George Martin.

At age 17, George Martin enlisted in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II, but he had already taken eight piano lessons from an aunt. He led a combo called The Four Tune-Tellers and could play classical pieces by ear. After the war, mentor Sidney Harrison encouraged him to study at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where Martin paid his way with a veteran’s grant and studied oboe as a second instrument.

In 1962, Martin offered the Beatles a singles contract after a studio audition, with the condition that drummer Pete Best not play on the records. This led to Ringo Starr joining the band. Their second single, Please Please Me, became a national hit in Britain, and Martin’s name began appearing on records as the producer. He turned down a partnership in Northern Songs and left EMI in the mid-Sixties to co-found AIR Associated Independent Recording, which allowed him to earn producer royalties. Martin’s classical arrangements shaped hits like Yesterday and A Day in the Life, and he scored the film Yellow Submarine in 1968.

Martin married Jean Chisholm in 1948; they divorced in 1965. In 1966 he married Judy Lockhart Smith, who remained his partner until his death. They had two sons, Gregory and Giles, both of whom entered the music industry. Martin learned guitar to better communicate with the Beatles, who responded by buying their own pianos.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and knighted in 1996, Martin’s influence extends beyond the Beatles. He won a Grammy for Album of the Year for Sgt. Pepper and received the Grammy Trustees Award. His AIR studios hosted artists from Shirley Bassey to America. Martin is remembered as the Fifth Beatle who turned the band’s ideas into lasting recordings.