The Five Beatles: George Martin Located Second From Right
George Martin was the primary producer for the rock group, The Beatles. The Beatles rose to fame during the late 1960s. The group is the highest selling musical artist of all time. There were four famous Beatles in the public eye during their career: John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul Mccartney, and George Harrison. There were, however, a total of five Beatles. George Martin, also known as the “Fifth Beatle”, was the groups producers and assisted and facilitated their artistic expression.
George Martin Working in Studio at EMI
The Beatles group was notorious for implementing different sounds and production techniques into their albums. The third Beatles album Revolver is perhaps the best example of the group’s musical innovation. During the creation of Beatles albums, George Martin was instrumental in multiple aspects of the music creation. As a producer, George Martin demanded that albums singles “had to be brand-new songs… and not just reissues.” Martin not only set the rules for the creation of the group’s singles, but also acted as the “referee.” Where he would dictate and decide the best song presented to him by the group members. During the interview with White, the role of “referee” was brought up while discussing the human elements associated with production. Much like Martin, White often encourages the creativity of all parties in the studio, yet when multiple great ideas are presented, the producer must be the final decision. This establishes the chain of authority and helps the studio session run effectively. (Emerick)
In addition to establishing authority and effectiveness, the human aspects of a producer’s job are critical in maintaining “order” in the naturally chaotic environment of studio. For instance, there is often a “age-gap” between classical studio musicians and the artists. This gap is age often leads to differing beliefs surrounding what is and is not acceptable in music, and as a result can create tension within a studio. During the creation of albums like Revolver, where innovation and creativity were apparent on every track, it was the responsibility of Martin to be “the bridge between generations.” The middleman who directed the classical musicians and dealt with Beatles request for them. Request such as, distance from mic, playing sharp and shrieking placement, and breaking standard instrument technique. (Emerick)
Album Creation
Throughout the group’s creation of Revolver, Martin, along with the rest of the Beatles, established many new production techniques, that are now commonplace in the recording industry. The first major example of musical innovation comes in the development of loop recording. While producing the album, the members asked EMI employees to stand in hallways hold recording tape. This tape was looped over and over between different studios in the EMI building. Doing this allowed the group to “audition” different sounds for the song. The evolved version of loop recording is seen all over the music industry today. Yet it has become entirely digital, the general principles were established by Martin during the groups recording of Revolver.
Revolver Album Cover
Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Album Cover
In addition to loop recording, Martin worked with techniques involving reverb echo. In this technique the group hung speakers and used them as microphones. The sound created would leave a distinct reverb at the end of the lyrics. This can be heard best on tracks like “Elanor Rigby.” This is merely a small instance of Martin’s creative input in the groups recording process. (Moorefield)
Whiles the Beatles were an incredibly beloved for their artistic attitude and free spirit. The group you spent countless hours “studying” and conceptualizing better ways to engage their fans through their music. During the making Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts, the Beatles and Martin meticulously changed small chord progressions, lyrics, and production methods to better attract the fans. Often the group and Martin would spend countless debating the importance of V chord or a V7 chord in a certain point in the music. Though an argument can be made against the “value” of these small details, the group and Martin strict work effect clearly assisted them in achieving the amount of success they were able to. (O’Grady)
Martin prided himself on being able to create a visual picture to the album. This became incredibly important during the creation of Revolver and Sergeant Pepper. With incredible high levels of production, the group, guided by Martin was able to create a stable album with a theme. Revolver as an album used varying production methods to create a mechanical sound, which is best seen in “Yellow Submarine.” Furthermore, Martin’s guidance allowed for record like “Tomorrow Never Knows” to be realized in their entirety while maintaining their abstract psychedelic sound. (Moorefield)
Impact on Women
The Beatles were able to engage with female audiences in ways that no bands had been able to. The term “Beatlemania” describes the near hysteria that resulted from the Beatles appearance in cities and venues as they toured the globe. Part of this success amongst groups of young women comes from the time period they released their music. The 1960s in American history is often considered to be the decade of social reform. The most notable movements were the Civil Rights and “female liberation” movement. The female liberation movement promoted a level of autonomy amongst young women that had not been seen before. In fact, Beatlemania was the “first mass outburst of the 1960s to feature women.” (Ehrenreich) The Beatles themselves were able to exploit the growing sexualized appetite of the 1950 – 1969 media. This exploitation led to moments such “the Ed Sullivan show”, which sparked thousands of women to engulf every location the Beatles were at, from airport to hotel to even the studio itself.
The Beatles Ed Sullivan Show Performance: Female Audience Hysteria
While the hysteria in many ways resembled a level of chaos and destruction. The phenomena that was Beatlemania greatly assisted and celebrate the autonomy of women. Where young women would initially have been shy and contained, they began to be vocal and confident. Where women wore “appropriate” clothing they now wore “risqué” clothing. While many thought the movement to be highly sexual, some argue that the reasons are much more sophisticated. In fact, in some descriptions of Beatlemania, women described wanting freedom more so than the Beatles themselves. The Beatles and their music were simply the catalyst that pushed women over the edge dependence and sent them spiraling into autonomy. (Ehrenreich)
Martin and The Beatles work directly contrasts that of Spector. While Spector exploited gender norms, Martin and The Beatles push “counterculture.” Whether it be their sex appeal or music, The Beatles created within female audiences across the globe. For instance, this live music performance highlights the female audience and their reactions to the Beatles.
Targeting young women as an independent market help to push the idea of female autonomy. Rather than making music for young men and traditionally conservative mainstream audiences, The Beatles played to their ideals held by their fan base. Evidence to support The Beatles positive impact women is the fact they offended many conservative American groups. Groups like the KKK were sighted burning Beatles records on crosses. One individual noted that once the Beatles music came out, there was a marked increase in pregnancies and drugs in his high school. (Stephens)
During the ladder half of the 1960’s, The Beatles increase in production can be directly correlated to societies enlightenment. The Beatles Revolver and Sergeant Pepper albums used increased production because of their fans newly “sophisticated” and “introspective” mindsets. (Vercoe) This again pushes the notion that The Beatles and Martin understood their role within social reform and in many ways embraced it. They recognized that the audience they had desired freedom, thus the group had to engage with a similarly free creative approach.