sign in sign up
<<
Home , Cilla Black, Driving Rain, Flowers in the Dirt, Hunter Davies, John Barham, Mike Leander

1

PLAYLIST JAN. 22, 2017 by the Fireside

9AM

The Beatles - Mother Nature’s Son - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Another Paul McCartney solo performance for the “White .” Paul remembers writing the song at his father’s home in and that it was inspired by Nat “King” Cole’s recording of “Nature Boy.” After the other Beatles went home on the evening of August 9, 1968, Paul went through 25 live performances of the song, each featuring his vocal and his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar. Take 24 was deemed the best. Overdubbing 2

took place on August 20 with Paul playing drums and timpani, double-tracking his lead vocal at the end of the song, and adding a second acoustic guitar part. ’s brass was also added to the mix.

The Beatles - - Single (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocals: John, Paul and George Recorded over five hours on February 16, 1965, the rhythm track of “Yes It Is” was completed in 14 takes. John, Paul and George then spent three hours recording the vocals live, the best version being laid on top of Take 14 as an overdub. Starting in 1965 this was the new way they would record. Previously, every edit piece or overdub would have been numbered. Now they just recorded until they got it right and placed that on top of a numbered take, the ”best” rhythm track. Written primarily by . John: “That's me trying a rewrite of ‘,’ but it didn't work.” “Yes It Is” is notable for its lush harmonies and ’s 12-string Rickenbacker played through a foot-controlled volume pedal, what is now known as a “wah-wah pedal.” The B-side of the “Ticket To Ride” single, issued April 9, 1965 in the UK and April 19, 1965 in the U.S. printed “From the United Artists release ‘Eight Arms To Hold You’ ” on both sides of the single. The wrong film title and this song was not included in the film. On U.S. album: Beatles VI - Capitol LP

UK: Non-album single (B-side)

George Harrison – The Answer’s At The End - Extra Texture ‘75 3

A highlight of the album, George took the basic lyrical idea from yet more cryptic Sir Frankie Crisp-isms immortalized on the wall of George’s Henley-On-Thames home. This was taped on April 22nd, 1975 with Jim Keltner, Paul Stallworth and providing the backing.

John Lennon – Love - Plastic Ono Band ‘70 This particular track was the biggest “commercial success” on the album, as it got wide radio play (along with “Mother”), which helped further the sales of the album. This is one of the quintessential romantic tunes by John.

The Beatles - - A Hard Day’s Night (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written mainly by Paul with the middle eight by John it was released as a single in the U.S. reaching #12. Recorded initially as a heavier, up-tempo number on February 25, 1964, The Beatles attempted two takes and moved on to something else. On February 26 they struggled with the simpler, now acoustic arrangement through 12 more takes and Ringo swapping his drums for congas, ultimately leaving it to be re-made the next day. Finally, on February 27, they had the arrangement to their liking and perfected the song in two completed takes (takes 20 and 21). On U.S. album: A Hard Day’s Night - United Artists LP

4

Something New - Capitol LP

The Beatles - Girl - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Written primarily by John, the song was completed in two takes on November 11, 1965. The song is notable for the naughty backing vocal (Paul and George repeating the word “tit”) and John’s heavy breathing during his vocal. John called of his best. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP

The Beatles - - Let It Be (Harrison) Lead vocal: George Recorded on January 25, 1969, and completed in six takes. John Lennon provides the lead guitar part playing a lap steel guitar and using a shotgun shell as a slide. Paul McCartney plays . Nearly a year later, on January 8, 1970, George Harrison re- 5

recorded his lead vocal to the already completed backing track. During the instrumental break he ad-libbed “go Johnny go” and “Elmore James’ got nothin’ on this baby” to give the impression he was live with the band. Immediately prior to the start of the song, John can be heard saying "Queen says no to pot-smoking FBI members." It is one of the few inclusions of film dialogue heard on the soundtrack LP. Written by George Harrison for his wife, Pattie, “For You Blue” was a straight-forward blues song. George: “It's a simple 12-bar song following all the normal 12-bar principles, except that it's happy-go-lucky!” “For You Blue” was the flip-side of the American “The Long And Winding Road” single, released on May 11, 1970.

Paul & Linda McCartney – Dear Boy /mono – Ram ‘71 Although like, and 3 Legs, Paul never intended this song to be about John Lennon. But nonetheless, John took it as another insult. According to Paul this was really an autobiographical tune about how thankful he was to have had Linda in his life.

9.27 BREAK We are gonna kept it kind of MELLOW this morning…it’s not often we get cold rainy Sunday’s here in LA…so we react here on BWTB… 6

John Lennon – Imagine – Imagine ‘71 John’s most famous anthem, and one of the most memorable songs of all time, this was to be considered John’s “Yesterday.” It was inspired by Yoko’s poem “Cloud Piece” from 1963. It continues to have massive radio play to this very day and was infamously censored (and retracted) by Clear Channel following the 9/11 attacks. This was John’s dream – no religion, no wars, no possessions – his utopian ideal.

The Beatles – Let It Be - Let It Be Paul wrote "Let It Be" in response to the constant fighting amongst band members, esp. over finances. Paul was trying to emerge as the new 'leader' of the band, since John was often absent from sessions. The other members grew tired of his poking and prodding and soon turned on him. 'Mother Mary' who gives Paul strength is actually his mother, who came to him in a dream and lifted his spirits. McCartney 1.00

7

George Harrison – The Light That Has Lighted The World - Living In The Material World ‘73 George began composing this track while working with Cilla Black on “When Every Song Is Sung,” which features a similar lack of tempo.

BREAK

Let’s continue that EZ listening rainy Sunday morning piano theme w/ some JL from the year 1971

John Lennon – – Imagine ‘71 Originally written as “Child of Nature,” which was taken from a lecture from Marahashi Mahesh Yogi, which also inspired the Paul McCartney tune, “Mother Nature’s Son.” The musicians included are Klaus Voorman (bass), (who played on “Revolution”) John Barham and Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder (to play ).

The Beatles - The Fool On The Hill - (EP) (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Sitting alone at the piano, Paul McCartney recorded a mono two-track demo of “The Fool On the Hill” on September 6, 1967. A more proper recording would take place 8

September 25. On the 25th three takes of the basic rhythm track were recorded, including harmonicas played by John and George. Paul first brought the song to John’s attention in mid-March while the two were working on the lyrics for “With A Little Help From My Friends.” John said to write down the lyrics so he wouldn’t forget them. In the “Magical Mystery Tour” film you can see Paul (by himself) standing atop a hill near Nice, France, during sunrise. The scene also includes ad-libs of Paul spinning, running and dancing, and close-ups of Paul’s moving eyes. It was an interesting trip for Paul as he forgot his wallet, passport and his money! They also didn’t have the correct camera lenses. It ended up costing over 4,000 pounds to film the scene. Paul’s September 6 live piano/vocal solo demo can be found on the “” album. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP

George Harrison – - All Things Must Pass ‘70 Another track that was written and rehearsed during the “Let It Be” sessions, it was considered sub-par and never considered for a Beatles album. The wait did the song wonders, as George brought it back and gave it a thorough shine. The song was also inspired by The Band’s song, “The Weight.”

9.57 BREAK

9

Ebony and Ivory/Rainclouds (single) (Paul McCartney with additional vocals by Stevie Wonder) April 10th, 1982 – UK

The Beatles - Rain - Non-LP B-side (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded on April 14 and 16, 1966. The track is notable for the backwards vocal from John Lennon at the end of the song. The section is John singing part of the first verse but the tape is superimposed backwards in the mix. The song contains slowed down instruments, guitar distortion, and vocals recorded and played back at variable speed. Aside from Paul McCartney’s dominant bass part, the song features a striking drum performance from Ringo, who has called “Rain” his favorite Beatles song. The B-side of “.” Issued in America on May 23, 1966 and the UK on June 10, 1966, several months in advance of the “Revolver” album. On U.S. album: - Capitol LP (1970)

Paul McCartney – – Driving Rain ‘01 Written in Los Angeles, in February 2001 – after LA experienced heavier than normal rain. Paul took a drive in his Corvette up the PCH to Malibu, came back and wrote a song about the day. The line “Something’s open…” was inspired by an alarm system that always read on the LCD screen, “something’s open” which annoyed Paul to know end.

QUIZ We just heard a bit of a RAIN inspired set…Driving Rain written here in LA in 2001…The Beatles Rain from 10

`66…and RAINCLOUDS B side of Ebony & Ivory…here is yer quiz question…Who produced RAINCLOUDS? 800-955-KLOS

The Beatles - I’m So Tired - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John John Lennon’s “I’m So Tired” was started and finished in 14 takes on October 8, 1968. No overdubs were added. The session was a marathon 16-hour session which started at 4 p.m. on the 8th and finished at 8 a.m. on October 9 (John’s 28th birthday), and saw the completion of two Lennon compositions (“I’m So Tired” and “The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill”) and work on George Harrison’s “Long Long Long.” Written in India while the Beatles were studying Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the all-day regime in Rishikesh, India, prevented John from sleeping at night, so he decided to write a song about it. At the end of the song John can be heard muttering 11

a phrase that when played backwards offered “” conspiracy theorists another major clue: “Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him.”

Paul McCartney – Footprints (co-written with Eric Stewart) – ‘86 A pleasant, atmospheric track with awesome production and featurs Eric Stewart from The Mindbenders & 10cc.

The Beatles - She’s Leaving Home - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocals: Paul and John Recorded March 17, 1967 in six takes. Written primarily by Paul with lyrical assistance from John, the song is based on a story appearing in the February 27, 1967, edition of the Daily Mail about seventeen-year-old runaway Melanie Coe. Paul begins the story about the girl leaving a note for her parents before slipping out of the house, John provides the parents’ anguished point of view. When Paul called George Martin to ask if he’d create a string arrangement for the song he was told that Martin had already committed to a Cilla Black session and Paul would have to wait. Paul then contacted Mike Leander to score the song. Paul had met Leander at the October 11, 1965, Decca Studios session for ’s cover of “Yesterday.” The score called for four , two violas, two , a double-bass and a harp. The harp is played by Sheila Bromberg, who became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording. As was the case with “” eleven months earlier, no Beatles played an instrument on “She’s 12

Leaving Home.” Martin made only slight adjustments to Leander’s arrangement when it was recorded on March 17. An interesting side note…Melanie was a dancer on the Ready Steady Go! TV show and met the Fabs Oct. 1963 when she won a mime contest and was awarded prizes by the Beatles!

WINNER HERE

10.27 BREAK

The Beatles - This Boy – Meet The Beatles US EP Four By The Beatles / I flip of I Want To Hold You Hand in UK

Ringo – English Garden - 13

Paul McCartney – English Tea - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard ‘05 Paul: I was on holiday, and if you want a cup of tea, you don't do what you do in England, say `A cup of tea please', They always say `What kind of tea?' You know like in England nobody would ever say `What kind of tea?' Well they actually would these days, but in the old days it was never like `What kind of tea?' It'd be like `What do you mean? Cuppa tea.' So now they say `What kind of tea?' and you have to say `English Breakfast tea ` and then they go `Oh OK' and you get it you know you get an ordinary cup of tea. So I just thought that's amazing that calling it English tea', but I thought it's kind of original because we don't call it that.

The Beatles - - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocals: John and Paul Work began on January 19, 1967, for what is quite possibly the finest Lennon- McCartney collaboration of their songwriting career. On this evening, following some rehearsal, Lennon rolled tentatively through four takes, drawing a road map for the other Beatles and George Martin to follow. Lennon on vocals and Jumbo acoustic guitar, 14

McCartney on piano, Harrison on maracas and Starr on congas. Sections were incomplete and to hold their space Mal Evans stood by a microphone and counted from one to 24, marking the time. To cue the end of the middle eight overdub section an alarm clock was sounded. There was no Paul McCartney vocal yet, merely instruments at this point where his contribution would be placed. On January 20, Paul added his section, which he would re-recorded on February 3. Lennon told Beatles biographer Hunter Davies that the first verse was inspired by a story in the January 17, 1967, edition of the Daily Mail about the car accident that killed Guinness heir Tara Browne. John: “I didn’t copy the accident. Tara didn’t blow his mind out, but it was in my mind when I was writing that verse.” The second verse was inspired by Lennon’s work on Richard Lester’s film “How I Won The War.” According to Paul, the third verse came from a Daily Mail article published on January 7, 1967, about 4,000 potholes in the streets of Blackburn, .

Paul’s tune (“Woke up, fell out of bed…”) was an entirely separate song fragment that he and John wanted to link to John’s verses. Coincidently, Paul’s bit was dropped in after the temporary alarm clock sound, so the alarm clock sound stayed in the final mix. George Martin said it was Paul’s idea “to create a spiraling ascent of sound” for the two 24-bar segments that followed the lyric “I’d love to turn you on.” Paul had wanted a full symphony , but Martin balked at what it would cost to bring in 90 musicians. He compromised with Paul and brought in half a symphony orchestra. The final chord was originally to be a chord of people singing. But after four takes and several overdubs the idea was scrapped in favor of playing a single piano note (E major, to be precise). The task went to John, Paul & Ringo, and Mal Evans spread across three .

John Lennon – Here We Go Again (Lennon/Spector) – Menlove Avenue ‘86 A leftover track from the Rock ‘n’ Roll sessions with .

15

The Beatles – Yesterday - Help! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written solely by Paul McCartney. After he woke up one morning with the tune in his head he went to his piano to sketch it out. Sure the tune was something he had heard before he took the song to several people and asked if they’d heard it before. When everyone he asked said it was new to them he claimed the tune as his own. McCartney perfected the melody and added a middle eight section during breaks in the production of the Beatles’ second film. He wrote the lyrics while on vacation in Portugal in late May 1965. The band was reluctant to release the song because a lovely acoustic ballad with a string quartet did not fit their rock and roll image. It was buried on the “Help!” LP and the band had no intention of releasing it as a single in the UK. But in America, Capitol Records issued it as a single a few days after McCartney, in the solo spotlight, sang the song on “.” Recorded in two takes on June 14, 1965 at the same session as “I’ve Just Seen A Face” and “I’m Down.” One of only five Beatles songs Paul chose to perform live on his tour in 1976. The working version lyrics included the line: “Scrambled Eggs / Oh how I love your legs.” “Yesterday” is one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music. On U.S. album: Yesterday And Today - Capitol LP

QUIZ Who’s singing that Beatles song?

10.57 BREAK 16

The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Originally recorded on October 12, 1965, The Beatles decided to scrap this version and re-record the song nine days later, on October 21. George Harrison provides the , the first appearance of the instrument on a Beatles recording, though the sitar can be heard in the instrumental introduction on the American version of “Help!” Written mainly by John with some lyrical assistance from Paul. John: “I was trying to write about an affair without letting me wife know… so it was very gobbledegook. I was sort of writing from my experiences, girls’ flats.” Paul has said that the ending lyrics, “so I lit a fire,” refer to the house being burned down in an act of revenge by the spurned lover. Bob Dylan did a slight parody of the song on his 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde. Check out the song “4th Time Around.”

17

Paul McCartney – Distractions - ’89 /18th solo lp A complex track that deserves additional listenings, it included a great string section, which was recorded in Los Feliz, CA at Chick Corea’s Mad Hatter studios

The Beatles - Something - Abbey Road (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The Beatles’ twenty-first single release for EMI, and fourth on the label. Although initially crediting Lennon and McCartney as the , legendary crooner Frank Sinatra called George Harrison’s “Something” “"the greatest love song of the past 50 years".[7 .” Commonly referred to as George’s first Beatles A-side, some sales chart makers at the time considered the single a “double-A,” as both sides of the record received significant radio airplay, and charted both “Something” and its flip side (John’s “”) as one combined chart listing. The song is the first of two CLASSIC songs George delivered for the “Abbey Road” album, the other being “.” It was a phenomenal one-two punch that had to have Lennon and McCartney wondering what else Harrison had up his sleeve.

The Beatles - Cry Baby Cry - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Work began in the studio on John’s “Cry Baby Cry” on July 15, 1968, filling four 30-minute tapes with unnumbered rehearsal takes of the song. It is estimated that the band played the song approximately 30 times. Proper recording took place on July 16. Ten takes of the basic track, consisting of John’s vocal plus bass, organ, drums, and acoustic guitar, were recorded. George Martin playing the harmonium and John playing piano would be overdubbed onto the best take. During the July 16 session tensions amongst the band members flared and sound engineer quit. He would be coaxed back the next year to work at their new Apple studios and at for the “Abbey Road” album. Emerick says he lost interest in the “White Album” because the group was arguing amongst themselves and swearing at each other. Emerick said, “the expletives were really flying.” 18

The Beatles - Here, There And Everywhere - Revolver (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written by Paul while sitting by the pool of John’s estate, this classic ballad was inspired by The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” Completed in 14 takes spread over three sessions on June 14, 16 and 17, 1966. Paul’s lead vocal is double tracked. Paul, John, and George provide the lush harmony and Ringo drums using brushes. Both Paul and John called “Here, There And Everywhere” one of their favorite Beatles songs. Never performed by The Beatles in concert and only rarely performed by McCartney since. On U.S. album: Revolver - Capitol LP

The Beatles - - A Hard Day’s Night (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John and Paul John Lennon’s stunning ballad “If I Fell” was by far the most complex song he had written to date. It could be considered a progression from “This Boy” with its similar chord structure and intricate harmonies by John and Paul, recorded – at their request – together on one microphone. Performed live on their world tour throughout the summer of 1964. Completed in 15 takes on February 27, 1964. Flip side of “And I Love Her” in the U.S. On U.S. album: A Hard Day’s Night - United Artists LP Something New - Capitol LP 19

The Beatles - A Taste of Honey – Please Please Me (Scott-Marlow) Lead vocal: Paul The Beatles knew that adding a variety of music styles to their stage act would garner them more bookings. They loved ballads and were always on the hunt for songs that would add a touch of ‘sophistication’ to their live show. Among the songs they found to fit this need was the ballad “A Taste Of Honey.” A popular instrumental of the day, the band came across a version with lyrics and added it to their repertoire in 1962. Bobby Scott’s original version won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme of 1962. The title was sometimes sung as “A waste of money” by Beatle John at 1962 and 1963 shows. Paul’s vocal was double-tracked here, the only time this was done on the debut LP. On U.S. : Introducing… The Beatles - Vee-Jay LP The Early Beatles - Capitol LP 20

RINGO & GEORGE – King Of Broken Hearts – Vertical Man `98 's first album release on the Mercury label. Credited to Ringo Starr Produced by Mark Hudson and Ringo Starr. Engineered by Geoff Emerick. Ringo - Lead vocals, drums, and percussion George Harrison - Slide guitar solo Steve Dudas - , acoustic guitar Mark Hudson - Bass, acoustic guitar, keyboard, mellotron, percussion and backing vocals Jeff Baxter - Jim Cox – Wurlitzer

11.27 BREAK 21

The Beatles - You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away - Help! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in less than two hours on February 18, 1965. Written entirely by John Lennon, who freely admitted the obvious Bob Dylan influence. Lennon wrote this at Kenwood, his home on the St. George’s Hill estate in Weybridge, Surrey (where the Beatles would be photographed for the cover of their “Rubber Soul” album). John’s original lyric was “I can’t go on feeling two foot tall,” but when singing it for Paul the first time he accidentally said, two foot “small.” Lennon then laughed and said, “Let’s leave it … all those pseudes will really love it.” The first of their songs since “” in 1962 to feature an outside musician. Johnnie Scott provides the flute solo at the end of the song, though he is not credited on the album jacket. On U.S. album: Help! - Capitol LP

Paul McCartney –

The Beatles - I’ll Be Back - A Hard Day’s Night 22

(Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in 16 takes on June 1, 1964. “I'll Be Back” was written mostly by John Lennon, and was a reworking of the chords to Del Shannon's 1961 hit “Runaway.” Beatles fans in America would have to wait five months to hear this exquisite Beatles song, one of Lennon finest compositions, because Capitol Records held it off their “Something New” album and released it on “Beatles ‘65” in December 1964. On U.S. album: Beatles ‘65 - Capitol LP

The Beatles - It’s Only Love- Help! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in six takes on June 15, 1965. The first Beatles song to include a reference to getting “high” (“I get high when I see you go by”). The working title prior to lyrics being written was “That’s a Nice Hat.” George Martin and his Orchestra recorded the instrumental version of “It’s Only Love” using the original title. In 1972 Lennon called “It’s Only Love” “the one song I really hate of mine.” On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP

Paul McCartney & Wings – Single Pigeon – ‘73 . This Paul-on-piano is the B-Side opener of the album.

The Beatles - - Magical Mystery Tour (EP) 23

(Harrison) Lead vocal: George Written by George Harrison on August 1, 1967 while vacationing in a rented house in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles. The story is essentially the same as the lyrics imply. On a foggy night in L.A., George sat at his rented house waiting for friends to arrive, but the maze of thin and winding streets and the thick fog rolling in got the best of them and they became lost. George: “I’d rented a house in Los Angeles on – Blue Jay Way, and I’d arrived there from England. I was waiting around for Derek and Joan Taylor who were then living in L.A. I was very tired after the flight and the time change and I stared writing, playing a little electric organ that was in the house. It had gotten foggy and they couldn’t find the house for some time. The mood is slightly Indian.” Following the release of the song on the “Magical Mystery Tour” LP in America, the City of Los Angeles got so tired of having to replace stolen “Blue Jay Way” street signs that it had the street name painted on walls along the street’s route. The backing track was recorded in one take on September 6, 1967. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP