Happy 97th Birfday

To the late, great, unequallable (sic) George Martin. Anyone who tries to tell you that someone else could possibly be "The 5th Beatle" doesn't know what the hell they're talking about, period. He had the balls to buck EMI and let them record their own song instead of the powers-that-be dictated crap crooner song, How Do you Do It? And he was right, as Please Please Me became their first #1 hit, setting Lennon/McCartney off on an unprecedented run that still affects the entire world every single day. He also suggested the Beatles record a full album, a suggestion Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn called "genuinely mind-boggling", given how little exposure the Beatles had achieved so far. Martin directed Epstein to find a good publisher, as he believed Ardmore & Beechwood had done nothing to promote Love Me Do; this led them to Dick James, a business acquaintance of Martin.

There is little doubt in my mind that if The Beatles hadn't connected with Martin, we would not be talking about them to this day.

One of the odder things about the Beatles is that no other group in history has been so closely associated with its producer and yet said producer is the exact opposite of someone you'd think would click with them - an almost caricature of the button-down, tea at 4pm, don't cause trouble mid-century no-nonsense Englishman who does things by the book only. Seriously, if you didn't already know it, is there any way in hell you could imagine the Beatles working with someone like that throughout every inch of their career?

And this in the midst of the 1960's "don't trust anyone over 30, our-generation-vs-yours, anyone in a suit is a square" doctrine. The kings of the world's cultural youth, the symbols for starting everything over fresh and anew and when it came to actually making the music, they did it all with a guy 15 years older than their oldest member who would as soon be seen outside of his house naked as without a necktie.

He was the PERFECT producer for them; master/taskmaster in the beginning to enabler/true partner in a very short time. I've posted this a million times before but it's always worth retelling:

When the audition was all over, Martin invited them up for a chat and listen in the control room. Martin gave them a long lecture on recording and what was what at Abbey Road. "We gave them a long lecture about their equipment and what would have to be done about it if they were to become recording artists," says Norman Smith. "They didn't say a word back, not a word, they didn't even nod their heads in agreement. When he finished, George said, 'Look, I've laid into you for quite a time, you haven't responded. Is there anything you don't like?' I remember they all looked at each other for a long while, shuffling their feet, then George Harrison took a long look at George and said, 'Yeah, I don't like your tie.' That cracked the ice for us and for the next 15- 20 minutes they were pure entertainment. When they left to go home George and I just sat there saying 'Phew! What to you think of that lot then?' I had tears running down my face. "  Martin was later to comment that it was their wit more than their music that sold him.

This makes perfect sense, as Martin had of course produced the comedy legends The Goons, of which The Beatles were huge fans.