Rolf Harris and
Shirley Abicair. Adding
rock and roll to Parlophone's repertoire, Martin struggled to find a "fireproof",
hitmaking rock artist or group.
He first auditioned The Beatles in
1962, after they had been turned down by
Decca Records and most of the major British labels. Although his initial reaction was that "they were pretty awful", Martin signed them to a
recording contract. This marked the beginning of a long relationship, in which Martin's musical expertise helped fill the gap between The Beatles' raw talent and the sound they wanted to achieve. Most of the
orchestral arrangements and instrumentation (as well as frequent keyboard parts on the early records) on Beatles records were made or performed by Martin, in collaboration with the band. (A good example of this was on "
Penny Lane", where Martin worked with McCartney on a
piccolo trumpet solo: McCartney hummed the melody, and Martin wrote it down in music notation for the classically trained trumpeter.)
Martin's distinctive arranging work on Beatles recordings appears in "
Eleanor Rigby", for which he scored and conducted a strings-only accompaniment (inspired by
Bernard Herrmann's music for
Fahrenheit 451), "
Strawberry Fields Forever", where he turned two very different takes into a single master through careful use of
vari-speed and editing, "
I Am the Walrus", a quirky and original arrangement (for brass, violins, cellos and choir) effectively complementing the surreal imagery of the song's lyrics, playing a sped-up
Baroque piano solo on "
In My Life", and the orchestral 'windup' appearing in "
A Day In The Life". He also contributed less praised but integral parts to other songs, including the piano in "
Lovely Rita", the circus instrumentation in "
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", and the orchestration in "
Good Night".
|
The Arms of Sir George Martin; with the motto, in Latin, "All you need is love". |
Within the recording industry, Martin is noted for going independent at a time when many producers were still salaried staff A+R men â€" which he was until The Beatles' success gave him the leverage to start, in 1965, Associated Independent Recording (and hire out his own services to those artists that requested him). This arrangement not only demonstrated how important Martin's talents were considered to be by his artists, but also allowed him to take part in the share of record royalties on his hits. Today, Martin's
AIR Studios remains one of the world's preeminent recording studios. Many
Academy Awardâ€"winning films and
Grammy-winning songs have been recorded at AIR.
Aside from his work with The Beatles (both group and solo projects), Martin has also produced recordings for many other artists, including the band
America and country singer
Kenny Rogers. He is also a renowned
composer; he scored the Beatles' film
Yellow Submarine and the
James Bond film
Live And Let Die, for which
Paul McCartney wrote and sang the title song.
In 1979, he published a memoir,
All You Need is Ears (co-written with Jeremy Hornsby), that both detailed his work with The Beatles and other artists (including
Peter Sellers,
Sophia Loren,
Shirley Bassey,
Flanders and Swann,
Matt Monro, and
Dudley Moore), and gave an informal introduction to the art and science of
sound recording. In 1993 Martin published
With A Little Help From My Friends: The Making of Sgt Pepper (published in UK as
Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt Pepper, co-authored with William Pearson). Sir George also edited a 1983 book called
Making Music: The Guide to Writing, Performing and Recording.
Martin oversaw post-production on
The Beatles Anthology in 1994 and 1995, but stepped down when it came to producing the two new singles to be included (reuniting McCartney, Harrison and Starr, to overdub two old Lennon demos). Martin had suffered a hearing loss, and left the work to writer/producer
Jeff Lynne of
ELO fame.
Martin was named the British Phonographic Industry's "Man of the Year" for 1998.
Sir George Martin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2001 he released
Produced By George Martin: 50 Years In Recording, a 6CD retrospective of his entire studio career.
In 2002, Martin launched
Playback, his limited-edition illustrated autobiography.
Sir George has also been honored with a Gold Medal for Services to the Arts from the CISAC (the World Federation of Authors and Composers) and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Film at Belgium's Flanders Film Festival.
2006 saw the Las Vegas launch of "
LOVE", a Cirque du Soleil spectacular set to 90 minutes of Beatles music, remixed by Sir George Martin and his son Giles Martin (a notable producer in his own right).
Off The Beatle Track (1964)
Help! (1965)
George Martin Instrumentally Salutes The Beatle Girls (1966)
Yellow Submarine (side one:
The Beatles, side two: The George Martin Orchestra) (1969)
Live and Let Die (producer for Paul McCartney's song and composer of musical score) (1973)
In My Life (1998)
Produced by George Martin (2001)
The Family Way (2003)
*
The Action (several singles) (1960s)
* Michael Flanders and Donald Swann — At the Drop of a Hat (1960)
* The Beatles — Please Please Me (1963)
* The Beatles — With the Beatles (1963)
* Michael Flanders and Donald Swann — At the Drop of Another Hat (1964)
* The Beatles — Beatles for Sale (1964)
* Michael Flanders and Donald Swann — Bestiary of Flanders & Swann (1964)
* The Beatles — A Hard Day's Night (1964)
* Gerry and the Pacemakers — Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965)
* The Beatles — Help! (1965)
* The Beatles — Rubber Soul (1965)
* The Beatles — Revolver (1966)
* Ivor Cutler Trio — Ludo (1967)
* The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (1967)
* The Beatles — Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
* The Beatles — Beatles (White Album) (1968)
* The Beatles — Abbey Road (1969)
* Ringo Starr — Sentimental Journey (1970)
* Paul Winter Consort — Icarus (1973)
* Mahavishnu Orchestra — Apocalypse (1974)
* America — Holiday (1974)
* Jeff Beck — Blow by Blow (1975)
* America — Hearts (1975)
* America — Hideaway (1976)
* Jeff Beck — Wired (1976)
* Jimmy Webb — El Mirage (1977)
* America — Harbor (1977)
* Gary Brooker — No More Fear of Flying (1979)
* Cheap Trick — All Shook Up (1980)
* UFO â€" No Place to Run (1980)
* Little River Band â€" Time Exposure (1981)
* Ultravox — Quartet (1982)
* Paul McCartney — Tug of War (1982)
* Paul McCartney — Pipes of Peace (1983)
* Paul McCartney — Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)
* Laurie London — He's Got the Whole World in His Hands (1984)
* 3D Picnic — New Wave Party (1991)
* Aerosmith — Pandora's Box (1991)
* Tommy (Original Cast Recording) (1993)
* Matt Monro — Softly, As I Leave You (1995)
* The Vipers Skiffle Group — 10,000 Years Ago (1996)
* Paul McCartney — Flaming Pie (1997)
* Celine Dion — Let's Talk About Love (1997)
* George Martin — In My Life'' (1998)
*
:Category:The Beatles*
Sir George Martin*
College of Arms - The Arms of Sir George Martin, Kt., C.B.E.
