George Martin was an incredibly important figure in The Beatles’ career. The Fab Four’s talent was enough to catapult them to fame, but Martin’s influence, control, and decision-making as the band’s producer and mentor helped them dominate the 1960s. Let’s look at just a few reasons why George Martin deserves his title as the “fifth Beatle”!
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1. He Believed In Them From The Beginning
Being a talented musician might be enough to get famous. However, plenty of artists through the years have rivaled the talent of their contemporaries, only to fail to thrive in the music industry. For all we know, this could have happened to The Beatles.
Without George Martin to play the role of the fifth Beatle and invite the band to work at EMI Studios, who knows if anyone would have picked them up? Martin’s decision to believe in the band and sign them to a record contract before even meeting them was a huge deal. Clearly, Martin knew how to identify groundbreaking talent with ease.
2. He Fired Pete Best
Firing a band member is no easy thing to do. And fortunately for The Beatles, George Martin wasn’t exactly afraid of getting his hands dirty. By the time the band was ready to take off, it had become clear that Pete Best was not the right fit as the band’s drummer. None of the remaining three Beatles wanted to break the news to him, so they had their producer do it for them.
“The basic thing was that I didn’t like his drumming, it wasn’t solid and he didn’t bind the group together,” said Martin back in the 1970s. “The boys had been thinking of getting rid of him anyway, but they wanted someone to do the dirty work for them.”
This ended up being a blessing, as Ringo Starr soon joined The Beatles and was the best possible choice for the position.
3. “Yesterday”
“Yesterday” is one of the most-covered songs of all time, and a standout favorite among most Beatles fans. Believe it or not, this song could have sounded very different without the influence of George Martin as the fifth Beatle.
Paul McCartney once talked about how Martin was pretty pushy about how the harmony of the song should go. McCartney, ever the perfectionist, pushed back on it. But Martin’s critiques ended up being very smart in retrospect.
“I remember suggesting the 7th that appears on the cello,” said McCartney of working on “Yesterday” with Martin. “George said, ‘You definitely wouldn’t have that in there. That would be very un-string-quartet. I said, ‘Well? Whack it in, George. I’ve got to have it.’”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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