George Martin
Encyclopedia
Sir George Henry Martin CBE
(born 3 January 1926) is an English record producer
, arranger
, composer
and musician
. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle
"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles
' original albums. He is considered one of the greatest record producers of all time, with 30 number one hit singles in the UK and 23 number one hits in the USA.
When Martin was six years old, his parents bought a piano that sparked their son's musical interest. Two years later he persuaded his parents to pay for piano lessons. He listened to a wide range of musical styles, encompassing Cole Porter
, and Johnny Dankworth, attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
from 1947 to 1950, studying piano and oboe. While still at the Academy, Martin married Sheena Chisholm, with whom he had two children, Alexis and Gregory. He later married Judy Lockhart-Smith on 24 June 1966, and they also had two children, Lucy and Giles Martin. Following his graduation, he worked for the BBC
's classical music department, then joined EMI
in 1950. Martin produced numerous comedy and novelty records. In the early 1950s, he worked with Peter Sellers
, and Spike Milligan
.
In a career that spans over six decades he has worked in music, film, TV and live performance. As well as all the creative work, he has held a number of senior executive roles at media companies and contributed to a wide range of charitable causes, including his work for the Prince's Trust and the Caribbean
island of Montserrat
.
In recognition of his services to the music industry and popular culture
, he was made a Knight Bachelor
in 1996. He is the father of producer Giles Martin
and writer, producer and actor Gregory Paul Martin
.
, and St Ignatius' College
in Stamford Hill
, to which he won a scholarship. When war broke out and St. Ignatius College students were evacuated to Welwyn Garden City
, his family left London and he was enrolled at Bromley Grammar School.
Despite Martin's continued interest in music, and "fantasies about being the next Rachmaninov", he did not initially choose music as a career. He worked briefly as a quantity surveyor
and then for the War Office
as a Temporary Clerk (Grade Three) which meant filing paperwork and making tea. In 1943, when he was seventeen, he joined the Fleet Air Arm
of the Royal Navy
and became a pilot and a commissioned officer. The war ended before Martin was involved in any combat, and he left the service in 1947. Encouraged by Sidney Harrison (a member of the Committee for the Promotion of New Music) Martin used his veteran's grant to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1947 to 1950, where he studied piano and oboe, and was interested in the music of Rachmaninov and Ravel, as well as Porter and Dankworth. Martin's oboe teacher was Margaret Eliot (the mother of Jane Asher
, who would later have a relationship with Paul McCartney
). On 3 January 1948—while still at the Academy—Martin married Sheena Chisholm, with whom he had two children, Alexis and Gregory. He later married Judy Lockhart-Smith on 24 June 1966, and they also had two children, Lucy and Giles.
Following his graduation, he worked for the BBC's classical music department, then joined EMI in 1950, as an assistant to Oscar Preuss, the head of EMI's Parlophone Records from 1950 to 1955. Although having been regarded by EMI as a vital German imprint in the past, it was then seen as a joke and only used for EMI's insignificant acts. After taking over Parlophone when Preuss retired in 1955, 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.
Martin also produced numerous comedy and novelty records. In the early 1950s, he worked with Sellers, and thus came to know Milligan, with whom he became a firm friend, and best man at Milligan's second marriage: "I loved the Goon Show, and issued an album of it on my label Parlophone, which is how I got to know Spike." The album was Bridge On The River Wye. It was a spoof of the film The Bridge on the River Kwai
, being based on the 1957 Goon Show An African Incident. It was intended to have the same name as the film, but shortly before its release, the film company threatened legal action if the name was used. Martin edited out the 'K' every time the word 'Kwai' was spoken, with Bridge on the River Wye being the result. The album included Milligan, Sellers, Jonathan Miller
, and Peter Cook
, playing various characters.
Other comedians Martin worked with included Joan Sims
, Rolf Harris
, Flanders and Swann
and Shirley Abicair
. Martin worked with the Vipers Skiffle Group, with whom he had a number of hits. In early 1962, under the pseudonym "Ray Cathode", Martin released an early electronic dance single, "Time Beat
"—recorded at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
—in much the same style as the Doctor Who
theme tune. As Martin wanted to add rock and roll
to Parlophone's repertoire, he struggled to find a "fireproof" hit-making
pop artist or group.
As a producer Martin recorded the two-man show featuring Michael Flanders
and Donald Swann
called At the Drop of a Hat
, which sold steadily for twenty-five years, although Martin's breakthrough as a producer came with the Beyond the Fringe
show, which starred Peter Cook
, Dudley Moore
, Alan Bennett
and Jonathan Miller
. Martin's work transformed the profile of Parlophone from a "sad little company" to a very profitable business.
Martin was contacted by Sid Coleman of Ardmore & Beechwood, who told him about Brian Epstein
, the manager of a rock band he had met. He thought Martin might be interested in the group, even though they had been turned down by Decca Records
among other major British labels. Until that time, although he'd had considerable success with the comedy records and a number 1 hit with the Temperance Seven, Martin had had only minor success with pop music, such as "Who Could Be Bluer" by Jerry Lordan
, and singles with Shane Fenton and Matt Munro. After the telephone call by Coleman, Martin arranged a meeting on 13 February 1962 with Brian Epstein. Martin listened to a tape recorded at Decca, and thought that Epstein's group was "rather unpromising", but liked the sound of Lennon and McCartney's vocals.
After another meeting with Epstein on 9 May at the Abbey Road studios
, Martin was impressed with Epstein's enthusiasm and agreed to sign the unknown Beatles to a recording contract without having met them or seen them play live. The contract was not what it seemed, however, as Martin would not sign it himself until he had heard an audition, and later said that EMI had "nothing to lose," as it offered one penny
for each record sold, which was split amongst the four members. Martin suggested to EMI (after the release of "From Me to You
") that the royalty rate should be doubled without asking for anything in return, which led to Martin being thought of as a "traitor in EMI".
The Beatles auditioned for Martin on 6 June 1962, in studio three at the Abbey Road studios. Ron Richards and his engineer Norman Smith recorded four songs, which Martin (who was not present during the recording) listened to at the end of the session. The verdict was not promising, however, as Richards complained about Pete Best
's drumming, and Martin thought their original songs were simply not good enough. Martin asked the individual Beatles if there was anything they personally did not like, to which George Harrison
replied, "Well, there's your tie, for a start." That was the turning point, according to Smith, as John Lennon
and Paul McCartney
joined in with jokes and comic wordplay that made Martin think that he should sign them to a contract for their wit alone.
The Beatles' first recording session with Martin was on 4 September, when they recorded "How Do You Do It
", which Martin thought was a sure-fire hit even though Lennon and McCartney hated it. (He was correct: Gerry & the Pacemakers
's version, which Martin produced, spent three weeks at #1 in April 1963 before being displaced by "From Me to You".) Richards complained about new-member Ringo Starr
's drumming on the next song, "Love Me Do
", and so on 11 September, they re-recorded "Love Me Do" with Andy White
. Starr was asked to play tambourine and maracas, and although he complied, he was definitely "not pleased". (Martin would later praise Starr's drumming, calling him "probably ... the finest rock drummer in the world today.") "Love Me Do" peaked at number 17 in the British charts, so on 26 November 1962 Martin recorded "Please Please Me
", which he only did after Lennon and McCartney had almost begged him to record another of their original songs. Martin's crucial contribution here was to tell them to speed up what was initially a slow ballad. After the recording Martin looked over the mixing desk and said, "Gentlemen, you have just made your first number one record". Martin directed Epstein to find a good publisher—as Ardmore & Beechwood had done nothing to promote "Love Me Do"—telling Epstein about three publishers who, in Martin's opinion, would be fair and honest, which led them to Dick James
.
Martin's musical expertise helped fill the gaps between the Beatles' raw talent and the sound they wanted to achieve. Most of the Beatles' orchestra
l arrangements and instrumentation (as well as frequent keyboard parts on the early records) were written or performed by Martin in collaboration with the band. It was Martin's idea to put a string quartet on "Yesterday
", against McCartney's initial reluctance. Martin played the song in the style of Bach
to show McCartney the voicings that were available. Another example is the song "Penny Lane
", which featured a piccolo trumpet
solo. McCartney hummed the melody he wanted, and Martin wrote it down in music notation for David Mason, the classically trained trumpeter.
Martin's distinctive arranging work appears on many Beatles recordings. For "Eleanor Rigby
" he scored and conducted a strings-only accompaniment inspired by Bernard Herrmann
. On a Canadian speaking tour in 2007, Martin said his "Eleanor Rigby" score was influenced by Herrmann's score for the Alfred Hitchcock
thriller, Psycho
. For "Strawberry Fields Forever
", he and recording engineer Geoff Emerick
turned two very different takes into a single master through careful use of vari-speed and editing. For "I Am the Walrus
", he provided a quirky and original arrangement for brass, violins, cellos, and the Mike Sammes Singers
vocal ensemble. On "In My Life
", he played a sped-up Baroque
piano solo. He worked with McCartney to implement the orchestral 'climax' in "A Day in the Life
" and he and McCartney shared conducting duties the day it was recorded.
He contributed less-noted but integral parts to other songs, including the piano in "Lovely Rita
", the organs and tape loop arrangement that create the Pablo Fanque
circus atmosphere that Lennon requested on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
" (both Martin and Lennon played organ parts for this song), and the orchestration in "Good Night
". The first song that Martin did not arrange was "She's Leaving Home
", as he had a prior engagement to produce a Cilla Black
session, so McCartney contacted arranger Mike Leander
to do it. Martin was reportedly hurt by this, but still produced the recording and conducted the orchestra himself. Martin was in demand as an independent arranger and producer by the time of The White Album
, so The Beatles were left to produce various tracks by themselves.
Martin arranged the score for The Beatles' film Yellow Submarine and the James Bond
film Live and Let Die
, for which Paul McCartney
wrote and sang the title song.
. Martin composed Adagietto for Harmonica & Strings for Tommy Reilly
, Theme One for BBC Radio 1
, and Magic Carpet for The Dakotas.
(which was originally entitled "The Long and Winding Road") in 1994 and 1995, working again with Geoff Emerick
. Martin decided to use an old 8-track analogue deck to mix the songs for the project—which EMI found out an engineer still had—instead of a modern digital deck. He explained this by saying that the old deck created a completely different sound, which a new deck could not recreate. He also said the whole project was a strange experience for him (with which McCartney agreed) as they had to listen to themselves chatting in the studio, 25–30 years previously.
Martin stepped down when it came to producing the two new singles reuniting McCartney, Harrison and Starr, who wanted to overdub two old Lennon demos. Martin had suffered a hearing loss, and left the work to writer/producer Jeff Lynne
of ELO
fame.
, remixed 80 minutes of Beatles music for the Las Vegas stage performance Love
, a joint venture between Cirque du Soleil
and The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd
. A soundtrack album from the show
was released that same year.
, Cilla Black
, and Gerry & The Pacemakers
, as well as The King's Singers, the band America
, guitarist Jeff Beck
, sixties duo Edwards Hand
, Ultravox
, country-singer Kenny Rogers
, Cheap Trick
and Yoshiki Hayashi of X Japan
.
Martin also worked with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Gary Glitter
. He worked with Glitter before he was famous, and recorded several songs with him in the 1960s under the name of "Paul Raven". He also produced the 1974 album The Man In The Bowler Hat
for the eccentric British folk-rock group Stackridge
. Martin worked with Paul Winter
on his (1972) Icarus album, which was recorded in a rented house by the sea in Marblehead
, Massachusetts. Winter said that Martin taught him "how to use the studio as a tool", and allowed him to record the album in a relaxed atmosphere, which was different from the pressurised control in a professional studio. In 2010, Martin was the executive producer of the hard rock debut of Arms of the Sun, an all-star project featuring Rex Brown
(Pantera
, Down
), John Luke Hebert (King Diamond
), Lance Harvill, and Ben Bunker.
—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 artists who requested him. This arrangement not only demonstrated how important Martin's talents were considered to be by his artists, but it allowed him a share in record royalties on his hits. Today, Martin's Associated Independent Recording
(AIR) remains one of the world's pre-eminent recording studios. Martin later opened a studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat
, in 1979. This studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo ten years later.
series. Although Martin did not produce the theme for the second Bond film, From Russia with Love
, he was responsible for the signing of Matt Monro
to EMI just months prior to his recording of the song of the same title.
Martin also produced two of the most well-known James Bond themes. The first was "Goldfinger
" by Shirley Bassey
in 1964. The second was "Live and Let Die
" by Paul McCartney and Wings
for the film of the same name
. He also composed and produced the film's score
.
(co-written with Jeremy Hornsby), that described 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 Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt Pepper (published in the USA as With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt Pepper, co-authored with William Pearson), which also included interview quotations from a 1992 South Bank Show
episode discussing the album. Martin also edited a 1983 book called Making Music: The Guide to Writing, Performing and Recording.
In 2001, Martin released Produced by George Martin
: 50 Years In Recording, a six-CD retrospective of his entire studio career, and in 2002, Martin launched Playback, his limited-edition illustrated autobiography, published by Genesis Publications
.
team called "Produced by George Martin" aired to critical acclaim for the first time in the UK. It's a 90 minute film combining rare archive footage and new interviews from the likes of Paul McCartney
, Ringo Starr
, Jeff Beck
, Cilla Black
and Giles Martin
. An intimate portrait of George; legendary producer and family man at home and at work.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 3 January 1926) is an English record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle
Fifth Beatle
The Fifth Beatle is an informal title that various commentators in the press and entertainment industry have applied to persons who were at one point a member of The Beatles, or who had a strong association with the "Fab Four" during the group's existence...
"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' original albums. He is considered one of the greatest record producers of all time, with 30 number one hit singles in the UK and 23 number one hits in the USA.
When Martin was six years old, his parents bought a piano that sparked their son's musical interest. Two years later he persuaded his parents to pay for piano lessons. He listened to a wide range of musical styles, encompassing Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, and Johnny Dankworth, attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
from 1947 to 1950, studying piano and oboe. While still at the Academy, Martin married Sheena Chisholm, with whom he had two children, Alexis and Gregory. He later married Judy Lockhart-Smith on 24 June 1966, and they also had two children, Lucy and Giles Martin. Following his graduation, he worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's classical music department, then joined EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1950. Martin produced numerous comedy and novelty records. In the early 1950s, he worked with Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, and Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
.
In a career that spans over six decades he has worked in music, film, TV and live performance. As well as all the creative work, he has held a number of senior executive roles at media companies and contributed to a wide range of charitable causes, including his work for the Prince's Trust and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island of Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
.
In recognition of his services to the music industry and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, he was made a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1996. He is the father of producer Giles Martin
Giles Martin
Giles Martin is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of Sir George Martin, famed producer of almost all of The Beatles' records.- Biography :...
and writer, producer and actor Gregory Paul Martin
Gregory Paul Martin
Gregory Paul Martin, , is a British writer/producer. The eldest son of Beatles producer Sir George Martin, he studied at Britain's oldest school, St...
.
Early years
When he was six, Martin's family acquired a piano that sparked his interest in music. At eight years of age, Martin persuaded his parents that he should take piano lessons, but those ended after only eight lessons because of a disagreement between his mother and the teacher. After that, Martin explained that he had just picked it up by himself. As a child he attended several schools, including a "convent school in Holloway", St. Joseph's elementary school in HighgateHighgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, and St Ignatius' College
St Ignatius' College
St Ignatius' College is a Catholic secondary school for boys, aged 11–18, located in Enfield, Middlesex. Formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed their Eleven plus exam, its educational philosophy was originally based upon the Jesuit precept of Ignatius of Loyola:Its current...
in Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
, to which he won a scholarship. When war broke out and St. Ignatius College students were evacuated to Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
, his family left London and he was enrolled at Bromley Grammar School.
Despite Martin's continued interest in music, and "fantasies about being the next Rachmaninov", he did not initially choose music as a career. He worked briefly as a quantity surveyor
Quantity surveyor
A quantity surveyor is a professional working within the construction industry concerned with building costs.The profession is one that provides a qualification gained following formal education, specific training and experience that provides a general set of skills that are then applied to a...
and then for the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
as a Temporary Clerk (Grade Three) which meant filing paperwork and making tea. In 1943, when he was seventeen, he joined the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and became a pilot and a commissioned officer. The war ended before Martin was involved in any combat, and he left the service in 1947. Encouraged by Sidney Harrison (a member of the Committee for the Promotion of New Music) Martin used his veteran's grant to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1947 to 1950, where he studied piano and oboe, and was interested in the music of Rachmaninov and Ravel, as well as Porter and Dankworth. Martin's oboe teacher was Margaret Eliot (the mother of Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
, who would later have a relationship with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
). On 3 January 1948—while still at the Academy—Martin married Sheena Chisholm, with whom he had two children, Alexis and Gregory. He later married Judy Lockhart-Smith on 24 June 1966, and they also had two children, Lucy and Giles.
Parlophone
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
recording classical and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
music, original cast recordings of hit plays, and regional music from around the British Isles.
Martin also produced numerous comedy and novelty records. In the early 1950s, he worked with Sellers, and thus came to know Milligan, with whom he became a firm friend, and best man at Milligan's second marriage: "I loved the Goon Show, and issued an album of it on my label Parlophone, which is how I got to know Spike." The album was Bridge On The River Wye. It was a spoof of the film The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
, being based on the 1957 Goon Show An African Incident. It was intended to have the same name as the film, but shortly before its release, the film company threatened legal action if the name was used. Martin edited out the 'K' every time the word 'Kwai' was spoken, with Bridge on the River Wye being the result. The album included Milligan, Sellers, Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
, and Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, playing various characters.
Other comedians Martin worked with included Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
, Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
, Flanders and Swann
Flanders and Swann
The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
and Shirley Abicair
Shirley Abicair
Shirley Abicair is an Australian-born singer, musician, TV personality, actress and author.-Early life:Shirley Abicair was born in Melbourne, Australia. Some sources show her year of birth as 1935, but a contemporary account shows she was 23 or 24 on arrival in England and, as she had completed...
. Martin worked with the Vipers Skiffle Group, with whom he had a number of hits. In early 1962, under the pseudonym "Ray Cathode", Martin released an early electronic dance single, "Time Beat
Time Beat
"Time Beat" was the first commercial release from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It was credited to the pseudonym "Ray Cathode", actually Maddalena Fagandini and future Beatles producer George Martin. The song was actually a reworking of an earlier interval signal created by Fagandini. The original...
"—recorded at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...
—in much the same style as the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
theme tune. As Martin wanted to add rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
to Parlophone's repertoire, he struggled to find a "fireproof" hit-making
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
pop artist or group.
As a producer Martin recorded the two-man show featuring Michael Flanders
Michael Flanders
Michael Henry Flanders OBE, was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known to the general public for his partnership with Donald Swann performing as the duo Flanders and Swann....
and Donald Swann
Donald Swann
Donald Ibrahím Swann was a British composer, musician and entertainer. He is best known to the general public for his partnership of writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders .-Life:...
called At the Drop of a Hat
At the Drop of a Hat
At the Drop of a Hat is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, described by them as "An After-Dinner Farrago". In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano...
, which sold steadily for twenty-five years, although Martin's breakthrough as a producer came with the Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
show, which starred Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
, Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
and Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
. Martin's work transformed the profile of Parlophone from a "sad little company" to a very profitable business.
The Beatles
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
, the manager of a rock band he had met. He thought Martin might be interested in the group, even though they had been turned down by Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
among other major British labels. Until that time, although he'd had considerable success with the comedy records and a number 1 hit with the Temperance Seven, Martin had had only minor success with pop music, such as "Who Could Be Bluer" by Jerry Lordan
Jerry Lordan
Jerry Lordan , born Jeremiah Patrick Lordan in Paddington, west London, was an English songwriter, composer and singer.-Career:...
, and singles with Shane Fenton and Matt Munro. After the telephone call by Coleman, Martin arranged a meeting on 13 February 1962 with Brian Epstein. Martin listened to a tape recorded at Decca, and thought that Epstein's group was "rather unpromising", but liked the sound of Lennon and McCartney's vocals.
After another meeting with Epstein on 9 May at the Abbey Road studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, Martin was impressed with Epstein's enthusiasm and agreed to sign the unknown Beatles to a recording contract without having met them or seen them play live. The contract was not what it seemed, however, as Martin would not sign it himself until he had heard an audition, and later said that EMI had "nothing to lose," as it offered one penny
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
for each record sold, which was split amongst the four members. Martin suggested to EMI (after the release of "From Me to You
From Me to You
"From Me to You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a single in 1963. The single was the Beatles' first number one in some of the United Kingdom charts, second in others, but failed to make an impact in the United States at the time of its initial...
") that the royalty rate should be doubled without asking for anything in return, which led to Martin being thought of as a "traitor in EMI".
The Beatles auditioned for Martin on 6 June 1962, in studio three at the Abbey Road studios. Ron Richards and his engineer Norman Smith recorded four songs, which Martin (who was not present during the recording) listened to at the end of the session. The verdict was not promising, however, as Richards complained about Pete Best
Pete Best
Pete Best is a British musician, best known as the original drummer in The Beatles. He was born in the city of Madras, British India...
's drumming, and Martin thought their original songs were simply not good enough. Martin asked the individual Beatles if there was anything they personally did not like, to which George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
replied, "Well, there's your tie, for a start." That was the turning point, according to Smith, as John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
joined in with jokes and comic wordplay that made Martin think that he should sign them to a contract for their wit alone.
The Beatles' first recording session with Martin was on 4 September, when they recorded "How Do You Do It
How Do You Do It?
"How Do You Do It?" was the debut single by Liverpudlian band Gerry & the Pacemakers. The song was number one in the UK Singles Chart on 11 April 1963, where it stayed for three weeks.-History:The song was written by Mitch Murray...
", which Martin thought was a sure-fire hit even though Lennon and McCartney hated it. (He was correct: Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
's version, which Martin produced, spent three weeks at #1 in April 1963 before being displaced by "From Me to You".) Richards complained about new-member Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's drumming on the next song, "Love Me Do
Love Me Do
"Love Me Do" is The Beatles' first single, backed by "P.S. I Love You" and released on 5 October 1962. When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number seventeen; in 1982 it was re-issued and reached number four...
", and so on 11 September, they re-recorded "Love Me Do" with Andy White
Andy White (drummer)
Andrew "Andy" White is a Scottish drummer, best known for replacing Ringo Starr on drums on The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do". White featured on the American 7" single release of the song, which also appeared on the band's debut British album, Please Please Me. He also played drums on the...
. Starr was asked to play tambourine and maracas, and although he complied, he was definitely "not pleased". (Martin would later praise Starr's drumming, calling him "probably ... the finest rock drummer in the world today.") "Love Me Do" peaked at number 17 in the British charts, so on 26 November 1962 Martin recorded "Please Please Me
Please Please Me (song)
"Please Please Me" is a song and the second single released by The Beatles in the United Kingdom, and the first to be issued in the United States. It was also the title track of their first LP, which was recorded to capitalise on the success of the single...
", which he only did after Lennon and McCartney had almost begged him to record another of their original songs. Martin's crucial contribution here was to tell them to speed up what was initially a slow ballad. After the recording Martin looked over the mixing desk and said, "Gentlemen, you have just made your first number one record". Martin directed Epstein to find a good publisher—as Ardmore & Beechwood had done nothing to promote "Love Me Do"—telling Epstein about three publishers who, in Martin's opinion, would be fair and honest, which led them to Dick James
Dick James
Dick James , born Reginald Leon Isaac Vapnick, was a music publisher and the founder of the DJM record label and recording studios, as well as The Beatles' publisher Northern Songs.-Early life:...
.
As arranger
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l arrangements and instrumentation (as well as frequent keyboard parts on the early records) were written or performed by Martin in collaboration with the band. It was Martin's idea to put a string quartet on "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)
"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...
", against McCartney's initial reluctance. Martin played the song in the style of Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
to show McCartney the voicings that were available. Another example is the song "Penny Lane
Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...
", which featured a piccolo trumpet
Piccolo trumpet
The smallest of the trumpet family is the piccolo trumpet, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B...
solo. McCartney hummed the melody he wanted, and Martin wrote it down in music notation for David Mason, the classically trained trumpeter.
Martin's distinctive arranging work appears on many Beatles recordings. For "Eleanor Rigby
Eleanor Rigby
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by The Beatles, simultaneously released on the 1966 album Revolver and on a 45 rpm single. The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney...
" he scored and conducted a strings-only accompaniment inspired by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
. On a Canadian speaking tour in 2007, Martin said his "Eleanor Rigby" score was influenced by Herrmann's score for the Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
thriller, Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
. For "Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
", he and recording engineer Geoff Emerick
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Emerick is an English recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with The Beatles' albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road...
turned two very different takes into a single master through careful use of vari-speed and editing. For "I Am the Walrus
I Am the Walrus
"I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...
", he provided a quirky and original arrangement for brass, violins, cellos, and the Mike Sammes Singers
Mike Sammes
Michael William "Mike" Sammes was an English musician and vocal session arranger, performing backing vocals on pop music recorded in the UK from 1955 to the 1970s.-Career:...
vocal ensemble. On "In My Life
In My Life
"In My Life" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney . The song originated with Lennon, and while Paul McCartney contributed to the final version, the extent of his contribution is in dispute. George Martin contributed the instrumental bridge...
", he played a sped-up Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
piano solo. He worked with McCartney to implement the orchestral 'climax' in "A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life
"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...
" and he and McCartney shared conducting duties the day it was recorded.
He contributed less-noted but integral parts to other songs, including the piano in "Lovely Rita
Lovely Rita
"Lovely Rita" is a song by The Beatles performed on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, written and sung by Paul McCartney, although as with all McCartney or Lennon-written Beatles' songs, it is credited to Lennon–McCartney...
", the organs and tape loop arrangement that create the Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque was the first black circus proprietor in Britain. His circus, in which he himself was a performer, was the most popular circus in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus...
circus atmosphere that Lennon requested on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song from the 1967 album by The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was composed by John Lennon...
" (both Martin and Lennon played organ parts for this song), and the orchestration in "Good Night
Good Night (song)
-External links:*...
". The first song that Martin did not arrange was "She's Leaving Home
She's Leaving Home
"She's Leaving Home" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney and released in 1967 on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. McCartney wrote and sang the verse and Lennon the chorus...
", as he had a prior engagement to produce a Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
session, so McCartney contacted arranger Mike Leander
Mike Leander
Michael George Farr professionally known as Mike Leander was an arranger and record producer for Decca Records in the 1960s and Bell Records in the 1970s and worked with such artists as Marianne Faithfull, Billy Fury, Marc Bolan, Joe Cocker, The Small Faces, Van Morrison, Alan Price, Peter...
to do it. Martin was reportedly hurt by this, but still produced the recording and conducted the orchestra himself. Martin was in demand as an independent arranger and producer by the time of The White Album
The Beatles (album)
The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed on its plain white sleeve.The album was written and recorded during a...
, so The Beatles were left to produce various tracks by themselves.
Martin arranged the score for The Beatles' film Yellow Submarine and the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
, for which Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
wrote and sang the title song.
As composer
Martin has composed film scores since the early 1960s, as well as being a producer and arranger. He composed the instrumental score of the film Yellow Submarine and Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
. Martin composed Adagietto for Harmonica & Strings for Tommy Reilly
Tommy Reilly
Thomas Rundle Reilly MBE was a Canadian classical harmonica player. He began studying violin at eight and began playing harmonica at aged eleven as a member of his father's band...
, Theme One for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, and Magic Carpet for The Dakotas.
The Beatles Anthology
Martin oversaw post-production on The Beatles AnthologyThe Beatles Anthology
The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series, a set of three double albums and a book focusing on the history of The Beatles. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all participated in the making and approval of the works, which are sometimes referred to collectively as the...
(which was originally entitled "The Long and Winding Road") in 1994 and 1995, working again with Geoff Emerick
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Emerick is an English recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with The Beatles' albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road...
. Martin decided to use an old 8-track analogue deck to mix the songs for the project—which EMI found out an engineer still had—instead of a modern digital deck. He explained this by saying that the old deck created a completely different sound, which a new deck could not recreate. He also said the whole project was a strange experience for him (with which McCartney agreed) as they had to listen to themselves chatting in the studio, 25–30 years previously.
Martin stepped down when it came to producing the two new singles reuniting McCartney, Harrison and Starr, who wanted to overdub two old Lennon demos. Martin had suffered a hearing loss, and left the work to writer/producer Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
of ELO
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
fame.
Cirque du Soleil and Love
In 2006, Martin and his son, Giles MartinGiles Martin
Giles Martin is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of Sir George Martin, famed producer of almost all of The Beatles' records.- Biography :...
, remixed 80 minutes of Beatles music for the Las Vegas stage performance Love
LOVE (Cirque du Soleil)
Love is a 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil which combines the re-produced and re-imagined music of The Beatles with an interpretive, circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance. The show plays at a specially built theatre at The Mirage in Las Vegas.A joint venture between...
, a joint venture between Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
and The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by the members of The Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year...
. A soundtrack album from the show
Love (The Beatles album)
Love is a Grammy Award-winning soundtrack remix album of music recorded by The Beatles, released in November 2006. It features music compiled and remixed as a mashup for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name...
was released that same year.
Other artists
Martin has produced recordings for many other artists, including contemporaries of The Beatles, such as Matt MonroMatt Monro
Matt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...
, Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, and Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
, as well as The King's Singers, the band America
America (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
, guitarist Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, sixties duo Edwards Hand
Edwards Hand
Edwards Hand are a musical group formed by Englishmen Rod Edwards and Roger Hand...
, Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, country-singer Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
and Yoshiki Hayashi of X Japan
X Japan
is a Japanese heavy metal band founded in 1982 by Yoshiki and Toshi. Originally named X , the group achieved their breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood...
.
Martin also worked with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
. He worked with Glitter before he was famous, and recorded several songs with him in the 1960s under the name of "Paul Raven". He also produced the 1974 album The Man In The Bowler Hat
The Man in the Bowler Hat (album)
The Man In The Bowler Hat is the third album by the British rock group Stackridge. The album was produced by George Martin at AIR Studios, London and released in the UK by MCA Records. This was their highest charting album, peaking at number 23 in the UK Albums Chart.A different version of the...
for the eccentric British folk-rock group Stackridge
Stackridge
Stackridge are a British folk, pop and progressive rock group who were at the height of their success during the early 1970s. The band's output is characterized by quirky humour and rhythmic catchy sing-along tunes....
. Martin worked with Paul Winter
Paul Winter
Paul Winter is an American saxophonist , and is a six-time Grammy Award nominee.- Biography :Paul Winter attended Altoona Area High School and graduated in 1957...
on his (1972) Icarus album, which was recorded in a rented house by the sea in Marblehead
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, Massachusetts. Winter said that Martin taught him "how to use the studio as a tool", and allowed him to record the album in a relaxed atmosphere, which was different from the pressurised control in a professional studio. In 2010, Martin was the executive producer of the hard rock debut of Arms of the Sun, an all-star project featuring Rex Brown
Rex Brown
Rex Robert Brown is an American heavy metal bassist. A former member of Down, he is most famous as the longtime bassist for the Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling band Pantera.-Pantera:...
(Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
, Down
Down (band)
Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, guitarist Pepper Keenan, guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders and drummer Jimmy Bower. Since their formation, Down has gone on hiatus twice...
), John Luke Hebert (King Diamond
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen , better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond...
), Lance Harvill, and Ben Bunker.
Associated Independent Recording (AIR)
Within the recording industry, Martin is noted for going independent at a time when many producers were still salaried staffEmployment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
—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 artists who requested him. This arrangement not only demonstrated how important Martin's talents were considered to be by his artists, but it allowed him a share in record royalties on his hits. Today, Martin's Associated Independent Recording
Associated Independent Recording
Associated Independent Recording , an independent recording company, was founded in London in 1965 by Beatles producer George Martin and his partner John Burgess after their departure from EMI....
(AIR) remains one of the world's pre-eminent recording studios. Martin later opened a studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
, in 1979. This studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo ten years later.
Music from James Bond series
Martin has also directly and indirectly contributed to the main themes of three films in the James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
series. Although Martin did not produce the theme for the second Bond film, From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
, he was responsible for the signing of Matt Monro
Matt Monro
Matt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...
to EMI just months prior to his recording of the song of the same title.
Martin also produced two of the most well-known James Bond themes. The first was "Goldfinger
Goldfinger (song)
"Goldfinger" was the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release...
" by Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
in 1964. The second was "Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (song)
"Live and Let Die" is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and was performed by Paul McCartney & Wings for the movie soundtrack and appears on the soundtrack album. The song was one of Wings' most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point...
" by Paul McCartney and Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
for the film of the same name
Live and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
. He also composed and produced the film's score
Live and Let Die (soundtrack)
Live and Let Die is the soundtrack of, and was written for, the 8th James Bond film of the same name.Taking a temporary hiatus from scoring Bond films, John Barry subsequently passed the baton over to George Martin. This was the first James Bond film of which Barry was, in at least some aspect, not...
.
Books and audio retrospective
In 1979, he published a memoir, All You Need is EarsAll You Need Is Ears
All You Need Is Ears: The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles is the 1980 memoir of The Beatles' producer George Martin, co-authored by Jeremy Hornsby. The book was republished in 1994....
(co-written with Jeremy Hornsby), that described his work with the Beatles and other artists (including Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Flanders and Swann
Flanders and Swann
The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
, Matt Monro
Matt Monro
Matt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...
, and Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
), and gave an informal introduction to the art and science of sound recording. In 1993 Martin published Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt Pepper (published in the USA as With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt Pepper, co-authored with William Pearson), which also included interview quotations from a 1992 South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
episode discussing the album. Martin also edited a 1983 book called Making Music: The Guide to Writing, Performing and Recording.
In 2001, Martin released Produced by George Martin
Produced by George Martin
Produced by George Martin is a 2001 various artists compilation box set of tracks produced by Sir George Martin.It was issued to commemorate Martin's 50 year career as a record producer...
: 50 Years In Recording, a six-CD retrospective of his entire studio career, and in 2002, Martin launched Playback, his limited-edition illustrated autobiography, published by Genesis Publications
Genesis Publications
Genesis Publications Limited is a British publishing company founded in 1974 by Brian Roylance, a former student of the London College of Printing. His aim was to create a company in the traditions of the private press, true to the arts of printing and book binding...
.
Produced By George Martin (TV)
In 2011 a documentary feature film co-produced by the BBC ArenaArena (TV series)
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...
team called "Produced by George Martin" aired to critical acclaim for the first time in the UK. It's a 90 minute film combining rare archive footage and new interviews from the likes of Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
and Giles Martin
Giles Martin
Giles Martin is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of Sir George Martin, famed producer of almost all of The Beatles' records.- Biography :...
. An intimate portrait of George; legendary producer and family man at home and at work.
Awards and recognition
- Academy Award 1964 – Nomination Scoring of Music (for A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (film)A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
) - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
1967 – Best Contemporary Album (as producer of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
) - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
1967 – Album Of The Year (as producer of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
1973 – Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) (as arranger of "Live and Let Die") - BRIT AwardsBrit AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
1977 – Best British Producer (of the past 25 years) - BRIT AwardsBrit AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
1984 – Outstanding Contribution To Music - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
1993 – Best Musical Show Album (as producer of The Who's TommyThe Who's TommyThe Who's Tommy is a rock musical by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff based on The Who's 1969 double album rock opera Tommy, also by Pete Townshend, with additional material by John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Sonny Boy Williamson.-Productions:...
) - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
2007 – Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media, producer together with Giles Martin, of The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
album Love - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
2007 – Best Surround Sound Album, producer together with Giles Martin, of The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
album Love - Martin was named the British Phonographic IndustryBritish Phonographic IndustryThe British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
's "Man of the Year" for 1998. - In April 1989, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music by Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
of BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA - He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of FameRock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
on 15 March 1999 and into the UK Music Hall of FameUK Music Hall of FameThe UK Music Hall of Fame was an awards ceremony to honour musicians, of any nationality, for their lifetime contributions to music in the United Kingdom. The Hall of Fame started in 2004 with the induction of five founder members and five more members selected by a public televote, two from each...
on 14 November 2006. - In 2002, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Film by the World Soundtrack AcademyWorld Soundtrack AcademyThe World Soundtrack Academy , launched in 2001 by the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent, is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and its worldwide promotion...
at Belgium's Flanders International Film Festival. - He was granted his own Coat of ArmsCoat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
in March 2004 by the College of ArmsCollege of ArmsThe College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. His shield features three beetles, and the Latin motto Amore Solum Opus Est ("All You Need Is Love"). - In November 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music by Leeds Metropolitan UniversityLeeds Metropolitan UniversityLeeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
- In September 2008, he was awarded the James Joyce AwardJames Joyce AwardThe James Joyce Award is an award given by the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin for those who have achieved outstanding success in their given field...
by the Literary and Historical Society of University College DublinUniversity College DublinUniversity College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
. - Martin has also been honoured with a Gold Medal for Services to the Arts from the CISACConfédération Internationale des Sociétés d´Auteurs et CompositeursConfédération Internationale des Sociétés d´Auteurs et Compositeurs , founded in 1926, is a performance rights organisation, which coordinates the protection of its member creators' rights.As of June 2010, CISAC numbers 229 authors’ societies from 121 countries and indirectly represents more than...
(the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers). - On 25 May 2010 he was given an honorary membership in the Audio Engineering SocietyAudio Engineering SocietyEstablished in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
at the 128th AES Convention in London. - On 29 June 2011 he was given an honorary degree, Doctor of Music, from the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Selected non-Beatles hit records produced or co-produced by George Martin
Records produced by Martin have achieved 30 number one singles and 16 number one albums in the UK—plus 23 number one singles and 19 number one albums in North America.- "You're Driving Me CrazyYou're Driving Me Crazy"You’re Driving Me Crazy" is a U.S. popular song composed by Walter Donaldson for the 1930 musical comedy Smiles. It was recorded the same year by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians and became a hit...
", The Temperance SevenThe Temperance SevenThe Temperance Seven is a British band specializing in 1920s-style jazz music.- Career :The Temperance Seven were founded at Christmas 1955, although it has been alleged they first "saw the light" in the Pasadena Cocoa Rooms, Balls Pond Road, North London, in 1904...
(25/5/61, #1) - “My Kind of Girl,” Matt MonroMatt MonroMatt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...
(31/7/61, #18) - “My Boomerang Won’t Come Back,” Charlie DrakeCharlie DrakeCharlie Drake was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer.With his small stature , curly red hair and liking for slapstick he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, becoming nationally-known for his "Hello, my darlings" catchphrase...
(17/3/62, #21) - “Sun AriseSun Arise"Sun Arise" is the fourth single released by the Australian singer-songwriter Rolf Harris. Released on 25 October 1962, it was Harris' second charting hit, coming two years after his self-penned chart-topper "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"...
,” Rolf HarrisRolf HarrisRolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
(25/10/62, #3) - “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport,” Rolf Harris (13/7/63, #3)
- “Little ChildrenLittle Children (song)"Little Children" is a song written by J. Leslie McFarland and Mort Shuman. It was recorded by Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in March 1964, and number seven in the US Hot 100 singles chart later the same year...
,” Billy J. KramerBilly J. KramerBilly J. Kramer is a British Invasion/Merseybeat singer. In the 1960s he was managed by Brian Epstein, who also managed The Beatles, and he recorded several original Lennon and McCartney compositions.-Early life and career:He grew up as the youngest of seven siblings and attended the St George of...
and the Dakotas (19/3/64, #1) - “Bad to MeBad to Me"Bad to Me" is a song John Lennon wrote for Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas while on holiday in Spain. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas released their recording of the song in 1963 and it became their first #1 UK hit. Paul McCartney was present during the recording session at Abbey Road Studios...
,” Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (27/6/64, #9) - “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” Gerry & The PacemakersGerry & the PacemakersGerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
(4/7/64, #4) - “You’re My World,” Cilla BlackCilla BlackCilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
(1/8/64, #UK1) - “How Do You Do It?How Do You Do It?"How Do You Do It?" was the debut single by Liverpudlian band Gerry & the Pacemakers. The song was number one in the UK Singles Chart on 11 April 1963, where it stayed for three weeks.-History:The song was written by Mitch Murray...
,” Gerry & The Pacemakers (5/9/64, #9) - “I Like It,” Gerry & The Pacemakers (7/11/64, #17)
- “Walk Away,” Matt Monro (9/1/65, #23)
- “I’ll Be There,” Gerry & The Pacemakers (30/1/65, #14)
- “Ferry Cross the MerseyFerry Cross the Mersey"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the...
,” Gerry & The Pacemakers (20/3/65, #6) - “GoldfingerGoldfinger (song)"Goldfinger" was the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release...
,” Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
(27/3/65, #8) - “You'll Never Walk AloneYou'll Never Walk Alone (song)"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
,” Gerry & The Pacemakers (3/7/65, #48) - “Trains and Boats and Planes,” Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (31/7/65, #47)
- “AlfieAlfie (song)"Alfie" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1965 most successfully recorded by Cher, Cilla Black and Dionne Warwick.-Background:...
,” Cilla Black (10/9/66,#UK6 #95) - “Girl on a Swing,” Gerry & The Pacemakers (22/10/66, #28)
- “Tin Man,” AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
(9/11/74, #4) - “Lonely People,” America (8/3/75, #5)
- “Sister Golden Hair,” America (14/6/75, #1)
- “Oh! Darling,” Robin GibbRobin GibbRobin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
(7/10/78, #15) - "Ebony and IvoryEbony and Ivory"Ebony and Ivory" is a 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29 of that year. The song is featured on McCartney's album Tug of War. The song reached number one on both the UK and the U.S. charts...
" Paul McCartney & Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
(29/3/82 US #1) - "Say, Say, Say," Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson (10/12/83, #1)
- "No More Lonely NightsNo More Lonely NightsNo More Lonely Nights is a song written by Paul McCartney, which was first released in September 1984. It can be heard on the soundtrack, Give My Regards to Broad Street. The single reached #6 in the US and #2 in the UK...
", Paul McCartney (8/12/84, #6) - "Candle in the Wind 1997Candle in the Wind 1997"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales....
", Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
(11/10/97, #1) - "PurePure (Hayley Westenra album)Pure is the first internationally published Album by Christchurch, New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. Her previous albums were released only in New Zealand and nearby Australia. This album also received professional consultation from the legendary Sir George Martin who helped to create its...
" 2003, Hayley WestenraHayley WestenraHayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
(#1 UK classical charts, #8 UK pop charts)
Discography
- A Hard Day's Night: Instrumental Versions of the Motion Picture Score (1964)
- Off the Beatle TrackOff The Beatle TrackOff the Beatle Track is a 1964 album by George Martin & His Orchestra, released 10 July by United Artists Records in the United States, and 3 August by Parlophone in the United Kingdom....
(1964) - Help!Help! (George Martin album)Help! is a 1965 album by The George Martin Orchestra, the second of a series of albums by Martin featuring instrumental arrangements of Beatle songs. This release focused on songs from their album Help!...
(1965) - George Martin Instrumentally Salutes The Beatle GirlsGeorge Martin Instrumentally Salutes The Beatle GirlsGeorge Martin Instrumentally Salutes The Beatle Girls is a 1966 album by George Martin & His Orchestra.It is the third of a series of albums by Martin featuring instrumental arrangements of Beatle songs...
(1966) - Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine (album)Yellow Submarine is the tenth studio album by The Beatles in the United Kingdom, released on Apple Records. It was issued as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which premiered in the United Kingdom seven months prior to the album's release....
(side one: The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, side two: The George Martin Orchestra) (1969) - Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (soundtrack)Live and Let Die is the soundtrack of, and was written for, the 8th James Bond film of the same name.Taking a temporary hiatus from scoring Bond films, John Barry subsequently passed the baton over to George Martin. This was the first James Bond film of which Barry was, in at least some aspect, not...
(producer for Paul McCartney's song and composer of musical score) (1973) - In My Life (1998)
- Produced by George MartinProduced by George MartinProduced by George Martin is a 2001 various artists compilation box set of tracks produced by Sir George Martin.It was issued to commemorate Martin's 50 year career as a record producer...
(2001) - The Family Way (2003)
Selected discography (as producer)
- Jimmy ShandJimmy ShandSir James Shand MBE was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion.-Early life:...
"Bluebell Polka" (1952) - Peter UstinovPeter UstinovPeter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
"Mock Mozart" (1952) - Roberto Inglez "From The Savoy Hotel" (1953)
- The Vipers Skiffle GroupThe Vipers Skiffle GroupThe Vipers Skiffle Group – later known simply as The Vipers - were one of the leading British groups during the skiffle period of the mid to late 1950s, and were important in the careers of radio and television presenter Wally Whyton, coffee bar manager Johnny Martyn, wire salesman Jean Van den...
"Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" (1957) - Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
"A Drop of the Hard Stuff" (1958) - Flanders and SwannFlanders and SwannThe British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
– At the Drop of a HatAt the Drop of a HatAt the Drop of a Hat is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, described by them as "An After-Dinner Farrago". In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano...
(1960) - Matt Munro "Portrait of My Love" (1960)
- Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and Sophia LorenSophia LorenSophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
"Goodness Gracious Me" (1960) - Beyond The FringeBeyond the FringeBeyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
"The End of the World" (1961) - Michael BentineMichael BentineMichael Bentine CBE was a British comedian, comic actor and founding member of the Goons. A Peruvian Briton by heritage as a result of his father's nationality, In 1971 Bentine received the Order of Merit of Peru because of his fund-raising work for the 1970 Great Peruvian...
"Football Results" (1962) - Joan SimsJoan SimsJoan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
"Oh Not Again Ken" (1963) - Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
"I (Who Have Nothing)" (1963) - Millicent MartinMillicent MartinMillicent Mary Lillian Martin is an English actress, singer and comedienne.Martin was born in Romford, England. She made her Broadway debut opposite Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend in 1954...
and David FrostDavid FrostSir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
– "That Was The Week That WasThat Was The Week That WasThat Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
" (1963) - Flanders and SwannFlanders and SwannThe British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
– At the Drop of Another HatAt the Drop of Another HatAt the Drop of Another Hat is musical revue by Flanders and Swann, similar in format to its long-running predecessor, At the Drop of a Hat . In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano. The songs were linked by contemporary social commentary, mostly by...
(1964) - Gerry & The PacemakersGerry & the PacemakersGerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
– Ferry Cross the MerseyFerry Cross the Mersey"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the...
(1965) - Edwards HandEdwards HandEdwards Hand are a musical group formed by Englishmen Rod Edwards and Roger Hand...
– Edwards Hand (1969) - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– Sentimental Journey (1970) - The King's Singers "The King's Singers Collection" (1972)
- Paul Winter ConsortPaul Winter ConsortThe Paul Winter Consort is an American musical group, led by soprano saxophonist Paul Winter. Founded in 1967, the group mixes elements of jazz, classical music, world music, and the sounds of animals and nature. They are often classified as new age music or "ecological jazz", and their unique...
– Icarus (1972) - The King's Singers "A French Collection" (1973)
- The King's Singers "Deck the Hall" (1973)
- StackridgeStackridgeStackridge are a British folk, pop and progressive rock group who were at the height of their success during the early 1970s. The band's output is characterized by quirky humour and rhythmic catchy sing-along tunes....
– The Man In The Bowler HatThe Man in the Bowler Hat (album)The Man In The Bowler Hat is the third album by the British rock group Stackridge. The album was produced by George Martin at AIR Studios, London and released in the UK by MCA Records. This was their highest charting album, peaking at number 23 in the UK Albums Chart.A different version of the...
(released as Pinafore DaysThe Man in the Bowler Hat (album)The Man In The Bowler Hat is the third album by the British rock group Stackridge. The album was produced by George Martin at AIR Studios, London and released in the UK by MCA Records. This was their highest charting album, peaking at number 23 in the UK Albums Chart.A different version of the...
in the U.S. and Canada) (1974) - Mahavishnu Orchestra – Apocalypse (1974)
- AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
– HolidayHoliday (America album)Holiday is the fourth original studio album by American folk rock band America, released by Warner Bros. Records in June 1974 . The album was produced in London by noted Beatles producer George Martin....
(1974) - Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
– Blow by BlowBlow by BlowBlow by Blow is the seventh album by British guitarist Jeff Beck, released on Epic Records in 1975, and recorded in October 1974. It is the first under his name alone...
(1975) - AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
– HeartsHearts (album)-Track listing:#"Daisy Jane" – 3:07#"Half a Man" – 3:33#"Midnight" – 2:41#"Bell Tree" – 2:32#"Old Virginia" – 3:28#"People in the Valley" – 2:43#"Company" – 3:23...
(1975) - AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
– Hideaway (1976) - American FlyerAmerican Flyer (band)American Flyer was an American folk rock supergroup.They formed in 1976 and released two successful albums on United Artists before disbanding in 1978. They also charted one minor hit, "Let Me Down Easy", which hit #80 on the U.S...
– American Flyer (1976) - Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
– Wired (1976) - Jimmy WebbJimmy WebbJimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
– El MirageEl Mirage (Jimmy Webb album)El Mirage is Jimmy Webb's sixth album. Released by Atlantic Records in 1977, it was the first album for which Webb handed production and arrangement duties on to another person, George Martin, producer of The Beatles....
(1977) - AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
– HarborHarbor (album)Harbor is the seventh original studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in February 1977. It was the last to feature Dan Peek, who embarked on a solo Christian career shortly after the album's release...
(1977) - Cheap TrickCheap TrickCheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
– All Shook Up (1980) - UFOUFO (band)UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
– No Place to RunNo Place to Run (album)No Place to Run is the eighth album by the band UFO. It was released in January, 1980 No Place to Run is the eighth album by the band UFO. It was released in January, 1980 No Place to Run is the eighth album by the band UFO. It was released in January, 1980 (date by official UFO site on Chrysalis....
(1980) - Little River BandLittle River BandLittle River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
– Time ExposureTime Exposure (Little River Band album)- Track listing :#"The Night Owls" - 5:16#"Man on Your Mind" - 4:14#"Take It Easy on Me" - 3:45#"Ballerina" - 4:02#"Love Will Survive" - 4:38...
(1981) - UltravoxUltravoxUltravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
– QuartetQuartet (Ultravox album)Quartet, released in 1982, is the sixth LP by British band Ultravox, and the third of the band's most-recognizable incarnation, fronted by Midge Ure. The album peaked at no.6 on the UK album chart and was certified Gold by the BPI in December 1982 for 100,000 copies sold...
(1982) - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– Tug of War (1982) - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– Pipes of PeacePipes of Peace (album)Pipes of Peace is the fifth studio album by Paul McCartney, released in 1983. As the follow-up to the popular Tug of War, Pipes of Peace was nearly as successful and the source of more big hits for McCartney although critics were much cooler on the album than they were on its...
(1983) - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– Give My Regards to Broad StreetGive My Regards to Broad StreetGive My Regards to Broad Street is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Unlike the film, the album was successful, achieving #1 in the UK chart and its lead single "No More Lonely Nights" was BAFTA and Golden Globe award nominated....
(1984) - Andy LeekAndy LeekAndy Leek is an English musician, noted for his work with Dexys Midnight Runners.-Biography:Andy began his musical career while still at school fronting progressive punk band The Wailing Cocks...
– Say Something (1988) - Yoshiki – Eternal MelodyEternal MelodyEternal Melody is the first classical album released by Yoshiki Hayashi on April 21, 1993. All music was written by Yoshiki, produced and arranged by famed Beatles' producer George Martin and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was later mastered at Abbey Road Studios...
(1993) - Tommy (Original Cast Recording) (1993)
- Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
– Let's Talk About LoveLet's Talk About LoveLet's Talk About Love is an album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on November 18, 1997. It is her fifth English-language album and twenty-third in total. Let's Talk About Love remains one of the best-selling albums in history with over 31 million copies sold worldwide...
(1997) - George Martin – In My Life (1998)
- The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
– LoveLove (The Beatles album)Love is a Grammy Award-winning soundtrack remix album of music recorded by The Beatles, released in November 2006. It features music compiled and remixed as a mashup for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name...
(2006)