George Martin, the producer behind most of the Beatles‘ culture-shifting catalog, passed away at age 90 on March 8. Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and even British Prime Minister David Cameron have paid homage to the audio legend, and now, longtime collaborator and Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick is remembering Sir George Martin.
“The news of the passing of Sir George Martin is sad, however the mark he left on the music world is indisputable. I had the pleasure of sitting and working side by side with him during the creation of the most iconic music of The Beatles,” Emerick said in a statement. “He was a true gentleman, and we had the same sense of humor. He was like a father to me. I’m proud to have shared so many memorable years with him.”
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Emerick won Grammys for his engineering work on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road, but his history with the band goes back to their very early days. As a teenager learning his craft at EMI, he witnessed the Beatles’ first EMI session with Ringo Starr, where the band worked on “Love Me Do.” He went on to produce numerous post-Beatles albums from Paul McCartney.