George Martin- The Musical Genius Who Created The Beatles

[mervap]

Sounds pretentious, doesn't it? That is exactly what the dust jacket for his biography said as a sub-title...I remember reading somewhere that he was extremely embarassed by that. He does deserve some credit for his contribution, but where is that line? I'd like to read what you all think. 

[2 of 3]

I think 5th Beatle is appropriate. He got the best out of those guys, and it showed.

[mervap]

I enjoyed Sir George's autobiography...it was written many years ago, but I found it to be interesting in that it filled in a number of 'holes' and gave a fine perspective of a very creative time. However, even after reading it, I was still wondering just where the line between producer and collaborator was drawn. Like most questions of this nature, the answer really depended upon the task at hand...some tunes were very complete when the Lads brought them in, others not so much. More than anything, George Martin's role could best be described as a 'facilitator'...he took what was a very raw group of extremely imaginative guys and helped them to bring those ideas to the world.

[chris]

the term 5th beatle tends to be thrown around fairly often these days. i'm not completely convinced anyone is truly worthy of that honor. but...if one had to be bestowed of that title...it would unquestionably be sir george martin, methinks.

[mervap]

 
 

Beatles producer's tips to get rich

By Linnda Durre, Forbes.com

2008-01-15 12:54:48
     
Now you, too, can become a millionaire just as the Beatles did. Just follow the advice of the man who "made" the four lads rich--and make the world, as well as your life, better at the same time.

Sir George Martin, the "musical CEO of the Beatles," is a strong believer in treating people equally, focusing on the work, communicating honestly and doing what you love--four values that Martin stressed when working with the most creative, successful, zeitgeist-changing, consciousness-raising band in the history of music.

How did Martin make all four of the lads rich, while dealing with their genius, prodigious output and personality clashes, not to mention the pressure, late hours, deadlines, grueling tour schedules, films, drugs, booze, groupies, girlfriends, infidelities, divorce and the media?

"I just focused on the music and made the music the focus for others. I still do; that's my job. If the music doesn't work, then the rest falls apart anyway," he says.

Martin's success seems to be a potent mix of both nature and nurture--blessings like perfect pitch, innate talent, vision, goals, preparation, hard work, learning from mistakes, turning adversity into motivation, commitment to excellence, jumping at opportunities and a pure love of music.

He feels you should always treat people with respect and as equals, and strive for excellence. Then creativity will thrive, as it did with the Beatles.

"We worked as equals," Martin says. "I guided them and pointed them in the direction of the wider picture, offered them more musical toys and gave the space to let their genius and imagination go wild," adding poetically, "We wanted to paint in sound."

Martin innovatively captured the sounds the Beatles heard in their heads. He encouraged each member to contribute in every way--singing, lyric and song writing, and recording ideas--and made some of the most creative work in musical history.

"I have never been satisfied with OK. I am inquisitive by nature and will give anything a go once to get that special something," he says. "Communication is the key and music is an international language, but you need to know your craft too. … I always tried to be truthful, even-handed and level-headed. We worked hard, long hours, but essentially we just wanted to make the best music we could."

Martin produced all the band's record-breaking 34 hit singles in a row and all but one of their s 19 albums--including Revolver, Rubber Soul, the groundbreaking Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles (aka The White Album). Their last album together, Abbey Road, he describes as an absolute delight. "I think we all knew it was the last, and we enjoyed it. It all came to a natural end after that."

Martin values treating people fairly. He was the youngest head of a major label--Parlophone, a division of EMI--when he signed the Beatles to a recording contract. But EMI's notorious stinginess and other reasons provoked Martin and other EMI employees to resign in the mid-1960s and form their own company, AIR, Associated Independent Recording. EMI had to hire Martin back as an independent producer for its artists, and he was then able to be paid producer's royalties on AIR's behalf. Paul McCartney did the same thing this year--he left EMI for another label.

Since AIR was formed, it has catered to some of the world's biggest movies: the Oscar-winning Emma, The English Patient, Gladiator and Lord of the Rings, as well as recording acts Dire Straits, Elton John, Oasis, Radiohead, Travis and Coldplay. Martin sold his shares in AIR, but "retirement" may be missing from his vocabulary.

Martin was knighted and has won five Grammys, the Rock Producer Award, an Oscar nomination for A Hard Day's Night and the prestigious Silver Jubilee Award for Best Producer, 1952-1977, and was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1998, he produced and arranged In My Life, a farewell album of Beatles tunes performed by famous musicians and actors.

Martin celebrated his 80th birthday year with a Beatles/Cirque du Soleil collaboration, "Love," the resident show at the Mirage in Las Vegas, which is expected to run for at least 10 years. The album was the biggest-selling record in the world throughout the holiday season of 2006, with 4.9 million units sold in the six weeks from release until the end of the year. Martin keeps making records that break records.


http://money.canoe.ca/Forbes/2008/01/15/4774233.html
 

[chris]

i have to wonder...(and this is in no way attempting to take anything away from mr martin...) did he use his exceptional producing skills to help anyone else's career? or is he only to be known as the beatle's producer? he must have done other, rock music related, work too, right?

[mervap]

He did....the band America is one of them....he produced Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow"...Gerry & the Pacemakers....actually, I'll let Wikipedia say it:


Flanders and Swann — At the Drop of a Hat (1960)
Flanders and Swann — At the Drop of Another Hat (1964)
Gerry and the Pacemakers — Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965)
Edwards Hand — Edwards Hand (1969)
Ringo Starr — Sentimental Journey (1970)
Paul Winter Consort — Icarus (1972)
Stackridge — The Man In The Bowler Hat (released as Pinafore Days in the U.S. and Canada) (1974)
Mahavishnu Orchestra — Apocalypse (1974)
America — Holiday (1974)
Jeff Beck — Blow by Blow (1975)
America — Hearts (1975)
America — Hideaway (1976)
Jeff Beck — Wired (1976)
Jimmy Webb — El Mirage (album)|El Mirage (1977)
America — Harbor (1977)
Cheap Trick — All Shook Up (1980)
UFO — No Place to Run (1980)
Little River Band — Time Exposure (1981)
Ultravox — Quartet (1982)
Tommy (Original Cast Recording) (1993)
Celine Dion — Let's Talk About Love (1997)
George Martin — In My Life (1998)
The Beatles — Love (2006)

[chris]

i am...or was...truly unknowing. thank you sir for elightening me. (shame on me for not previously knowing any of these)

[mervap]

He also produced the Biggest-selling single of all time: Elton John's "Candle In the Wind '97".

[chris]

well, i won't hold that steamy pile of rubbish against him. he's done too much good to let one song sour an otherwise stellar career. 

[Paperback Writer]

His work on the first Seatrain album is fine and that album is a "keeper!'

[mervap]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i61954dcc5d766db34e20eeb4399ad895


Martin, PBS go 'On Record'
Miniseries tuned to cultural impact
By Ann Donahue

Feb 8, 2008

PBS and Wildheart Entertainment are producing "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives," an eight-hour miniseries that documents the history of recorded music and popular culture.

"On Record" is scheduled to air in fall 2010 on PBS and will feature interviews and footage with hundreds of artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Jay-Z. Beatles producer George Martin will host, and Kevin Spacey will narrate.

"(This) is a project intrinsically dear to my heart and one that I have been developing with Wildheart Entertainment for over five years," Martin said. "I am just thrilled that PBS has joined us as our primetime broadcaster. 'On Record' affords me the opportunity to work again with so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life and to tell a story that has never been told in such a comprehensive way.

"Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together, regardless of race, nationality, age or income," he said.

Wildheart executives Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff will serve as executive producers, as will veteran music industry executive Phil Quartararo. Alan Benson ("In My Life") will direct.
 

"So many of us carry in our heads a musical soundtrack that gives our lives meaning and vibrancy," said John Wilson, senior vp and chief TV programming executive at PBS. "Music is such an important art for understanding our shared culture and history; this was a natural for PBS to greenlight."

PBS.org will host a Web site for the documentary, and a companion CD box set, DVD release, books and a radio show are in the works.

Ann Donahue is senior editor at Billboard.


Save Print Email Reprints Martin, PBS go 'On Record'
Miniseries tuned to cultural impact
By Ann Donahue

Feb 8, 2008

PBS and Wildheart Entertainment are producing "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives," an eight-hour miniseries that documents the history of recorded music and popular culture.

"On Record" is scheduled to air in fall 2010 on PBS and will feature interviews and footage with hundreds of artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Jay-Z. Beatles producer George Martin will host, and Kevin Spacey will narrate.

"(This) is a project intrinsically dear to my heart and one that I have been developing with Wildheart Entertainment for over five years," Martin said. "I am just thrilled that PBS has joined us as our primetime broadcaster. 'On Record' affords me the opportunity to work again with so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life and to tell a story that has never been told in such a comprehensive way.

"Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together, regardless of race, nationality, age or income," he said.

Wildheart executives Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff will serve as executive producers, as will veteran music industry executive Phil Quartararo. Alan Benson ("In My Life") will direct.
 

"So many of us carry in our heads a musical soundtrack that gives our lives meaning and vibrancy," said John Wilson, senior vp and chief TV programming executive at PBS. "Music is such an important art for understanding our shared culture and history; this was a natural for PBS to greenlight."

PBS.org will host a Web site for the documentary, and a companion CD box set, DVD release, books and a radio show are in the works.

Ann Donahue is senior editor at Billboard

[SavoyTruffle]

I've always regarded George Martin as the man who simply "polished up" the already present musical genius possessed by the Fab Four in rough form. Granted, his vast expertise came in handy for the much needed orchestration and elegant classical embellishments (e.g., the famous "In My Life" interlude?)found in many of their later works-since the Beatles themselves were reportedly "illiterate", as far as musical notation was concerned (a "handicap" which hardly impeded the artistic growth of these particular boys) Nevertheless, Sir George's guidance was obviously appreciated and quite often utilized. As a universal sign of respect the man was dubbed the "fifth Beatle" not just because he was their mentor and frequent collaborator, but also because he was their very close friend.and ever-present confidant. As for the rather unabashed, self-congratulatory "Musical Genius Who Created The Beatles" moniker--one can seriously doubt it's authorship was attributed to Martin himself. He is unquestionably a brilliant man, but even his formidable skills pale in comparison to those inborn in JPGR themselves.

S.T.

[mervap]

Still more props for Sir George Martin:

http://www.pr-inside.com/sir-george-martin-to-be-honored-r541938.htm

 
 

 

[acebackwords]

Lennon had some nasty things to say about Martin in his "Lennon Remembers" interview.  "Play me some of George Martin's music" and "... after working with genius all those years they're under the delusion that they made us when in fact we made them" (or something like that).  But its interesting to look at the stuff Martin did with the band America after the Beatles.  I wouldn't be surprised if he had more hits with America and sold more records than Lennon did with his post-Martin solo albums.  And the stuff Martin did with solo McCartney albums is probably the most Beatle-esque stuff Mac did.