Inside George Martin’s Lost Beatles Scores: What His Handwritten Pages Reveal

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News (2 / 1) 04.09.2026 23:02 / Simo

How a string quartet changed pop

The book traces pivotal moments such as the creation of “Yesterday.” Paul McCartney brought a finished melody to George; after the Beatles couldn’t add to his solo performance, Martin suggested strings. They sketched the arrangement over tea, kept it spare, and even allowed McCartney’s idiosyncratic cello note to remain. Martin later called the work simple and fast — and the collaboration helped redefine the studio as an instrument itself.

Legacy preserved

Martin, who died in 2016, left scores that show crossed‑out ideas and marginalia — the moment‑to‑moment choices behind recordings that changed pop. Giles says assembling the set took longer than the Beatles’ career and that his father would have loved it. George Martin: The Scores is out now.