John Lennon on George Martin - (c) BBC 1975
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- There has always been a great deal of debate about the contribution of George Martin to the music of The Beatles.
Addressing this issue directly, here is a clip of John Lennon chatting with "whispering" Bob Harris of the BBC's "The Old Grey Whistle Test" in New York City, in 1975.
I didn't upload the entire video for copyright reasons, but you can see it all here:
www.bbc.co.uk/p...
Howard Goodall's otherwise excellent analysis of the Beatles' music (which largely ignores George Martin) can be viewed here:
• The Beatles: a musical...
(c) BBC 1975
An in-depth appreciation and analysis of The Beatles' music by classical composer Howard Goodall can be found here: ua-cam.com/video/ZQS91wVdvYc/v-deo.html
John clearly in a happier place than in his interviews earlier in the 70s.
wow...John being complimentary for over two minutes running!! Actually yea, great answer!!
Yeah - but you can tell he was reluctant! Through gritted teeth......
@@alexz4752 If you didn't aware of, John in the 70s made loads of ruckus with anyone related to the Beatles, i.e., he was being an animous dickhead. So, it was rather a surprise that he *actually* complimented someone of the Beatles without any bitterness at all
that i can confirm is his record time
John was always complimentary after about 72 i.e. when he wasn't coming of smack.
You remove Sir George Martin, or Brian Epstein or even Geoff Emerick from the equation and who knows how different their run might've been. A snapshot in time where the right people were in the right places at the right time. Life is like that.
Even someone as distant as Brian Wilson and Bob Dylan, who were also influences and visa versa.
with all those great people in the right place at the right time, ironically you also end up with a bunch of not-so-great people on the other side of the coin who were at the wrong place at the wrong time in the same story...Yoko Ono, Allen Klein, Mark Chapman...
Geoff Emerick came to the rescue many times as well.
@@AkyovNorthWest magic alex
Ringo was (became) available at the right time.
Without diminishing the Beatles's talent it's pretty obvious that an accomplished musician like Martin, plus his qualities as a man, gave to the band an immense help in the musical composition.
Exactly of only badfinger cross his path with these gentlemans Martín and epstein
@@angelicaquirarte ??
The plain truth: without Mr. George Martin, the Beatles would not have been the Beatles: the best band in the world (and vice versa, now that I'm thinking of it).
You can't have one without the other you might say .
A miracle none the less.......
Wow. This is great ! A beautiful assessment of a groundbreaking collaborative meeting of minds . Very humbly and articulately spoken by John here.
We all know that the Beatles were uniquely talented. Fate also provided them with superb collaborators like George Martin, Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick. Nice to see John Lennon's acknowledgement of Mr. Martin's significant contributions here.
Indeed, a most engaging and fruitful relationship of creative collaborations after 50 years of hindsight! Miss you John!
love this interview x
Martin was the key to making there songs magical
Without Martin the Beatles would've ended up like the Dave Clark Five, a few pop hits before splitting up.
what he is saying is that George Martin was the fifth Beatle....
George Martin was PLATINUM his talent could scorch you as you walked past him.
I watched the entire interview. It was sad to hear him talk about visiting England soon and he mentioned Auntie Mimi and Julian.
Bob Harris got the best out of his guests. That preternaturally calm and steady presence, and focusing mostly on the music itself and the process of making it. Much like George Martin, now that I think of it.
On reflection, that was a distinctly leading, rather furtive, question from Bob Harris, to which Lennon responded in a way Harris wasn't expecting, and probably didn't like - namely the idea that George Martin was a mere technician. Good for John.
+AntPDC Wait, just to be clear, you're saying that you think the "mere technician" idea was implicit in Harris's question, not in John's response, right? (from the wording, some folks might interpret your comment the wrong way.)
That's right. And to be clearer, John totally rejected Harris' leading question in which he implied that Martin was a "mere technician". No doubt Bob wasn't happy...
John called Martin a mere technician himself, in some public letter in 1971 (calling him the cameraman to the beatles being the directors), so Bob got the idea from John himself. It's very nice to see John with such apparent peace of mind here, instead of spouting against people close to him whom he somehow felt threatened by, like he did early in that decade. Sadly, a lot of that inner peace seemed to be gone in 1980.
He had a really bad yeast infection.
I think he's talking about the period where he became deceased?
If you listen to the Beatles music prior to Martin and after Martin in their various solo careers you can see the difference he
made to their music. The harmonies. The choice of chords after the bridge or chorus were all very sophisticated and unique
for a rock group and obviously worked like a charm. They added so much to the catalogue of popular music of their era in
their relatively brief career
The question always is: had Lennon not been shot, would the Beatles have done another album? I think not. I think John and Paul would have hung out a bit at some point and recognized that the best bet was to leave things the way they did, with Abbey Road as the finale.
The Beatles as a group on record? Doubt it, other than tracks for the Anthology project.
I do think they’d have reunited at some point for benefit shows. Lennon would probably have written with McCartney again and possibly contributed to a solo record.
No George Martin, no Beatles. Great team.
one thing john did toward the end of the band was, having ringo deliver a letter to pauls house, signed by the three of them, asking paul to not put out his record, before 'let it be'; i read somewhere that ringo delivered the letter to paul, at his house, and paul threw him out of his fucking house
true. and apparently he threatened to punch Ringo in the face. ('the nose'). My understanding is that John and George got into a fistfight during the Let it Be sessions. Tensions were running high, to put it mildly.
@@timothysullysullivan2571 Both stories sound made up. George and Paul had a mild argument (seen in the Let It Be film) while working out a song. I seriously doubt they came to blows. Likewise I can’t see Paul throwing anyone, much less Ringo, out of his house. He’s too mild mannered and sensible.
@@CBrolley The ringo story is absolutely true, according to ringo anyway. the john/george blows are rumored but not confirmed.
Wouldn’t you be upset if your supposed mates were asking this of you? They chose a manager you knew to be a sleezebag and they purposefully fucked up your last single, and you weren’t even the one who wanted the band to end? In fact you were the one who wanted the band to keep going most of all?
Their approach to song writing was similar to way that commercial films are produced. Collectively.
A mutual admiration society, I think. Thanks for posting.
Martin also made a vital contribution by what he did not do - act like virtually every other producer in the UK an US at the time and control what the band did.
The beatles needed somebody who could read music because as fabulous as they were they were not dot readers, Paul learnt later on I think.
Paul claims he still can’t read. There’s some sort of software hooked into a keyboard that he uses when writing classical. He plays into it, it translates into musical notation.
John can be generous its thought that Martin favoured Paul, nice to see, this is a good side of John
The beatles had chemistry. George Martin made it alchemy.
Based on this interview, I get a sense that the Beatles' songs would have sounded basic and colourless had George Martin not inputted and influenced them. Is that a fair deduction?
This interviewer is the same guy who, when introducing New York Dolls on Midnight Special, called them “Mock Rock” 😂, which is soooo emblematic of soooo many suburbanites in the 70s & 80s, who believed that Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer were the very height of musical talent and vision.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha h h ha ha ha ha ha ha
You can just TELL this guy believes he is digging deep into The Beatles’ history, and just KNOWS his questions possess deep insight, and that they allow For answers just as “deep”…
SOMETHING is deep here…
That went one of two ways.
Pretty cool that Dwight Schrute interviewed John Lennon. I always thought Dwight preferred Rolling Stones.
I always consider Sir George Martin to have been the fabled '5th Beatle'.
Most people place Eppy (Brian Epstein) as the 5th Beatle. Even the Beatle's said it. John said that after they lost him he knew the band would not last.
What you say is true but Sir George made a unique and important musical contribution which helped to define the sound of The Beatles on record and so he gets my vote over Brian Epstein as being deserving of the title 'The 5th Beatle'
I agree.
junaid1 No disrespect, but I don’t think most do. Epstein went above and beyond as a manager, which is really to be expected for a band as above and beyond as The Beatles. The creativity is what drove everything. I would argue that Martin had more to do with the band’s success than George or Ringo did. Paul and John are #1 and 2 (whichever order you like), George Martin is #3, Harrison #4, Ringo #5 (all were/are incredible)
I'd completely agree with that although I'd add that changed in the years they were producing albums. Initially Lennon would be number one because he primarily wrote the early hits and had the most unique voice. Later McCartney took over being number one and it became more his band. Lennon's output lessened and Harrison's quality dramatically increased in both his song writing, playing and tone. Ringo was an amazing "melodic" drummer for the Beatles who came into his own with each passing album. So I think your assessment is completely correct until the last few albums where I'd label McCartney as 1, Lennon as 2, Harrison 3, Ringo 4 and Martin 5 as I feel, as their studio prowess grew, Martin's role had gone from mentor/teacher/interpreter to a job many producers could have done (on the final few albums). But then that's just my humble opinion on what I hear musically and have read. I personally enjoy Lennon's music the most.
He was so positive about the Beatles in this interview. Nice to see.
Seemed pretty clean too,likely only grass.
Always loved John wore hats-(caps).
Great story he said, during "Mania" times.
He walked in the shop where he bought all his caps, up to and during the HELP MOVIE and said " I come for me comission".
No yoko maybe
@@grapefruitjuice9473 Rock and roll never works when the spouses are around
@@RideAcrossTheRiver Or when they are totally clean.
@@ALF782 What's worse for bad music? A jealous spouse or substance abuse?
John Lennon’s impression of George Martin is spot on!
I also like how his voice of the band sounds like George Harrison.
Based on your personal experience working with Martin? Always amazes me how fans of any celebrity think they actual know and understand the inner workings, feelings, and motivations of their heroes.
@@generalyellor8188 don’t be an asshole. I was offering an opinion based on what I heard in the interview, plus based on interviews I’ve heard with George Martin.
@@generalyellor8188his voice nimrod.
One of John's more reasonable and honest appraisals of Martin's contribution. There were times, particularly in the first few years after the breakup where John was a right miserable bastard on the topic of George Martin, which I gather did hurt Martin's feelings, as he was rightfully proud of the work he did with The Beatles. I know they did meet again a few years before John's death, and John did apologize for some of the nastier things he had said.
The interviews I've heard John was upset by people giving George Martin too much credit. Ans yes it was right around the break-up. Childhood friends who changed the world were breaking out on their own. I'm sure there was a lot of emotion and disagreements, etc. John did apologize which is something he didn't do very often.
He was a miserable bastard about George Martin in the early 70's indeed. And about Paul, and many other people. It's bizarre really. I'm not sure it can be ecplained by something other than some mental issue. Look how different his attitude is here...
George Martin in the later years had too much control and output when Paul, john, and George were peeking at there songwriting abilities. Their last 3 albums could of been way better if they had more control over the albums
Good point, but reading the Beatles Anthology there wasn't an abundance of energy being given by George or John towards being a part of the band which opened the door for someone with Paul's work, work work ethics to take over
...evidence of this please...and...George Martin didn't produce 'Let It Be' so can't be held accountable for that shambles...
goodness, i don't think i've heard John Lennon speak so well.. thankyou for sharing this.. George Martin is so unique.
that was a great answer from John who as I remember could be a bit caustic , but to admit it was not easy for the beatles or George Martin was cool and honest thanks George rip and John rip.
Yeah. John would be caustic when he wasn't in a good place, mentally. When he wass, he was like you see him here. The difference between what he says in this interview and the 1970 RS interview is really striking.
a bit caustic? John was the nastiest person ever at times
@@red-eyedmagister1595 Was he f*ck. He got scolded by the press after his 'bigger than janus' comments from which he developed a deep mistrust of the press. At the end of the 60s he dabbled with heroin and that was at the time that the Beatles split, so yeah he wanted to turn his back on the whole Beatles thing, as did Paul with Wings. He then went to the USA where he spent several years trying to fight his deportation... no wonder he got pissed at times. In his last interviews he sounded buoyant once again. After his death, the media then tried to create rifts between Paul and George when reality is they were like bros.
I’ve seen Ringo say, “We didn’t know anything about proper recording work. George didn’t know anything about rock and roll music. We just all learned together.”
“ . . . a bit caustic” is a mild way to put it. ;-)
The Beatles knew what they wanted, George Martin knew how to do it. Easy as that. A perfectly symbiotic relationship.
George was an essential member of the ‘The Beatles’
Two Georges
I'm not convinced he 'learned as much from them as they did from him' to be fair!
Without a doubt.
And an essential member of the
Gerry & The Pacemakers,Billy Kramer and The Dakotas,The Fourmost and others.
Both george harrison and george martin
Once the Beatles left the three guitars and drum format and brought in different instruments and sound effects they grew exponentially and they have George Martin to thank for that.
Uhh, Two guitars and a Bass.
@@JB19504 And those early records were far more sophisticated than I used to give them credit for! The harmonies, the creativity, etc.
@@JB19504 bass guitars are just guitars with big ole strings
@@JB19504 that would be a lead guitar, a rhythm guitar and a bass, jeffy boy.
@@us-Bahn Guitars are guitars. How they are played in the context of the music is another thing. And one doesn't have to be playing lead, and the other rhythm. Look at Duane and Dickey, they both played lead simultaneously sometimes, US-Bhanny boy.
Good to see John give the 5th Beatle credit where credit is due.
John on his best and most reasonable behavior. Rare treat indeed.
Agree. A lot depended on the mood he was in on any given day. A very volatile personality.
Actually apart from the first few years after the Beatles John was always v reasonable.
@@piscesman54 A v special personality
@@paulhallatt4313 nope
George Martin gave the Beatles music 'class'. At the time, even our parents liked their music.
Moms always preferred Paul’s songs. Melodic and generally more cheerful.
Ha! My parents were born in the 1920s and despised the Beatles. "Just too gimmicky." They eventually admitted that they had "some talent," but were never fans.
My dad, who had a great appreciation for most all kinds of music (Big Band Era, Classical, some country), loved Procol Harum's "Whaling Stories," but never really liked the Beatles.
@Juan Perez Well, 100 percent of your output is rubbish.
The Beatles were a primitive rock band before Martin. He was a highly sophisticated pianist who added many of the subtle touches to the Beatles’ Music. He taught them a great deal.
There's no doubt George Martin added a lot, but we shouldn't overstate his importance. Martin worked with a shit-ton of other bands and singers, and none of them came close to being as good as the Beatles. It's not like the Beatles were an air-headed boy band that George Martin controlled like a Svengali. I think it's fair to call him "the fifth Beatle."
He was also a concert pianist who fought in the skies during the Battle of Britain.
Great point. George Martin’s music knowledge and the Beatles natural musicality were an awesome combo that really broadened the rock genre.
according to all, they learned from and grew along with each other. you can't quantify creative collaboration. John Oates anyone?
They were more rough the primitive. They were the most talented band of that type around.
the beatles weren't stupid, they were always looking for ways to expand their abilities, and george martin would have been a good source for that.
The Beatles and George Martin were extremely fortunate to find each other! What a collaboration! 🇬🇧
Indeed, almost as if they were all sent from "above" to meet up here on the 3rd Stone from the Sun.
JOHN JUST "NAILED IT"
That’s the fairest analysis you’ll get from John Lennon.
It was the perfect combination. Two geniuses bringing high quality raw material to the studio and a great producer with knowledge in orchestration and instruments. The recording-only phase of the group, the one producing one masterpiece after the other, cannot be understood without George Martin.
Lennon is not famous for being fair to his collaborators, but this is an admirably fair and nuanced (and, as far as I know, accurate) assessment of the highly complex relationship of The Beatles and Martin.
Great to hear an interview where John is not constantly interrupted by Yoko's useless jabber
I love John, but I never take ANYTHING that he ever said seriously.
It's so delightful how honest Lennon is. None of his answer is filtered through ego.
Sir Geroge Martin was the fifth Beatle and he deserves much more credit. He wrote so much of the actual music as wasn't egotistical about it like they were.
George AND Brian. 50 50 on wbo was 5th or 6th
Truly a match made in heaven. Along with the amazingly fortunate coincidence of those particular four guys in the same town, meeting and getting together to write and play music!
George Martin was the fifth Beatle IMO. His influence on the band can't be over-emphasized.
George Martin was pretty much their editor. Some of their songs would be somewhat sloppy or not as pristine without him
Well said.
For example, the Let It Be album...
On "In my life", they simply asked Martin to make up the "harpsichord" solo all on his own. That's not some "engineering" task, that's creating the actual music
I actually hate that part of the song, it’s still one of my fav songs though, I just find that part annoying
Sir George Martin, the producer of the century.
and the 21st so far!
Probably yes when you include the Goon Show of the 50’s . Still one of the cleverest & if you understand it funniest radio shows ever.
hadn't seen that before,nice that he gave George credit, he didn't really deserve some of the shit john threw at him before and after the break up.
Agreed. John was flinging muck all over the place, and for a good while.
John was in a really bad place then. Best to listen to him from about 73 onward. That's the real Winston O'Boogie.
When you find out the role George Martin played on songs like Walrus, Strawberry Fields, Tomorrow Never Knows and Mr Kite, you realize how good he was. Those songs would've been an absolute mess with most other producers. His input on Day in the Life was pivotal. McCartney's idea for the crescendos just didn't work - it was George Martin who had the key to that.
Read/Listen to the story of Dave Gilmour and Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, to find out how crucial a producer is to a song. Gilmour suggested Kate and her song to a number of excellent producers of the day and none of them could make it work. George Martin was the same with the Beatles. Even his work on Please Please Me, turned that song from run-of-the-mill to number one material.
Where did you get that information on McCartney and Martin’s input on “A Day in the Life”?
@@hw343434Yeah, I thought that was John's song. I know Paul did the Woke up, got out of bed" part
*"Slowing down the piano, playing it slow, and putting it on"*
I think he's talking about _In My Life_ , where Martin played the piano slow, then sped it up to sound like a harpsichord. Martin wrote that solo, too. Perfect.
George Martin also did that on "Misery" from their first album as well, though it's less obvious that the piano is sped up. I read he did it while they were touring after their big session, so they may not have known until the record came out that George had done that...
Martin actually played the solo on In My Life.
Which is one of the maybe five songs that John points to as great or legitimate songs he wrote (Help, SFF etc). And that solo really makes the song
The piano solos for “Good Day Sunshine” and “Lovely Rita” were performed slower then sped up as well…
I don’t believe John was thinking about any song(s) in particular, he was just making a point.
Sir George Martin “imposed” his footprint on their music, from the outset. Please Please Me is an example which John has explained was originally going to be a Roy Orbison like ballad. Sir George persuaded “the boys” that it would be better if the tempo was sped up. When they did so, he allegedly exclaimed “There is your first No 1 single.”
I am now 17 years older than John Lennon was when he died.
God damn it to hell.
Sean Lennon is now older than John when he died.
I am about the same age, I knew at the time he was far too young and I feel it more now.
I remember 5th grade, my mom waking me to tell me, let me come down and watch the news. In morning prayers at Catholic school, the nun always asked if we had someone we wanted to pray for. I suggested Lennon and she said no. He was a degenerate. I swear to God, true story.
jackal59 Knock off the blasphemy
jackal59 I know exactly how you feel. :(
The Beatles were a great band. George Martin made them great recording artists.
You can tell John was in a good place here - and was not on any drugs... love seeing him like this.
Yeah, I was thinking about how pleasant his demeanor was, which wasn't like this in most of the interviews he did in the 70's that I saw.
Yeah John Flowing Cool - maybe , he's had a bag o harlem hero weenie
This was when he was with May Pang. No Yoko. Shortly after, he went back to the Dragon Lady.
0:58 until 1: 13
He really speaks the same way as Paul McCartney, imitating voices and recreating dialogues and making the Beatles sound like innocent boys. I always thought Paul was colouring history his way, making things sound more cute than they were, so it's a revelation seeing John speaking just like Paul. I've never heard him speaking like this before.
It also becomes more believable that they were close friends, who were on the same wavelength, and not just partners who shared passed away mothers and musical gifts. Not just two opposites who formed a great team, who supported each other, who competed to bring out the best in themselves as well as the other - but also real friends.
Paul McCartney has always stated they were true friends, but I've never really s e e n this friendship before. Somehow, I always had my doubts (John tough, sarcastic and ironic, and Paul mellow, accomodating and eager to please).
Well said.
I knew it also. Altough i wonder how that concurrence thing fits in the friendship.
For John, I think it was really more of a creative relationship with Paul, centered in the work. Ringo was actually his closest 'friend' in the Beatles. I mean he would hang out with Ringo and go on vacations together. He rarely did that with Paul in downtime (during the active years.) Paul does revise history regularly and Ringo and George commented about this many times. He's always been the PR guy and as such, can't resist putting a spin on things (usually to make himself look better).
@@timothysullysullivan2571 John and Paul were very close when they were young and discovered a mutual interest in songwriting. They even went off on holiday together with the money John got from relatives in Edinburgh for his 21st. Sure John had other friends too, but Lennon and McCartney's friendship ran far deeper than simply a creative relationship.
@@catherinewilson3880 how much time did he spend with Paul after the beatles broke up?
@@timothysullysullivan2571 The Beatles went through a lot in the sixties and they were confined to one anothers company a lot of the time. John met Yoko, Paul met Linda and they grew apart. It happens, I have friends from my teens and twenties who I now never see, but we do keep in touch from time to time. John was murdered over forty years ago so we'll never know where their relationship may have gone had he survived. Anyway, I'm talking about the period between 1957 - 1969, so what they did after that time is pretty much irrelevant to my point.
Would there have been Beatles without George Martin?
John and Paul really were so similar in telling their stories in providing dislogue and a whole range of different accents which is really endearing.. Like two peas on a pod that way.
Absolutely right . John and Paul were both so endearing and so alike the way they recounted stories with various accents.
To his great credit John Lennon pays tribute to George Martin. It earns respect.
so good seing lennon clean and sober
SellMe YourSoul and without yoko :p
Where did you see that?
When he died 5 years later he looked emaciated. Like an old man. He looks healthy here.
@@m.e.d.7997 On Yoko’s macrobiotic diet it would be difficult for anyone not to look like a prisoner of war.
George Martin is the fifth Beatle don't believe me listen to the album Let It Be
Really? Phil Spector produced that.
@@Fuzcapp as a comparison Let It Be production versus the other albums
Let it be is better than Beatles for Sale.
@@Fuzcapp hah hah, no, not quite. In the words of George Martin "Let it Be, produced by George Martin, over produced by Phil Spector". During the sessions themselves George Martin was at the helm every single day. But the album was shelved, a few months later the whole band tried again and the Abbey Road project got under way. Roughly 9 months later the unfinished "Get Back" sessions were handed to Phil Spector for "final processing".
The album let it be is the absolute worst example of George Martin’s abilities and genius.
How amazing in the comments that some people are rehashing 50 year old arguments.
Martin heard something special in the raw writing talents of Lennon and McCartney, and later Harrison. He pushed them in a direction that led to rock as art as opposed to just dance music. The combination of his efforts as a producer/arranger and their raw talents as songwriters led to a stunning catalog of popular music that is proving to transcend popular fashion. I question whether another producer would have gotten the same result out of them, especially the head strong Lennon.
Yes Michael, I agree with you entirely: GM did sense greatness in them, was inspired, and fervently helped to realise their nascent, raw potential - and his.
You weren't really listening, we're you? Martin was merely a technical facilitator. The Beatles were the creative driving force.
You can't blame Decca for turning them down in the audition. Have you heard their tracks auditioning for the Decca most of the songs were cover songs, guitar sounded poorly, Pete Best drumming wasn't a rock n roll type of drumming more like a "lounge" drummer and then they sent him packing. And George Martin heard potential and tweaked them into as we all came to know as the Beatles.
I disagree about the part with Harrison. Harrison pretty consistently didn't get the respect (and more importantly, the studio time) that Lennon-McCartney had. Harrison's songs sound like they were a bit rushed and underdeveloped in the studio, and Harrison didn't benefit from the creative feedback that Lennon / McCartney got from each other.
@@darrylmata4025 “most of the songs were cover songs...” that was Epstein’s idea since they weren’t famous songwriters then.
Wow! John actually had respect for someone! Far out!
IKR?
Don't be a dick. John went through a period between about 69 and 71 where he slagged everyone off as he came of smack etc. After that he went back to being the John we all know and love.
I think, from this reading, that John deemphasizes the role of Martin wildly, as I suspect so many musicians do of their producers. Listen to any Beatles recording, and it's blazingly obvious that there was an additional hand at work, making everything mesh, creating a mood, adding color, texture, narrative arc to fairly raw material to begin with. I imagine it may have made the lads a little insecure to talk publicly about his role, but to their good fortune, Martin was a reticent genius, comfortable enough at staying in the background and enjoying the fruits of their unique collaboration.
All the orchestral arrangements were the work of George Martin. He also provided the connections to top musicians .
Except for She’s Leaving Home and the stuff on Let It Be.
@@thefonzkiss the terrible "heavenly choirs" on let it be album (as Paul put it), which everyone hated? Yup, George Martin wouldn't have ever written that steamy pile 😂🤣
I don’t think this is entirely true. All of the members of the band were well connected to different other top musicians at the time as they networked and socialized together resulting in some collaboration also. Paul was responsible for many of the arrangements too.
@@user-tb5ns7hc5i Orchestral
John at his best...when he was thinking straight and being himself.
Being a songwriter and drummer, I've become to really appreciate George Martin's unique contributions to The Beatles. They were from very diverse musical backgrounds, Martin being a trained classical musician that could read and score music and The Beatles that were self-taught musicians, none of which could read music.
They were an odd combination, however, their diversity allowed them the ability to learn and experiment with each other. Martin was instrumental (no pun intended) in the development of Sgt. Pepper and many other songs that required a complex musical knowledge like Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, All You Need is Love, In My Life, etc.
Perhaps Martin's greatest gift to music was the wisdom to allow " the boys " to develop and grow as musicians, and especially writers, without too much interference.
Yes well put it was a magical relationship that could be only expressed through the sound of music
Decca wouldn’t have allowed the Beatles to blossom like they did, not even sure Decca had a producer with George Martin’s credentials.
Very well put. They were sort of like an English Garden. Structure and Chaos coming together. Someone too steeped in the classical tradition isn't likely to bust through conventions. Someone too ignorant of musical theory won't know how to make it happen and won't impose useful boundaries.
Absolutely. So much of the Beatles greatest music is nearly unimaginable without George Martin’s influence and expertise.
Fully agree. Perhaps the greatest contribution Martin made to the Beatles was steering them gently without being overbearing or stifling the creative force they were. To the contrary, he helped them blossom. Another producer would've attempted to bully them into submission, which was the standard practice in those days. Perhaps they would've gotten 3 or 4 successful guitar albums out of them and that would've been it. Being a very down-to-earth kind of guy, he was still sensitive enough to know real talent when he saw it.
R.I.P.Sir George.You truly were a Genius in the studio.
The Beatles music was astoundingly original and creative--and a huge part of the credit for the unique sounds, instrumentation and arrangements on many of the songs belongs to Martin.
all the speculation and monday-morning quarterbacking about the beatles and george martin is pointless... the phenomenon of The Beatles happened the way it happened... and it couldn't have happened any other way than how it happened... a million things had to happen exactly as they did... and they did... just be glad it happened... it'll never happen again... ☮️💟
They would't have been the spectacular band they were without George Martin!!!
I assume many/most Beatles fans are enjoying a greater academic interest in the band.
As a result of deeper research, its becoming clearer that the story begins years before Epstein crafted their Fab 4 personae.
To summarize, they had played together as a band unit approx 10,000 hours by 1963. That is 8-10 hours every night fueled by alcohol and speed.
Sourced material indicates they electrifing audiences with their raw rock n roll act. This rep is why Epstein was interested.
Let's not forget that cut their first album in ONE day, over the course of 10 hours. GM himself was amazed at their stamina and tight playing.
The more you dig, the more you'll understand these guys were super ambitious and willing to push limits.
All other "5th Beatles" were just lucky to have come in contact with them and enjoy the ride.
With today's technology can you even imagine what an evening with the Beatles could be like now if they were all still with us. They could assemble whatever "orchestra" they would need to reproduce any of their songs. And the PA's we have now are just incredible. But then, you'd have to take out a loan to be able to afford a ticket lol! I feel fortunate to have been a teen when they hit in the early 60's and even got to see them circa 65. People now can appreciate the music but they have no way of understanding how they radically changed music as well as the society of that time. It was a bit like a bomb went off. There's certainly been great music created by others since then, but they did not change the world of music nor society like the Beatles did.
George Martin was definitely the fifth Beatle, you've only got to hear his work with other musical artists such as America for instance to where the Beatles got their sound. Martin was only too happy to help these talented guys with their musical journey. Five very gifted guys who worked hand in hand with each other with the utmost respect.
And why dont we say Martin was the fourth member of América.?
And hear his work with Gerry & The Pacemakers,Billy Kramer & The Dakotas
or The Fourmost.
It's nice that he gives George Martin his props. Years earlier he dismissed him as a gimmicky posh nobody.
That was John coming of smack and slagging of everything and everyone. About 73 onwards was when we got the real John back.
1:03 sums up their relationship. Rock'n'roll meets an oboe.
John does a pretty good impression of George Martin.
In a 1971 letter to Paul McCartney, Lennon wrote, "When people ask me questions about 'What did George Martin really do for you?,' I have only one answer, 'What does he do now?' I noticed you had no answer for that! It's not a putdown, it's the truth."
Glad he shied away from that
No! That was John coming of smack etc i.e. 69 to 72. Militant John. From the lost weekend onwards we got real John back. The one without a chip on his shoulder.
After the Rolling Stone interview, in which, John takes out some of his pent up anger, on George Martin, must have been feeling a bit guilty of being so hard on Martin, wanted to make sure he gave him his credit and respect from John, that Martin deserved!
Was this during his lost weekend period? He seemed happier in interviews during that period. Not under the mind control of you know who.
No it's 1975 happy yoko period
After he realized running around getting plastered and hammered was getting him nowhere....
John loved Yoko. He said so.
You're right, but he loved you know who
I think he was happy because Sean was born in 1975!
i really like the beatles, warts and all. always have, always will. i've been a fan since i was a teen in the 60's. i've also been a life-long musician. the beatles influenced me into picking up a guitar and i've played in "bar" bands all my life.
The recent interviews I've seen ... McCartney, Harrison, and now Lennon, ... these guys were very humble about their musical abilities. Somehow, magic though.
Well, they might sound humble but they were also accurate when talking about their talent. John just used the term "primitive musical ability" and that's largely right. None of the Beatles got close to being virtuosos, yet somehow they made amazing music that changed rock and roll forever and music that still sounds fresh and relevant today. It's one of the things that never fails to amaze me about the Beatles how 4 guys playing fairly basic music in that '62-'66ish period somehow managed to create magic together. Their song writing, voices and later on their experimentation in the studio was what really set them apart from anyone else.
@@ajo3085 Well Said ✌🏻
@@karlmtinsley8297 Thank you. 😊
@@ajo3085 Like wise so well said. It was wonderful to hear John speak so highly of George Martin.
I always liked the B-side of the Yellow Submarine album
...beautiful Orchestrations 📯
that was George Martin.
ever since i read that george martin suggested the opening instrumental tag, the abbreviated verse melody, of "please please me", i understood his contribution was more significant than i knew because i think of that as actual songwriting input
Once they went Studio Martin was huge
What is described sounds like rhe Arrangements blossomed
Martin also said Pete Best not good enuf
The boys knew this too
The boys found Ringo , another key to their music
Having them all together will never be matched
The Beatles As a group was looking to evolve their music. And George Martin helped to make that happen. They made each other better.
BUT---it was Paul, who pushed for the musical break-out, and he's the one who succeeded in it most. I think John was a 'Jealous Guy' over this.He had lost the leadership of the band's direction.
Sad he could be a bastard to his friends at times just sad
Fascinating man and fantastic band! George Martin and the Beatles bounced off each other, his involvement fine tuned a band of incredible talent and together they made history 👌
1.37 "That would be nice." Mannerism is just like Paul, or did John rub off on Paul?
Discuss :o)
The two were BFF’s for over a decade, I’m sure they rubbed off on each other.
It is true to say, as Lennon explains here, that producers often have a LOT of musical input into final outcomes. People say, and album covers say, "written by ..." and "produced by ..." but so often both infuse into the other. The thing is, the musos DON'T LIKE TO ADMIT any producer's input into the writing or arrangement because it dampens their ego and might give them royalties. They give the impression that producers just twiddle the sliders on the mixing desk!
Delicious. Love John in this groove. But clearly Martin was the band's orchestrator in some often non-traditional ways. Martin added some essential "kinky" aural aspects to season the band to perfection! The Beatles without Martin would NOT have risen to such mercurial success.