Sir George Martin, the legendary Beatles producer, has joined a tragically long list of music icons who have passed away recently. He was 90. Although he is known as the fifth Beatle, his career extended far beyond The Beatles and he produced numerous No. 1 records, won Grammy awards, composed an Academy Award-nominated score and was knighted by the Queen of England in 1996.
The Beatle-Martin partnership was born after the band auditioned for Parlophone Records in 1962. Martin was summoned to hear The Beatles play “Love Me Do,” at which point he realized their potential. At the end of the session he offered his thoughts about where the band was going wrong. He asked the group if they disliked anything he had suggested, to which George Harrison replied, “Well for a start, I don’t like your tie.”
Together, they made 22 singles and 13 albums. It was enough to change the course of popular music forever.
The University of Oregon offers an entire course dedicated to “The Beatles and Their Times.” Professor Carl Woideck had this to say about Martin’s relationship with the Beatles:
“It’s hard to imagine the Beatles’ recordings without George Martin. Sure, they would have been a great live band, but would they have been challenged and encouraged to record ‘Tomorrow Never Knows,’ ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’? Another, more conventional, producer might not have been receptive to the Beatles’ desires to change and grow as musicians. Lennon and McCartney started out writing teen pop, and lots of record companies would have wanted them to keep churning out more of the same. That’s why having a creative ally like George Martin was so important. As Paul McCartney said upon learning of Martin’s death, ‘If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George.’”
Here is a brief list of Beatles songs that would not be the same without Sir George Martin in which his contributions range from simple suggestions to industry-changing editing practices:
“Please Please Me”: John Lennon wrote this song as a slow Roy Orbison-style ballad. Martin heard it and asked them to try the song at double time. After hearing the result, he famously announced, “Congratulations gentlemen. You’ve just made your first Number One.”
Watch the video below from The Beatles Anthology to hear Martin himself discuss the track.
“A Hard Day’s Night”: In what could be the single most famous chord ever created, Martin plays a sustained piano chord to add the note’s infamous echo. The effect is unparalleled and music scholars still debate exactly how the chord was played. The most accurate analysis to date comes from the video below, released in 2011 which analyzed each of the four-track tape masters with music software. The song was released in 1964. Fifty-two years later, the debate still exists. Being a part of this chord is worthy of a place in history by itself.
“Yesterday”: What began as a melody McCartney heard in a dream (and the title “Scrambled Eggs”) turned into one of the most covered songs in history. In his touching tribute letter about George Martin, McCartney lists the recording of “Yesterday” as one of his favorite Martin memories:
“I brought the song ‘Yesterday’ to a recording session and the guys in the band suggested that I sang it solo and accompany myself on guitar. After I had done this George Martin said to me, ‘Paul I have an idea of putting a string quartet on the record.’ I said, ‘Oh no George, we are a rock and roll band and I don’t think it’s a good idea.’ With the gentle bedside manner of a great producer he said to me, ‘Let us try it and if it doesn’t work we won’t use it and we’ll go with your solo version.’ I agreed to this and went round to his house the next day to work on the arrangement.”
“In My Life”: Martin’s piano solo adds an eerie baroque feel that perfectly blends with Lennon’s song about his Liverpool upbringing. Although it sounds like a harpsichord, it is actually an electric piano played at half speed and varispeeded to tempo in production. The Beatles would continue to manipulate tapes in post-production, which led to some of the greatest songs in history, “In My Life” included.
“Tomorrow Never Knows”: As professor Woideck said, Martin was the ally that helped The Beatles pursue continually diverse sounds by not only allowing the group to be inventive in the studio, but also by challenging them to explore and create new sounds. How many producers would be willing to let the band run wild on a song with only one chord? The inclusion of the drum loop, high-pitched seagull sounds (actually McCartney laughing in reverse and at a faster speed), a sitar and more tape loops became a psychedelic masterpiece. Martin also plays the piano outro, adding a nice touch of finality to the masterful 1966 album Revolver.
“Got To Get You Into My Life”: As the Beatle most hesitant to take drugs, McCartney finally felt determined to write an ode to marijuana as the psychedelic period came to full fruition. “Got To Get You Into My Life” features a bright horn section arranged with Martin’s assistance.
“Eleanor Rigby”: As the first Beatles song where none of the Fab Four play an instrument, it still managed to reach number one on the charts due to the orchestral score Martin provided. With lyrics about death and loneliness, The Beatles again proved they were a band capable of saying much more than just “Thank You Girl.”
“Yellow Submarine”: Many consider “Yellow Submarine” a novelty song when placed next to other Beatles classics, but Martin had the band (and guests including Brian jones of the Rolling Stones) use any instrument they desired in the Abbey Road “trap room.” On the finished record are clinking glasses, a chain dragging in a bathtub and Lennon blowing bubbles into a bucket of water. Try to fight singing along to it.
“Strawberry Fields Forever”: At the peak of his LSD days, Lennon presented Martin with a unique challenge for “Strawberry Fields”: Connect two takes in different keys and different tempos. The first take was a slow version. The second was faster, with thundering drums. By speeding up the first and slowing down the second, Martin was able to accomplish the impossible by splicing the two together in a seamless take — added flourishes include backwards cymbals, and Martin’s trumpet and cello score.
This song alone required 55 hours in the studio.
“A Day In The Life”: Lennon and McCartney each brought an incomplete idea to the studio. Lennon’s portion was partially inspired by reading the newspaper, while McCartney’s was about an everyday morning routine. They left a 24-measure gap to be counted by road manager Mal Evans and an alarm clock. With a little help from Martin and a 40-person orchestra, the two ideas were fused together with the orchestral crescendo that began at each player’s lowest note and crescendoing up to the highest note and volume possible in the 24 bars. The final note of the song is a sustained chord with two pianos and Martin on harmonium that lasts for nearly a minute. Also, Lennon blows a dog whistle at the end. The result is chaotic perfection.
“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!”: The hallucinatory middle section with off-time, disorienting organ riffs are intentionally strange, as George Martin recalls the guidance Lennon gave him for the song: “It’s a fairground sequence. I want to be in that circus atmosphere.” Here’s how Martin attained the desired sound:
“I knew we needed a backwash, a general mush of sound, like if you go to a fairground, shut your eyes and listen: rifle shots, hurdy-gurdy noises, people shouting and – way in the distance – just a tremendous chaotic sound. So I got hold of old calliope tapes, playing “Stars And Stripes Forever” and other Sousa marches, chopped the tapes up into small sections and had Geoff Emerick throw them up in the air, re-assembling them at random.” (From Beatlesbible.com).
While the effect was not initially random enough, they proceeded to begin cutting tape into smaller pieces and playing some forward, some backward. Eventually, the collage of organ sounds satisfied Lennon’s demands.
“The Long Medley”: Starting with “You Never Give Me Your Money,” the B-side of Abbey Road is commonly referred to as the “Long Medley.” Although there is a brief break between “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” and “Golden Slumbers,” the “Long Medley” flows as one massive track that was recorded in separate parts that Martin fused together, creating the perfect ending survey of the Beatles’ career. Ultimately, the “Long Medley” reminds us that each incomplete idea presented was able to not only be finished with the others’ help, but that when they all worked together, greatness was possible.
In related news, Paul McCartney has announced a Portland, OR performance as part of his “One On One” tour at the Moda Center on Friday, April 15. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday at 10 a.m. It will be his first Portland show in 11 years.