Written by: Dave Cantrell

We don’t need to list his credentials, cite his history. George Martin was as essential to the growth of rock music as anyone could lay claim to. Taking a chance on the young Beatles when others had passed, his singular vision and accompanying spirit shaped our culture in ways more essential than can be measured. As much or more than Phil Spector, as much or more than Bob Johnston, as much or more than Berry Gordy or Smoky Robinson, as much at least as Jerry Lee, Little Richard, Allen Toussaint or Brian Wilson, producer George Martin made our musical lives what they are today. The laying of foundation has seldom been so profound. RIP George, peace and love to his wife Judy, and poignant joy to the rest of us for the work he did, for the timeless genius he almost single-handedly extracted and shaped out of the raw clay presented him by four lads from Liverpool. The richer cultural life George Martin helped originate is now all the poorer for his passing. Rock’n’roll flags all across the world now hang at half-mast, mourning its foremost eminent gris.