Legends: Sir George Martin - The Beatles’ Extraordinary Producer

Sir George Martin was the Beatles’ extraordinary producer and the most acclaimed and celebrated music producer of the rock era. No one comes close to Sir George for the innovation and sheer perfection of his body of work.

It’s almost an accident that he worked with the Beatles. Before meeting them he was in charge of EMI’s Parlophone label where he produced comedy and novelty acts like Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. His introduction to the Beatles only came about after they were rejected by 17 other record labels. When he brought them in for an audition he was not very impressed, but he was intrigued by their energy and charisma.

Sir George has said that in the beginning he was the master and they were the students, but in time this role reversed and they became the masters and he the student. This transformation was due to the genius of Lennon and McCartney and their constant pushing him to create more and different sounds and effects.

It’s beyond discussion that the Beatles would not have been the Beatles without George Martin. From convincing Paul to use a string quartet on “Yesterday”, to his slowed down then sped up piano solo on “In My Life”, to his creation of a circus swirl on “Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite”, to his seamless combination of two takes at different speeds and different keys on “Strawberry Fields” - he truly was the 5th Beatle.

He went on to produce a host of other artists and hits including Jeff Beck, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, America and Gerry and the Pacemakers. In his career, he produced 30 number-one hit singles in the UK and 23 number-one hits in the United States, winning six Grammys.

Think about how lucky we were that fate brought together the Beatles and Sir George Martin. Together they changed the world.