Editing George Martin (section)

===Early Beatles sessions, 1962===
Though Martin later called the 6 June 1962 session at EMI's studio two an "audition", as he had never seen the band play before,{{sfn|Martin|1995|pp=120–123}} the session was actually intended to record material for the first Beatles single.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=642–643}} Ron Richards and his engineer [[Norman Smith (record producer)|Norman Smith]] recorded four songs—"[[Besame Mucho]]", "[[Love Me Do]]", "[[Ask Me Why]]", and "[[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=643}} Martin arrived during the recording of "Love Me Do"; between takes, he introduced himself to the Beatles and subtly changed the arrangement.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=643}} The verdict was not promising, however, as Richards and Martin complained about [[Pete Best]]'s drumming, and Martin thought their original songs were simply not good enough.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=90}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=643}} In the control room, Martin asked the individual Beatles if there was anything they personally did not like, to which [[George Harrison]] replied, "I don't like your tie." That was the turning point, according to Smith, as [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]] joined in with jokes and comic wordplay, that made Martin think that he should sign them to a contract for their wit alone.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|pp=318–319}} After deliberating for a time whether to make Lennon or McCartney the lead vocalist of the group, Martin decided he would let them retain their shared lead role: "Suddenly it hit me that I had to take them as they were, which was a new thing. I was being too conventional."{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=646}}

Though charmed by the Beatles' personalities, Martin was unimpressed with the musical repertoire from their first session. "I didn't think the Beatles had any song of any worth—they gave me no evidence whatsoever that they could write hit material", he claimed later.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=766}} He arranged for the Beatles to record a cover of Mitch Murray's "[[How Do You Do It?|How Do You Do It]]" at a 4 September session, with the Beatles now featuring [[Ringo Starr]] on drums. The Beatles also re-recorded "Love Me Do" and played an early version of "[[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]", which Martin thought was "dreary" and needed to be sped up.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=696}} Though Martin was sure "How Do You Do It" could be a hit, the Beatles hated the song's style and Murray disliked the Beatles' recording of it.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1990|p=7}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=699}} Additionally, Ardmore & Beechwood protested Martin's plan to issue an A-side that was not a Lennon–McCartney song. Martin then reluctantly decided to have "Love Me Do" issued as the A-side of the Beatles' first single and save "How Do You Do It" for another occasion.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=699}} (In April 1963, Martin achieved a No. 1 hit with the song as recorded by Beatles contemporaries [[Gerry and the Pacemakers]].)

Martin was dissatisfied with Starr's 4 September performance and resolved to use a session drummer for their next recording session.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=697}} On 11 September 1962, the Beatles recorded "[[Love Me Do]]" for a third time with [[Andy White (drummer)|Andy White]] playing drums, as well as the B-side of their first single, "P.S. I Love You", and a sped-up version of "Please Please Me". Starr was asked to play tambourine and maracas, and although he complied, he was definitely "not pleased". Due to an EMI library error, a 4 September version with Starr playing drums was issued on the British single release; afterwards, the tape was destroyed, and the 11 September recording with Andy White on drums was used for all subsequent releases.<ref>Lewisohn, Mark (1988). ''The Beatles Recording Sessions''. New York: Harmony Books. {{ISBN|0-517-57066-1}}</ref> (Martin later praised Starr's drumming, calling him "probably&nbsp;... the finest rock drummer in the world today".<ref>{{Pop Chronicles|45}}</ref>)

Despite Martin's doubts about the song, "Love Me Do" steadily climbed in the British charts, peaking at number 17 in late November 1962. With his doubts about the Beatles' songwriting abilities now quashed, on 16 November Martin told the band they should re-record "Please Please Me" and make it their second single. He also suggested the Beatles record a full album (LP), a suggestion Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] called "genuinely mind-boggling", given how little exposure the Beatles had achieved so far.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|pp=764–765}} On 26 November, the Beatles attempted "Please Please Me" a third time. After the recording, Martin looked over the mixing desk and said, "Gentlemen, you have just made your first number one record".{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=360}}<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/pleasepleaseme.shtml "Congratulations, gentlemen, you've just made your first number one."] bbc.co.uk. Retrieved: 21 September 2007.</ref> Martin directed Epstein to find a good publisher, as he believed Ardmore & Beechwood had done nothing to promote "Love Me Do"; this led them to [[Dick James]], a business acquaintance of Martin.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=364}}

Martin considered recording the Beatles' first LP as a live album at their home venue in Liverpool, [[The Cavern Club]], and promoted this idea in an ''NME'' interview in late November.{{sfn|Womack|2017|p=110}} However, Martin found the Cavern unsuitable for recording during a mid-December visit, and he decided to record the group in the studio instead.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=787}}