English record producer George Martin is credited with helping The Beatles become famous. He is the only producer that would offer them a recording contract after they had been rejected by many others. He helped John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr produce 20 No. 1 songs during the 1960s. Martin died on March 8. The news came out on the morning of March 9. He was 90 years old. According to an obituary in the Washington Post, Martin studied piano while he was a boy in London before World War II. He entered the Navy during the war, then studied music and oboe. He started his career with the British Broadcasting Corporation, working in the music library. In 1950, he went to work for the record company EMI. Twelve years later, he met The Beatles.