[The Fifth Beatle] George Martin, the legendary producer who completed the Beatles

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• a die-hard Beatles fanWada Shinji
  From Osaka Prefecture. I’ve been a Beatles fan for decades. I’ve tried many hobbies, but this is the only one that has stayed with me. As a storyteller of the Beatles, I want to pass on their greatness to future generations. A blog that explains the Beatles in a way anyone can understand.

He had led an unfortunate life until he met the Beatles.

Martin, who was later highly acclaimed as the renowned producer who nurtured the Beatles, primarily worked on comedy records at Parlophone, a subsidiary of EMI, before he began producing them.

In other words, I was not allowed to handle mainstream classical or popular music in the music world, and my evaluation within the company could hardly be called high.

He was an excellent musician.

Until he encountered the Beatles, Martin had been underappreciated; however, he had received formal classical music training and was not only able to play instruments and read and write scores, but also to compose.

Because the Beatles were self-taught in music, Martin was able to make an extraordinary contribution to their sound.

I treated the musician like a gentleman.

Most producers gave instructions in a patronizing manner, especially toward younger musicians.

However, Martin would never do anything like that; even with newcomers, he met them at their level, never dismissing the ideas they brought, and instead worked hard to figure out whether there was some way to make them work.

So to speak, the Beatles were able to fly freely within the virtual space he had expanded to the fullest.

Brought about their first No. 1 on the charts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zj2BCJYK-Y

It was when we recorded our second single, “Please Please Me.”

Actually, the original had a much more relaxed tempo and was arranged in a Roy Orbison style, like the one famous for “Pretty Woman.”

However, when he listened to the original, something sparked in Martin’s mind.

He told the Beatles in the studio over the monitor room mic to 'make it more up-tempo..."He suggested, “How about ‘Yo’?”

Paul McCartney, though bewildered, replied, "Yes, that's fine."

Then, that unbelievably sparkling, radiant sound poured out of the speakers.

Even usually composed Martin spoke in a slightly excited tone at that moment, saying this.

Congratulations. You've got your first No. 1 on the charts.

It was also at this time that the Beatles first realized the importance of editing in recording.

Martin went on to turn the Beatles’ songs into masterpieces with a variety of ideas.

A Hard Day's Night

It’s a masterpiece whose “chaan” intro leaves a striking impression on listeners.

Martin has always believed it’s important to grab listeners with a powerful intro, and he used a similar approach in his other songs as well.

Because this song was the title track of the Beatles’ first starring film, making it a big hit was an absolute must.

John Lennon wrote most of the song, and Paul completed it by adding the B section, but Martin wondered if they could create an even more striking intro.

His aim was spot on: when this intro played in the opening scene of the movie, the audience went wild and screamed at the screen.

However, strangely enough, whenever other bands played this intro live or in recordings, they just couldn’t reproduce the same sound as on the record.

I tried every conceivable chord, and while I could get something close, I couldn’t reproduce the exact sound. This puzzle came to be called the “A Hard Day’s Night chord mystery,” and for fifty years the debate continued, drawing in not only musicians but even scholars.

And then, it was not until 2015 that the mystery was finally solved.

Only the Beatles have captivated the world for so long with a single code.

And it was this very George Martin who created such a great mystery.

Yesterday

It’s the first rock piece in the world to feature a string quartet.

At first, it was only Paul’s vocals and acoustic guitar.

Then, once again, something flashed through Martin’s mind.

He suggested to Paul, “Let’s feature a string quartet.”

However, Paul wouldn’t accept it, saying, “Feature a string quartet in rock? You’ve got to be kidding!”

Even so, Martin didn’t back down and persuaded Paul, saying, “Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, we can just use your solo.”

And then Martin wrote the score, arranged the orchestra, recorded it, and overdubbed it onto Paul’s take.

Paul was so surprised and moved the moment he heard the song that he jumped out of his chair.

Paul’s solo gained a sense of grandeur, resulting in a dramatic piece.

Tomorrow Never Knows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah2ckzXgrx4

This is John's work, but when it was first made, the code was only in C.

He introduced his work while playing an acoustic guitar, and although Paul found it interesting, he felt that with this level of quality, recording would be out of the question.

However, Martin never rejected this piece; instead, he kept pondering intently whether there might be some way to make something of it.

John requested that his vocals be made to sound like the Dalai Lama preaching from the mountaintop.

It was Jeff Emerick, Martin’s subordinate and recording engineer, who rose splendidly to this outrageous demand.

He solved this challenge by capturing John’s vocals through a Leslie speaker.

Strawberry Fields Forever

This is also John's work, but it was recorded in two different versions.

One is an arrangement using a large-scale orchestra, and the other is a gentle, dreamlike arrangement.

Amazingly, John asked Martin to use both.

Martin said it was impossible because the two arrangements had different keys and tempos, but John wouldn’t back down, insisting that he could do it.

Back then, there were of course no convenient tools like computers, so by manually cutting and splicing tape with scissors, they created wonderfully dreamlike music.

A Day in the Life

This combines completely different works by John and Paul.

A major challenge was how to transition from John's work to Paul's.

So I decided to use a larger orchestra as a bridge instead of a string quartet.

Martin began writing the score for the 24 measures starting from the lowest note of each instrument.

For example, on the cello, I began playing from the low C, and in the final section I tuned it to the highest E.

Then, over the course of 24 measures, we gradually raised the pitch until it reached its peak, at which point we boldly cut it off abruptly.

Listeners are drawn into an otherworldly realm—like watching a grand drama—enhanced by John’s fantastical lyrics.

There are still many more songs that showcase Martin’s brilliance, such as “In My Life,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “All You Need Is Love,” and “For No One.”

Sadly, he passed away in 2016.

Paul says, “If asked who the fifth Beatle is, I would answer George.”

His son Giles also followed the path of a music producer, steadily honing his skills as a renowned producer while following in the footsteps of his great father. In 2006, he released the Beatles remix collage album “Love,” which won a Grammy the following year.

When Giles said to his father, “Just imagine how many people around the world became happy because you created the Beatles,” George replied, “I just did my best.”

He was a person who was humble to the very end.