March 10: There was an obituary in the paper today for George Martin who died March 8 at the ripe old age of 90. Martin signed the Beatles to the Parlophone label after virtually every other record producer in the England had turned them down. He was apparently not impressed at first, calling them a good regional dance band. But he is credited with taking them from humble beginnings to being what was arguably the best (rock and roll) band of all time.
As a trained musician he could actually write musical scores – something none of the Beatles could do. He introduced them to orchestral instruments, and then to the mysteries of the recording studio and the wizardry of mixing tapes. He had a very direct influence on their style and was often called the “fifth Beatle”. According to the obit, he listened to the first recording of Please Please Me and felt it was too slow. The Beatles had written it as a tribute to Roy Orbison, but he felt it would be more effective at a faster pace. As he then recorded it, the song was their first break-out hit in March 1963 and the first number 1 album in the UK. Over the next 3 years, they released an astounding 17 albums. While some were obviously compilations and others were available only in specific markets (ie. Germany), measured by today’s standards, the output is incredible.
That productivity might have been made a bit easier by the fact that much of the music was pretty straightforward rock and roll with typical chord structures and harmonies. The accepted knowledge of the day was that songs should be no more than 3 minutes long. But even with those limitations, one could sense the music changing with each new release. By 1966, they were beginning to imagine whole new musical directions and technical innovations. I remember it as a very hopeful and imaginative time.
In June 1967 they released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which was said to have taken an equally astounding (for that time) 400 hours over 129 days to record. My friend Tim brought a copy to my Grandfather’s cottage where we listened to it for the first time on a huge old hi-fi (monaural of course) in the living room. My Mother and her sister, my Aunt Marg were there and forced to listen as well. They tolerated the first side fairly well. Most of the songs were not too dissimilar to the “noise” they had been exposed to by us previously, and some (With A Little Help From My Friends, She’s Leaving Home) are downright tuneful. But the second side started with the full-on sitar and tabla attack of Within You Without You and that provoked the first cries of “what the heck is that??” I think that even Tim and I were a bit mystified, but of course, we would never let on…. Later there was the rooster crow and barnyard sounds that opened Good Morning – all put to good use one very early morning several years later at one of our famous Corduroy Enduro weekends.
I remember listening to Sgt. Pepper’s as a watershed moment, although I am perhaps exaggerating its significance. Whatever the case, it evokes strong and happy memories. Sad that it took the passing of George Martin to remind me of those days.
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March 22: Addendum: The Globe and Mail today reported that on this date in 1963, the Beatles released Please Please Me, their first album. They were each paid “the princely sum” of 20 Pounds Sterling for the 10 hours it took to record. It held top spot on the chart for 30 weeks until being replaced by – what else ? – their second album, With the Beatles.