'Fifth Beatle' Sir George Martin dies at age 90

Without Martin mixing four tracks down to one and then recording more, being careful to limit distortion, this masterpiece may have never been recorded -

Martin was always a valuable partner to the Beatles, but particularly so in the early years. It was Martin who suggested speeding up the tempo of "Please Please Me," originally a Roy Orbison-inspired slow rocker. It was Martin who suggested to Epstein that he meet with Dick James, who became the group's song publisher. And it was Martin who found ways of making the group's experiments work, whether it was feedback on "I Feel Fine," the use of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood" or the harpsichord-sounding piano on "In My Life."

Not one to miss a trick, he also recorded instrumental versions of the band's hits during the height of Beatlemania and provided incidental music to the group's film "A Hard Day's Night."

Later, martin also produced America, Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, UFO, Ultravox, the original cast recording of the Who's "Tommy" and the movie soundtrack of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Elton John had Martin produce his updated version of "Candle in the Wind," done in honor of Princess Diana, in 1997.