Let Me Take You Down...

... because I'm going to...Today in rock history, producer George Martin was promoted to the Head of A&R (Artists and Repertoire) in 1955 for the Parlophone label, owned by EMI in the U.K. He recorded many soundtracks and comedy albums before beginning work with The Beatles in 1962. Today he is 82 years old and still going strong. He has also passed the torch to a new generation – his son, Giles, is also a producer. He very nearly didn’t end up working with the Beatles, as, after an initial meeting with manager Brain Epstein, he was “rather unimpressed” with the demo tape made at Decca he listened to, but he did like the sound of Lennon and McCartney’s vocals. At a later meeting with Epstein, he was impressed with his enthusiasm and agreed to sign them without seeing them or hearing them play live, which was rather unprecedented in those days. The Beatles auditioned for Martin on 6 June1962, in studio three at the Abbey Road studios. Ron Richards and his engineer Norman Smith recorded four songs, which Martin (who was not present during the recording) listened to at the end of the session. The verdict was not promising, however, as Richards complained about Pete Best's drumming, and Martin thought their original songs were simply not good enough. Martin asked the individual Beatles if there was anything they personally didn't like, to which Harrison replied, "I don't like your tie". That was the turning point, according to Smith, as Lennon and McCartney joined in with jokes and comic wordplay that made Martin think that he should sign them to a contract for their wit alone. Well, witty they were, and talented too, and Martin ended up having a long working relationship with the boys, that continues to this day – Martin was involved with the Beatles Anthology in 1995 and Cirque du Soleil and Love with Giles in 2006. So let’s enjoy the genius of the “5th Beatle” in “Strawberry Fields Forever,” where he and Geoff Emerick turned two very different takes into a single master through careful use of vari-speed (changing the speed on a tape deck) and editing. Thanks to www.garylessard.com and www.wikipedia.org for the info, and keep on rockin’!