The Fifth Beatle Has Died

Famed music producer George Martin, commonly nicknamed "The Fifth Beatle," has died at age 90. According to the Associated Press, Martin died peacefully at his home. Beatles drummer Ringo Starr confirmed the sad news on Twitter, saying, "God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family, love Ringo and Barbara, George will be missed."

Though his career spanned six decades, Martin was best known for his work with the Beatles. Martin signed the the then-little known band from Liverpool to its first contract in 1962. Over the next eight years, he worked closely with the Beatles in the studio, from "Love Me Do" all the way through Abbey Road, their final album. After the Beatles disbanded, Martin continued to work with its members, including Paul McCartney on his 1973 hit "Live and Let Die." Martin was knighted in 1996 for his services to music and pop culture.

While overseeing the soundtrack for the Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show Love, Martin sat down with the Las Vegas Sun and looked back on the band that he put on the map. "I think [The Beatles are] so damn good they’ll be with us for generations, into the middle of the next century. They’re just great musicians and great writers, like Gershwin or Rodgers and Hammerstein. They are there in history, and The Beatles are there in history, too. They’ll be there in 100 years, too. But I won’t be."

That's where Martin is wrong. He's right there in history, sitting alongside the greatest band of the ages.