George Martin, Beatle's Man Behind The Curtain, Has Passed Away

George Martin, the man credited with shaping the Beatle's sound during the EMI years, has died at the age of 90. Martin was a genius and innovator in the recording studio, and worked with the Beatles from the days when Ringo was added to replace Pete Best until their breakup. Ringo tweets:

Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx

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Thank you, George, for presenting the 4 Lads to the rest of us, me personally on a cold night as a 5 year old enthralled that night on the Ed Sullivan show so many years ago...
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a reply to: Boscowashisnamo
i hadnt heard this. sad news, he was a very talented man.
ive always thought HE was the fifth beatle.
he talked them into "stereo" sound..and boy did they own it!

originally posted by: autopat51
a reply to: Boscowashisnamo
i hadnt heard this. sad news, he was a very talented man.
ive always thought HE was the fifth beatle.
he talked them into "stereo" sound..and boy did they own it!

My favorite was the story of Lennon writing "In My Life". John knew what the solo he wanted sounded like in his head, but had difficulty describing it to the others. It was Martin who suggested a harpsichord, and after he played the piece, Lennon sat staring at GM. John was blown away by Martin's ability to put to music what had been in his head. So impressed was Lennon that he insisted GM's version was included in the final cut.

That's where Martin was so vital to the Beatle's success, especially in the latter years of recording. Whatever ideas and sounds the Lads cooked up, Martin was able to put to vinyl. Whether running horns through a Leslie, assorted animal sounds, or looping/reversing vocals, Martin had the vision and ability to transpose the ideas of musical pioneers to achieve the sounds we enjoy to this day.

Sir George Martin contributed so much to the world of music and music production, and he will be missed.

a reply to: Boscowashisnamo

This is the first I've heard of this, thanks. Frankly, I didn't even know he was still living, but this is sad news. Huh, we are the same age, I remember watching them on Ed Sullivan at 5 years old as well. Also Shea Stadium. Good times.

Oh and I agree with everything said about GM, he was an incredibly talented man and responsible for so much of what I've always loved about the Beatles music.

RIP George Martin. Your place in history is assured, because the music you helped make will last for ever.

Now, just to add a note of controversy, why was it so hard for you get a decent electric guitar sound out of the Beatles? You seemed to manage pretty well with Jeff Beck on Blow by Blow...

Big Beatles fan here but it took me a moment for the news to register.

I was getting ready for work and I caught the news saying George Martin died and the first thing that went through my mind was, 'No!!!!!! Who the hell will finish Game of Thrones!?!?'

He was a very talented man. I think the key was that he worked on comedy records in his early production career and the Beatles shared a sense of humour with him. But more importantly he was classically trained in music and this allowed the Beatles to grow from a simple beat group from Liverpool to their place at the top of the 'popular music pyramid'.

George Martin changed the arrangement of "Please, Please Me" from a slow ballad to an uptempo pop song. It gave the Beatles their first No.1 hit. He added strings to "Yesterday" the most covered song in history and was instrumental in shaping the sound of Sgt. Pepper. The Beatles parting album "Abbey Road" was a masterpiece in production with only an 8 track tape machine. Despite that it still sounds 'modern' today, almost 50 years after it was released.

George worked with many other artists but he will always be remembered as the fifth Beatle. A man who produced much of the soundtrack background to the 1960s and beyond.

R.I.P Sir George Martin - from a guy who doesn't even remember the Beatles as a working band.

originally posted by: mirageman
He was a very talented man. I think the key was that he worked on comedy records in his early production career and the Beatles shared a sense of humour with him. But more importantly he was classically trained in music and this allowed the Beatles to grow from a simple beat group from Liverpool to their place at the top of the 'popular music pyramid'.

George Martin changed the arrangement of "Please, Please Me" from a slow ballad to an uptempo pop song. It gave the Beatles their first No.1 hit. He added strings to "Yesterday" the most covered song in history and was instrumental in shaping the sound of Sgt. Pepper. The Beatles parting album "Abbey Road" was a masterpiece in production with only an 8 track tape machine. Despite that it still sounds 'modern' today, almost 50 years after it was released.

George worked with many other artists but he will always be remembered as the fifth Beatle. A man who produced much of the soundtrack background to the 1960s and beyond.

R.I.P Sir George Martin - from a guy who doesn't even remember the Beatles as a working band.

Outstanding post! I believe that Sir George's experience in the wacky and absurd recordings of the comedy genre(Spike Milligan) was a tremendous influence on GM's production of off-the-wall sounds requested by Lennon-Harrison-McCartney during the mid to latter years in the studio. Martin used techniques learned from recording comedy and applied them at times to sounds that made the Beatles a revolutionary force from the Rubber Soul album and past.

There are many stories of Martin's influence and input that produced albums like Sgt. Peppers, and the music world was a better place because of him.

originally posted by: autopat51
a reply to: Boscowashisnamo
i hadnt heard this. sad news, he was a very talented man.
ive always thought HE was the fifth beatle.
he talked them into "stereo" sound..and boy did they own it!

Took him a while to get stereo for The Beatles though, late sixties in fact, and I don't think even those mixes had a Beatle in attendance.
The vast majority of the music was originally mixed in mono....George Harrison though, thought stereo made the music sound a bit baldy.
Our band had recorded in stereo as early as 1965 in Germany.

a reply to: smurfy

Very true. But you have to remember most people listened to records on mono equipment back then. Britain was only just recovering from being bombed to bits during the war years. So unless you were well off cheap vinyl singles played on those old mono players was the mass market. People first heard the singles on small transistor radios as well. So the sound was perfected for those/

The Beatles mixed for 'mono' right up until "Sgt. Pepper". In fact some of those mono mixes sound better to be honest.

originally posted by: mirageman
a reply to: smurfy

Very true. But you have to remember most people listened to records on mono equipment back then. Britain was only just recovering from being bombed to bits during the war years. So unless you were well off cheap vinyl singles played on those old mono players was the mass market. People first heard the singles on small transistor radios as well. So the sound was perfected for those/

The Beatles mixed for 'mono' right up until "Sgt. Pepper". In fact some of those mono mixes sound better to be honest.

That's true too, though I'm not sure the mixes were so much a catering exercise in the sixties, when more like a 'what's new' gripped just about everywhere as the beat sound and group music took off, as well as HMV producing some really impressive for the time, home sound reproducing radiogram/stereograms as well.
If anything it was some of the Beach Boys material that really got stereo rolling from 1966 on.
I wish I could remember more about the stereo system, (likely German, possibly 8 track) that CBS used for our recordings in Frankfurt at the time, but the sound was pretty impressive on play back, still is in fact. I do note that all of us were in attendance at the time of the recordings and that most of the backing was recorded together, but not all,vocals were separate. Anyway I digress, I should have said earlier that George Martin was indeed the fifth Beatle in his musical ability and adding to the recordings in a novel way. R.I.P. George Martin.

originally posted by: Astyanax
RIP George Martin. Your place in history is assured, because the music you helped make will last for ever.

Now, just to add a note of controversy, why was it so hard for you get a decent electric guitar sound out of the Beatles? You seemed to manage pretty well with Jeff Beck on Blow by Blow...

He got great sounds from the Beatles when they started using Fender Stratocasters and Rickenbacker Bass. They moved from Mono to Stereo also, Jeff Beck was of the stereo age.

RIP Sir George, you are rightly referred to as the 'Fifth Beatle' and you were very much part of their success. Just to think, Joe Meek turned the Beatles down, telling Brian Epstein, that there was no future for guitar bands. Oops.

Listen to Yesterday and the string quartet he added to the track. Amazing.

Here's a bit of creepy pop trivia.


In April 1960, famous rock'n'roller, Eddie Cochran, having just finished the first leg of his UK tour, took a cab to the airport to return to the US.

Sadly he didn't make it; the car crashed, killing Cochran. The other two passengers and the driver survived. The cab driver's name was George Martin.

Eerie coincidence.

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978

originally posted by: Astyanax
RIP George Martin. Your place in history is assured, because the music you helped make will last for ever.

Now, just to add a note of controversy, why was it so hard for you get a decent electric guitar sound out of the Beatles? You seemed to manage pretty well with Jeff Beck on Blow by Blow...

He got great sounds from the Beatles when they started using Fender Stratocasters and Rickenbacker Bass. They moved from Mono to Stereo also, Jeff Beck was of the stereo age.

RIP Sir George, you are rightly referred to as the 'Fifth Beatle' and you were very much part of their success. Just to think, Joe Meek turned the Beatles down, telling Brian Epstein, that there was no future for guitar bands. Oops.

Listen to Yesterday and the string quartet he added to the track. Amazing.

The distinctive sound of the Rickenbacker bass was different from the Hoffner that became McC's signature. Deep and throbbing, it provided the backbone to many a Beatle's tune from the mid 60s on.

John and George experimented with different guitars through the years, many gifts from manufacturers. From the Epiphone Casinos, to Gibson SG and others gave their music the sound they wanted.
www.thebeatlesthroughtheyears.com...
www.guitarworld.com...

a reply to: Cobaltic1978

He got great sounds from the Beatles when they started using Fender Stratocasters and Rickenbacker Bass. They moved from Mono to Stereo also, Jeff Beck was of the stereo age.

Gretsches and Epiphones are lousy-sounding guitars?

McCartney used a Rickenbacker in the studio with the Beatles?*

Better check your facts.

Also, the album Martin made with Beck has a lousy, primitive stereo mix with everything except the guitar panned hard left and right, just like his stereo mixes for the Beatles. Though I admit the recording captures the sound of Beck's black Les Paul quite accurately.

The worst guitar sound on a Beatles record is the lead guitar on Revolution, from the White Album. It is quite possibly the worst guitar sound ever released on record by a major rock band. George Harrison played a Telecaster on that, I believe.
________________
*I checked mine. Seems he did, after all. But the problem wasn't the bass. It was the guitar sound, and the problem was never the instruments but the recording . Overdriven electric guitars are very hard to record well. The Beatles' always sounded lousy.

a reply to: Astyanax

I was never a fan of the Beatles' guitar sounds, well, maybe back in the early '60s when they were new, but since I started playing in '73 I always thought they sounded like sh!t. But I also thought it was intentional. Not that they wanted to get a crappy sound but that's what they were going for and at the time there was a lot of experimenting being done with amp sounds and overdriving stuff and so forth. I do know that GM was a wizard in the studio and quite capable of capturing instrument sounds on tape.

a reply to: wtbengineer

I do know that GM was a wizard in the studio and quite capable of capturing instrument sounds on tape.

Oh yes. Let me be clear about it: George Martin was a great producer, brilliant at devising sounds, arrangements and above all at pushing four stoned Scouse eccentrics, at least two of whom were certifiable musical geniuses, to create things they never dreamed they could. He invented the Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois/Rock Rubin school of production, that trick of coaxing performances out of musicians like a great film director does out of actors. All that is true and nobody can take that away from him.

But while he was getting masterpieces out of the Beatles, the sound of rock guitar was being invented by Clapton, Hendrix, the Glimmer Twins and Glyn Johns, Beck (as a player) and Page (as a producer). And poor old George, who probably liked a nice Bach fugue when he was relaxing at home with a glass of sherry, wasn't listening to any of that.

I'm a guitarist and I know how hard it is just to dial in a decent sound when you're playing live. In the studio you and the producer / engineer have to be au fait with a lot more stuff than that. Any electric guitarist who's ever tried to sound like he wanted to sound on a recording knows what I'm talking about.

George didn't master that, really. The other George did, and after a while he started getting his own guitar sounds himself. Have you noticed how all George Harrison's songs on Abbey Road have better sounding guitars than the other numbers? Actually, it goes back as far as Taxman.

Anyway. Like I said, I was just trying to introduce a note of controversy. To keep the thread interesting, y'know. But my heart isn't in it. RIP George Martin, may flights of angels, etc... John and the other George are waiting. With funny hats and banana skins.

a reply to: Astyanax

I agree with just about all you say here, but I have a hard time believing that George wasn't listening to Clapton, Hendrix et al. I mean I play cello too and love to play the Bach cello suites but I still loves me some classic guitars through my little Marshal 18 watt clone and fender champ. Anyway, I share your sentiment.

a reply to: Astyanax

________________
*I checked mine. Seems he did, after all. But the problem wasn't the bass. It was the guitar sound, and the problem was never the instruments but the recording . Overdriven electric guitars are very hard to record well. The Beatles' always sounded lousy.

Gretshes and Epiphones are great guitars, but they played around with an awful lot of different guotars. I think there was no one better at recording acoustic guitars 6 and 12 string, than Sir George Martin.

I'm a massive Beatles fan, having been raised by a total Beatles nut, and I love the sound of all the guitars particularly the overdrive used on the recording of Revolution.

I always thought the Rolling Stones guitars sounds were dreadful compared to The Beatles, but each to their own.

When Jeff Beck first started recording with Sir George, he wanted to use a Gibson, but Sir George thought it was far too harsh. He suggested that Beck switch to a Fender and the rest is history.

a reply to: Astyanax
I have never noticed GH's guitar mixes on Abbey Road compared to the others, and your comment drove me to audio verification. I now hear a definite difference. Are you saying that Harrison mixed his own songs on AR? Out of the 4 Beatles, GH seemed to take the most interest in the technicalities of sound production, and wanted a purity for his music. McC also wanted to learn that side and the business end, probably to prepare himself for a solo career in the near future.

I will say, IMHO, that Harrison was one of the better slide guitarists of his generation. I miss his music and I miss the magic captured in that decade, a large part of it due to Sir George's input.