Legendary Beatles producer George Martin dies

George Martin, the producer who guided The Beatles to astounding heights, has died. No cause was given for Martin’s death, but his manager said he died peacefully at home. He was 90.

The news broke late Tuesday night when Beatles drummer Ringo Starr tweeted, “God bless George Martin … Peace and love to Judy and his family, love Ringo and Barbara.”

Confirmation of Martin’s death came after British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed Martin as “a giant of music,” and Ringo Starr tweeted, “George will be missed.” Starr also tweeted a picture of the Beatles with Martin, saying, “Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love.”

Born in London in 1926, Martin’s musical interest was sparked at age 6 when his parents bought him a new piano. His dream was to become the next Rachmaninoff. He studied piano and oboe at Guildhall School of Music and Drama after a stint with the Royal Navy. After graduation, he bounced from the BBC’s classical music department to EMI, where he produced novelty records for British comedians Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. While at EMI, Beatles manager Brian Epstein pressed Martin to listen to demos of the band.

When Martin first heard a recording of The Beatles in February 1962, he thought the group was “rather unpromising.” When the band auditioned in person, Martin was not overwhelmed by the music but found the foursome worth signing for their comic banter alone.

Martin gave The Beatles their first recording contract and produced their albums over the next eight years. The tall, elegant Londoner produced some of the most popular and influential albums of modern times—Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road—elevating rock LPs from ways to cash in on hit singles to art forms. He won six Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Three years earlier, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Often called the “fifth Beatle,” Martin is known as one of the greatest record producers of all time. His contributions to The Beatles’ sound go deep. The string quartet on “Yesterday” and the piccolo trumpet on “Penny Lane” are just two examples of the producer’s influence on the Fab Four’s music. He played piano on some songs, while teaching the boys new recording tricks, like playing tape machines backward to create new sounds.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Martin pointed to Sgt. Pepper’s as the album that marked the Beatles’ transition from an ordinary rock group into “significant contributors to the history of artistic performance.”

Martin produced for others, including Kenny Rogers, Cheap Trick, and Celine Dione. According to the The Hollywood Reporter, Martin produced 23 No. 1 singles in the United States and 30 in the United Kingdom.

In 2011, Martin likened the Beatles to Gershwin or Rodgers and Hammerstein: “They are there in history, and The Beatles are there in history too. They’ll be there in 100 years, too. But I won’t be.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.