In Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt. Pepper The Beatles’ producer George Martin documents how the band created one of their most innovative albums.
Martin recalls the essence of their work, “it was The Beatles dreams we were realizing – nothing more or less.” He describes his role of Producer as “making sure The Beatles got what they wanted.”
What can CSMs learn from George Martin’s role in producing The Beatles’ success?
This post will analyze Martin’s process through the song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and provide takeaways CSMs can apply with our customers.
Let’s review.
Helping The Beatles Realize Their Vision
George Martin would start his work with The Beatles by listening. He describes first hearing John Lennon’s Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, “John came to me initially with his acoustic guitar, playing and singing to give us a both an idea of what we were dealing with.”
The Beatles and George Martin would then talk about the vision for the song. Lennon shared that he wanted to “get across the effects of a really colorful circus. The acrobats in their tights, the smell of the animals, the merry-go-rounds. I want to smell the sawdust, George.”
Managing the Production Journey
From there, Martin began to think about how he could help translate Lennon’s vision for the song into production. George Martin suggested ideas such as a using steam organ which was typically used in carousels.
Obtaining a steam organ wasn’t possible so Martin helped solve the challenge by combining instruments together such as a harmonium, organs and a harmonica for a similar effect.
Martin stepped in to help The Beatles play the harmonium as he had deep musical training. He recalls “I remember only too well pumping away with my feet at that bloody harmonium hour after hour, trying to get it right, and being absolutely knackered.”
Shaping Ideas to Completion
During reviews of the song’s takes The Beatles and George Martin felt the track required the steam organ to achieve success.
Due to Martin’s breadth of musical knowledge he was familiar with a library of recordings he could call on to find the old-time steam organ circus sounds.
The Beatles needed an inventive approach on the recordings. So, Martin collaborated with engineer Geoff Emerick to assemble pieces of the steam organ recordings into random clips that made a mystical circus sound.
After creating iterations of the song over days, Martin recalls committing to help The Beatles finish up the recording working 7 hours straight into the early hours of the morning on the final day of producing the track.
What Can CSMs Learn from George Martin’s Work?
George Martin’s production methods helped The Beatles realize their creative vision. Martin recaps the legacy of “Sgt. Pepper’s” in Summer of Love, “There was nothing comparable to it around at the time, and it was seen as a complete breakthrough, as an album that set a new standard.
George Martin’s work with The Beatles aligns with the principles of a CSM and client relationship. Martin listened to the customer, translated the customer’s vision into the production and suggested ideas to help the customer achieve their goal.
Martin also showed CSM skills like depth of product knowledge, expert problem solving capabilities and overall commitment to helping his clients succeed.
CSMs can take cues from George Martin and The Beatles to help our clients create breakthrough results as well.