10 Years Ago Today, The Most Influential Music Producer Ever Died

On March 8, 2016, legendary music producer Sir George Martin died. He was best known for working alongside the Beatles during the height of their careers.

The producer reportedly died in his sleep at home, with no official cause of death given besides old age (via Rolling Stone)

George Martin Was Often Called The 'Fifth Beatle'

The Beatles lineup changed quite frequently in the months before the release of Please Please Me, their first studio album. Both Paul Best and Stuart Sutcliffe were original members of the band, before the former was replaced by Ringo Starr at the last moment and the later suddenly died. George Martin, however, was with the band from the very start.

Martin was approached by the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in the early days of the band's existence, and he quickly took them under his wing at EMI Records. Martin's contributions and business know-how proved crucial to getting the Beatles the exposure they needed to become famous.

Martin would remain with the iconic rock band until their split in 1969, contributing to every single one of their studio albums besides Let It Be. While he never touched an instrument, none of the Beatles' songs would have sounded the same without Martin's unique and groundbreaking production.

This is exactly what earned Martin the nickname of the "fifth Beatle", which has endured to this day.

Following the Beatles' split in 1969, Martin continued to work in the music industry as one ofn the U.K's most saught-after producers. He continued to work with Paul McCartney on albums such as Ram and Tug of War, alongside the infamous James Bond track "Live and Let Die".

Later, he would work extensively with Kenny Rogers on his most commercially acclaimed albums. His other credits include the Bee Gees, Ella Fitzgerald, Ultravox, and Jeff Beck.