Celebrity death always seems to leave a hole in the world’s collective conscience. Take the death of David Bowie earlier this year; celebrities from Lady Gaga to Olympic snowboarder Shaun White paid him tribute, while others left flowers at a memorial to him in Brixton.
George Martin didn’t get the same fanfare following his death Tuesday as other celebrities seem to get, but then, as a ‘behind-the-scenes’ type, he wasn’t bound to get it anyway.
Martin, best known as a producer for The Beatles, is sometimes called ‘the fifth Beatle,’ a moniker also applied to their public relations manager, Neil Aspinall; their manager, Brian Epstein; their bassist, Stu Sutcliffe, who passed away before they reached prominence; and Billy Preston, a pianist. If anyone deserved ‘fifth Beatle’ status, though, if that’s even possible, it was Martin.
Much of the uniqueness of The Beatles’ sound is owing to Martin’s willingness to invent, to challenge the norms of music. While it was common at the time for musical acts to have one main singer, Martin saw the importance of having multiple voices and vocal registers on a single track. Many ‘important’ Beatles songs (though one could argue that all Beatles songs are important, and I would definitely argue that) feature more than one vocalist, often subtly.
Paul McCartney’s song, “Yesterday” was a simple guitar piece until Martin added an orchestra background, shaking up the core of The Beatles’ original, strictly rock ‘n’ roll sound.
Part of what made The Beatles such a remarkable band was their willingness to adjust and change their sound, and Martin had a strong hand in that. When they wanted their music to be more psychedelic, Martin made it that way. When producing the band’s final recorded album, and second-to-last released album, “Abbey Road,” Martin ensured it was recorded in a disciplined manner, and the end result was arguably one of the best albums ever produced. His talent as a producer is obvious, for example, in the transition between track six of the album, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” and track seven, “Here Comes the Sun.”
With John Lennon’s strong vocals and Martin’s heavy, wave-like orchestration, featuring a minor key guitar riff and roaring drums in “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” a tone is set for more of the same in the next song. The track ends abruptly, the music simply cutting off. Then, as if without warning, the music starts again, with George Harrison on acoustic guitar, playing in a simple, sweet major key. The change is jarring and unexpectedly beautiful.
And that’s where Martin was brilliant. The Beatles came up with the music, of course, but Martin ensured the listener was left mind-blown, hair standing on end.
In his tribute to Martin, Paul McCartney wrote, “The world has lost a great man who left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music,” and there’s no better way to put it.
Maybe George Martin won’t get flowers and thousands of tributes from adoring fans, but he was a giver, willing to stay in the background of beautiful music, satisfied to produce. He didn’t need fanfare, even though he gave more to music than most can claim to have done, ever. For that, I’m eternally grateful.
mcelfrdh14@bonaventure.
