Music producer Sir George Martin, who was hailed as “the fifth Beatle”, died on Tuesday.
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Martin’s manager, Adam Sharp of CA Management, confirmed the news and said Martin’s family “would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support”, the Associated Press reports.
Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, spread the word through Twitter saying “George will be missed”.
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He wrote: “One of the greatest architects of music and sound, the great George Martin R.I.P”.
He was also responsible for comic recordings from the likes of Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, along with the Beyond The Fringe team of Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett.
Martin helped combine the sophistication and discipline of his classical background with their raw rock’n’roll attitude, spearheading the new generation of “British Invasion” groups.
In a statement, Sir Paul said: ” I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever.
Sir George studied at Guildhall School of Music and played the oboe professionally in London before joining the recording industry.
From there he moved on to an assistant position at record label Parlophone, a division of EMI, and rose to become its head by 1955, aged 29.
In addition to producing their records, Martin contributed musically to the Beatles’ catalog, playing additional instruments and arranging their increasingly complex songs. I love you. I’m so proud to have been your son.
After The Beatles disbanded, Martin wrote film scores and worked with artists as varied as Sting, Jose Carreras, Celine Dion and Stan Getz.
Martin co-produced Sir Elton John’s Candle In The Wind, which was released to mark the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and sold 37 million copies.
Martin described the creative process of “A Day In The Life” during a 2012 interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“When I first met the Beatles in 1962, I didn’t think much of their songs at all”, he told JazzWax.com.
Martin was knighted in 1996.
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“When we recorded the string quartet at Abbey Road, it was so thrilling to know his idea was so correct that I went round telling people about it for weeks”, Sir Paul said.
