Martin, Sir George

Martin, Sir George (1926-2016), an English musician and record producer, achieved international success in the 1960’s for his work with the British pop group the Beatles . His studio work with the Beatles broke new ground in pop music and raised the profile of record producers within the industry and outside it. Martin also wrote the scores for 15 motion pictures, including the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night (1964).

George Henry Martin was born on Jan. 3, 1926, in London. Following military service during World War II (1939-1945), Martin studied classical music at the Guildhall School of Music in London. After working briefly in the music library of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) , in 1950 he joined the record company owned by EMI. Five years later, he was put in charge of the Parlophone label, where he produced the work of a variety of artists. Among those artists were the British singers Shirley Bassey and Matt Monro, the British jazz bandleaders John Dankworth and Humphrey Lyttelton, and the British jazz band the Temperance Seven. Martin also brought out several novelty records by such comedy artists as the British actors Peter Sellers and Peter Ustinov and the British children’s entertainer Bernard Cribbins. In 1962, Cribbins had hit singles with his comedy songs Right Said Fred and Hole in the Ground.

In 1962, Martin signed the Beatles for Parlophone and began an association with the group that lasted until its break-up in 1970. His first action with the Beatles was to insist that they replace Pete Best on drums. As a result, Ringo Starr joined the group. After that, group and producer settled into a relationship in which Martin acted as an arranger and musical consultant, turning the experimental ideas of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , and George Harrison into reality. To this end he added classical music touches to “Yesterday” (1965) and “Eleanor Rigby” (1966) with the use of a string quartet, and to “For No One” (1966) with a baroque trumpet . He imaginatively combined Western violin and cello sounds with the tone of an Indian sitar on “Within You, Without You” (1967). Martin also used tape-editing techniques to create the sound effects used on such albums as Revolver (1966) and, more significantly, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). In addition, he wrote the orchestral score for the Beatles’ animated film Yellow Submarine (1968).

Martin also produced hit records by the British artists Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. From April 1963 to March 1964, records produced by Martin were at number one on the United Kingdom charts for a total of 39 out of 52 weeks. In 1965, he left EMI to form his own record company, Associated Independent Recordings (AIR). AIR developed some of the finest recording studios in the industry, first in London and later, on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.

During the 1970’s, Martin produced records with Paul McCartney following his departure from the Beatles, and with the British artists Jeff Beck and UFO and the U.S. artists America, Kenny Rogers , and Neil Sedaka. Martin also worked with the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald . In 1997, he made a three-part television guide to music for the BBC, The Rhythm of Life. In 1979, he wrote the book All You Need Is Ears. He also wrote Making Music (1983) and Summer of Love (1994). Martin was knighted in 1996. In 1999, Martin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Martin died on March 8, 2016.