March 10 - Rain

Yesterday's news are still reverberating. I was hoping that the string of deaths of great musicians would have ended, but yesterday, the news that George Martin had died surfaced. As someone with an above average interest in The Beatles even in my childhood, I believe I know how instrumental he was in their success and their growth as musicians and composers.

I remember reading about him in the book Historien om The Beatles (The Story of The Beatles), a biography written for young adults (maybe even children - I don't think I was very old when I read it - I had a phase in elementary school when I was completely hooked on biographies). I think he was the very first record producer I knew about - and as such, he helped spur an unhealthy obsession with reading record covers, and eventually following producers as much as artists in some cases (such as Daniel Lanois, whom you might remember from a track I shared earlier this year).

George Martin was a musical genius, and his experience working with classical music clearly helped The Beatles as they started using string quartets (Yesterday) and orchestras (A Day In The Life). He also knew how to push them - and he came from a place of love for the four musicians that grew into a love for their music as well. His role can never be overstated - including his role in experimenting with studio equipment, which is clearly present in the song Rain, where he took it upon himself to play John Lennon's vocal backwards towards the end, creating an eerie effect that was new to rock music.