While not as famous as the band he was most often associated with, George Martin's impact on popular music is hard to overstate. Michael Weis, head of the Illinois Wesleyan history department, teaches several classes on 1960's music and culture. He says George Martin helped the Beatles change pop music.
"He was really an active collaborator on three of their greatest works, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Club Band, and Magical Mystery Tour," said Weis
Weis added that Martin helped to change the nature of how music was marketed. No longer was it sufficient to put one or two hit songs on a disc with 10 filler tunes. After those Beatles albums, artists had to come up with at least a dozen good songs, and maybe string them together as a concept.
George Martin died at the age of 90 at his home.
