Not a young man, but certainly an influential man, producer George Martin has passed away at age 90 according to Reuters. Further from Reuters:
“…Known as ‘the fifth Beatle’ for his work in shaping the band that became one of the world’s most influential music forces, (Martin) …was considered the most successful music producer ever, cited in the Guinness Book of Records for having more than 50 No. 1 hit records over five decades in the United States and Great Britain alone.”
Post-Beatles, Martin had a string of other successes including hits with the band America. Prior to the Fab Four, he was a steady and reliable staff producer for EMI known mostly for producing comedy records for the troupe The Goons featuring Peter Sellers.
Martin was tied together with The Beatles not for any particularly creative reasoning. As many reports would cite, they came together mainly because he was there, not necessarily because he was the right guy for the task. But what Martin concealed was a spirit for musical adventure that equaled those of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. George Martin was the man who put the shine polish on “The Savage Young Beatles from the rathskellers of Germany,” and in so doing forged his own legend.
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