A tribute to George Martin, 1926-2016

1926-2016

News has swept the world this week of the sad passing of George Martin at the age of 90. As could only happen with a man of such talent and influence, tributes have been shared some of the greatest names in music including two particularly friends. It was Ringo Starr who announced his death of his Twitter profile, and Paul McCartney in a blog post on his website said the following: "From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know."

Everyone knows George Martin as "The fifth Beatle", and the man who produced, arranged, composed and even played on songs throughout the Fab Four's career. Although he reportedly described their tape that he was given by Beatles manager Brian Epstein "rather unpromising", it was Epstein's enthusiasm and Lennon and McCartney's vocals that convinced him to sign the unknown band in 1962. From that date on, Martin produced endless hits for The Beatles, including 19 number ones. Even in the decades after the band's break up, he produced McCartney's solo career and duets, Beatles anthologies and the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show, Love.

But it wasn't just The Beatles that Martin produced. The day after his death, Forbes Magazine announced on their website that Martin has the most number ones of any music producer, working with artists such as Cilla Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Elton John, Celine Dion and The Who. Martin also composed for film, winning an Oscar for A Hard Day's Night, and producing both Goldfinger and Live And Let Die. So, yes, in a way, it always comes back to the Beatles, but in my book, that's not a bad thing to come back to.

Now to pick a song to record by way of a tribute. I thought it would be hard to pick at first; do I go for a number one, or be completely controversial and go non-Beatles? I contemplated trying to track down what Martin's favourite track was, though I'm sure as such a private man, you wouldn't have been able to get the answer out of him. Instead, I went against all of those options, and opted for one of my favourite tracks which, on reflection, seems the only choice. In My Life was a hit for The Beatles in 1965, and appears on Rubber Soul, with a certain George Martin playing the Mozart-inspired piano solo in the middle. It was never released as a single so therefore never even had a chance at a number one spot, but ranked 5th in The Rolling Stone's list of the bands greatest ever songs. I have very strong personal connections to the song, meaning it will always be special to me, but in time of loss, it is simply the perfect track.