In the '70s and '80s, Martin produced albums by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, America (seven albums), Jeff Beck (two), Neil Sedaka, Jimmy Webb, Cheap Trick, Kenny Rogers and Paul McCartney ("Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace"). One of the best of these, Jeff Beck's "Blow by Blow," was an artistic success and a bestseller that hit No. 4 in 1975. Martin opened an AIR Studios in Montserrat in 1979; it was destroyed when a hurricane ravaged the Caribbean island in 1989. In the mid-'90s, Martin returned to the vaults and to his familiar role, unearthing and preparing previously unreleased Beatles tracks for the three-volume Anthology series. The first volume entered the U.S. album chart in December 1995 at No. 1.

He was knighted in 1996, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys the same year. A year later, Martin produced his 30th No. 1 hit in the U.K., Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997," a charity single recorded after Princess Diana's death that became the bestselling single of all time and, in Martin's words, "probably my last single. It's not a bad one to go out on." The same year, in response to the second of two volcano eruptions since 1995 that had further devastated Montserrat, Martin put on a benefit concert for the island with McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Sting.

After five decades in the music industry, Martin bowed out of record production in 1999 with "In My Life," a collection of Beatles songs recorded by comedians like Robin Williams and Jim Carrey and musicians such as Jeff Beck and Phil Collins. (Beck's version of "A Day in the Life" was nominated for a Grammy award in the best pop instrumental performance category.)

Martin is still with his wife of more than 30 years, Judy Lockhart-Smith, his former Parlophone secretary. One of his four children, Giles, has also entered the business. In an interview on the promotional site for "In My Life," Martin made him sound like a chip off the old block: "You've got to get on with people and you've got to lull them into a kind of sense of security and you've got to get rid of their fears, you've got to relate to people, and he certainly can do that."

Martin may not be producing records, but he isn't exactly retiring; he still oversees AIR Studios, and last year he became chairman of the advisory board of Garageband.com, a new Internet music initiative designed to seek out new talent outside the confines of the corporate record industry. The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988; Martin finally made it in 1999, alongside Sir Paul McCartney.

In not only chancing his career on the Beatles -- then "an industry joke" as Martin has put it -- but also giving a voice to their every musical whim, Martin has rightfully been referred to as the fifth Beatle. Martin blends giddy enthusiasm with cool intelligence and eloquence. His contributions to Beatles lore are intriguing and articulate; in documentaries such as "The Compleat Beatles" and throughout the marathon "Beatles Anthology," he is mesmerizing when he leans over his mixer and calls forth individual tracks, be they orchestral swells or lone, spine-tingling vocals. He had the front-row seat.

I was on hand when Martin brought his lecture tour, "The Making of Sgt. Pepper," to New York's Town Hall in 1999. Each time he introduced a song, from "Penny Lane" through to "A Day in the Life," there was a round of applause, and Martin would say, "Yes, that's a great one," or "Really marvelous, isn't it?" -- as if, all these years later, he was as truly amazed as all of us have always been. At one point, after he'd given an introduction to "Strawberry Fields," a frenzied audience member shouted "Amen!" Martin replied, "Amen." Walking out into Times Square on a cold winter night, I marveled at how it had been exactly 35 years and 10 blocks from this spot that Sir George's boys blew down the doors and called in the invasion from Ed Sullivan's stage. "They say if you can remember the '60s, you weren't there. Well, I was there," Martin had assured his audience. Some of the audience had been there too, but even the younger ones knew exactly what he meant when he said, "It all happened so quickly, that flowering of genius so long ago."

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