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What more can really be said, the world's most famous record producer...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar ... tuary.html

Bill

George Martin. Someone who got to the top of his profession through talent, yet at the same time remained a thoroughly nice bloke. Composer, too . . . . when The Beatles added session musicians and orchestras to their songs, it was George who thought up and wrote down the dots. Whether it was string quartets or big brass ensembles he could adapt to any style of music.

Some great instrumental tunes as well. Theme 1, which he wrote on commission to be the opening music for Radio 1 back in 1967 is a wonderfully evocative piece of music. George's version for the album By George! starts with footsteps walking along a street. A great door closes with a 'boomph!' that is best appreciated on wide-range audio equipment with a powerful sub-bass speaker. Footsteps echo in a cathedral. Then a church organ plays the introduction before being flanged down, down . . . and a piccolo trumpet (the high-octave trumpet used in Penny Lane and All You Need Is Love) plays the theme against a heavy 4/4 rock bass and drums. In come the strings in semi-classical mode. It remains in a minor key right until the end, when a change to major brings a lightening of the tension as it fades out. Anyone who came to a gig by The Secrets will remember that we always had Theme 1 as our closing number, with Jim Nugent starting the proceedings on flanged fuzz guitar, Trev Faull coming in with the mighty theme on organ (and closing with crafty little snippets of Entry Of The Gladiators and The 1812 Overture!) while I was busy trying to make my fingers shape that damned sixth chord in time!

The Secrets also recorded George's Magic Carpet and All Quiet On The Mersey Front so perhaps we were the first George Martin tribute band!

Yes indeed George Martin's orchestral arrangements were masterpieces that will be there
for future generations of musicians.
I always wondered who played the inspiring guitar part on All Quiet On The Mersey Front
Sometimes on old black and white film clips at Abbey Road , where Brian Epstein and George
Martin are seen , you can also see Judd Proctor, Brian Daly& Eric Ford down in the studio area,
so maybe one of those gentlemen took the lead part?

Mike

I caught some of the Arena George Martin film last night on BBC Four.

I was amused at the number of times he mentioned Norrie Paramor and how his ambition was to have 'more number ones' than him. I'd also say that Norrie beat him to putting strings on pop records.

A brilliant producer of course and his contribution to popular music cannot be underestimated.

drakula63 wrote:I was amused at the number of times he mentioned Norrie Paramor and how his ambition was to have 'more number ones' than him. I'd also say that Norrie beat him to putting strings on pop records.

A friendly 'rivalry' between the two, possibly! It's reported that George Martin was keen to find another solo artist to compete with Cliff, but, of course, Norrie had a head start, initially, in terms of chart toppers.

Bill

George's 'Pepperland' from Yellow Submarine was a great example of his talent as a composer and arranger. For anyone growing up in the late 50s and early 60s, it seems that nearly all the great comedy records of that time were produced by him including the Goons, Beyond the Fringe, Flanders and Swann, Bernard Cribbins and many more. But he did jazz and classical records too, all before he even met the Beatles. A post-Beatles favourite was America's "Horse with no name". I also loved the Gershwin album he did with Larry Adler, Meat Loaf, Cher, Sting, Peter Gabriel and others. What an amazing talent.

The 2001 6-CD set, Produced by George Martin: 50 Years In Recording, gives you some idea of his extraordinary output...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produced_by_George_Martin

Bill