R.I.P.: The Fifth Beatle...Sir George Martin

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sir George Martin, the legendary music producer who shaped the Beatles into the world's most important pop music force, has died, Ringo Starr said on Twitter. He was 90 years old.

"God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family," Starr tweeted.

Starr followed the message by posting a photo of the Fab Four with Martin, saying "Thank you for all your love and kindness George."

Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx😎✌️🌟💖 pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016

A Universal Music Group spokesman in Los Angeles confirmed Martin's death but said details were not immediately known.

Martin's management confirmed his death.

"We can confirm that Sir George Martin passed away peacefully at home yesterday evening, Tuesday March 8," it said.

Martin served as producer, collaborator and mentor to Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Starr.

Sean Ono, John Lennon's son with Yoko Ono, posted a picture of Martin on Instagram, with the caption: "R.I.P. George Martin. I'm so gutted I don't have many words."

Martin was referred to as the "fifth Beatle" and served as producer, collaborator and mentor to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

During his six-decade career in the music industry, Martin produced almost all of the Beatles' recordings and also worked with Gerry & the Pacemakers, Jeff Beck, America, Cheap Trick and other acts.

He produced jazz, comedy and classical albums before signing the Beatles in 1962. The young band members were rough around the edges, but Martin saw their commercial promise.

Over the coming years, he helped score, arrange, and produce many of the band's biggest hits, including “Yesterday” and "Love Me Do." His 1979 autobiography, "All You Need Is Ears," chronicles his discovery of the Beatles and their creative process.

Martin was knighted in 1996. In 2006, working with his son, Giles Martin, he helped develop the Beatles-inspired Cirque du Soleil show "Love" in Las Vegas, which went on to reap his two most recent Grammys.

Martin was named by Guinness World Records as the most successful producer ever, with more than 50 No. 1 hit records over five decades in the United States and Great Britain alone.

According to Variety, Martin became interested in music at a young age. During World War II, he worked as a surveyor and clerk for the War Office and joined the Royal Navy working as a pilot in its Fleet Air unit. He left the service in 1947 and  enrolled in Guildhall School of Music, where he studied piano.

He began working for the BBC’s classical music department after graduation but by 1950 had joined EMI. He worked as an assistant to the head of the low-profile Parlophone imprint, which was known for novelty and comedy records including a recording of the famed Beyond the Fringe comedy outfit featuring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett.

By 1955, Martin had taken over as head of Parlophone. His experience with cutting-edge British comedy talent resonated would later help him bond with the Beatles. Martin by his own account was intrigued by the surge of pop and R&B acts in Britain in the early 1960s. He was in the market for a group to work with when Epstein called on him with tapes that had been recorded — and rejected — by Decca Records. Martin set a handshake deal with Epstein in May 1962 but didn’t finalize the contract until he met the band the following month.

The band’s first session at the Abbey Road recording studio was held in September, and by this time original Beatles drummer Pete Best had been replaced by Starr. Martin got off to a rocky start with the new drummer by insisting that the session musician he’d lined up for the recording, Andy White, replace Starr on the session that yielded “Love Me Do.” It didn’t take long for Starr to convince Martin of his bona fides as a drummer.

Martin’s renown from his association with the Beatles led him to leave EMI in 1965 to work as  freelance producer for the Fab Four and others.

In 1969 Martin opened the doors of his state of the art Associated Independent Recording (AIR) Studios in Central London. The facility became a sought-after recording venue for acts ranging from McCartney and Peter Gabriel to classical artists to Adele. He opened a second AIR venue in Montserrat a few years later.

In 1994 and ’95, Martin supervised the remastering of classic Beatles recordings for the “Anthology” soundtrack that accompanied the eight-part documentary series on the band.

I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man...
Posted by Paul McCartney on Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Martin’s final studio recording work came in 1998 with the Beatles tribute album “In My Life.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year.

In 2006, Martin and his son, Giles Martin, remixed 80 minutes of Beatles tunes for the Cirque du Soleil live show “Love.” That work earned the elder Martin his sixth career Grammy. His first wins came in 1967 when “Sgt. Pepper” claimed best contemporary album and album of the year honors.

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