Sir George Martin (born January 3, 1926 in Highbury, London) is sometimes referred to as “the fifth Beatle”, a title that he owes to his work as producer of almost all of The Beatles’ records.

Martin has also directly and indirectly contributed to the main themes of three films in the James Bond series. Although Martin did not produce the theme for the second Bond film, From Russia with Love, he was responsible for the signing of Matt Monro to EMI just months prior to his recording of the song of the same title.

Martin also produced two of the most well-known James Bond themes. The first was “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey in 1964. Despite producing the film’s theme that became a hit single, Martin did not take part in the movie’s score or the James Bond Theme by Monty Norman or John Barry.

In 1972, Martin also arranged and produced the music for the entire film of Live and Let Die, on which Paul McCartney performed the hit title track.

See also:

• Bond films: Soundtrack