Martin came away from this satisfied with everything he'd heard, except for Pete Best's drumming, and when he offered the band a singles contract in the fall of 1962, it was with the understanding that Best would not play on the records. This was reason enough for the band to want to replace him completely, and Ringo Starr took his place, shortly before the Beatles recorded their first Parlophone single, "Love Me Do". Martin's first collaboration with The Beatles wasn't a big hit, but their second single with him, "Please Please Me", made an immediate impact, and propelled the band to national stardom in Britain. The hits continued, and Martin's own name began to appear on the recordings he produced (both for The Beatles, and for other artists) a few months later, as the record-producer's role became more widely recognized in the industry. It was Martin's friendship with music publisher Dick James that resulted in the creation of Northern Songs as the Beatles' publishing company; however, Martin never profited directly from this, or even from their early hits--he turned down the chance to become a Northern Songs partner, and as an EMI staff producer, he was paid no royalties. In fact, EMI's antiquated pay-scale was one of the many factors that caused Martin and several other EMI staffers to resign in the mid-Sixties, and establish their own company AIR (Associated Independent Recording). EMI now had to hire Martin back as an independent producer for their artists, and he began receiving producer's royalties on AIR's behalf. The story of George Martin's relationship with the Beatles has been told again and again, but perhaps best by the man himself, in both radio and television specials, and his own book "All You Need is Ears", which reads both as pop-history and a kind of record-producer's textbook. He has graciously answered questions about the band (sometimes as the only clean-n-sober participant at recording sessions) and his own experiences again and again, proving to be an ideal, well-balanced spokesman. Many of the Beatles' more elaborate productions, especially in their later "studio years," were shaped by George Martin, who arranged their songwriting into final scores and recordings. Throughout the Beatles' career and beyond, Martin continued to record and produce other artists, including Shirley Bassey, Bernard Cribbins, Flanders and Swann, and later America and Seatrain.
George Martin Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family
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