BWTB Nov. 22Nd 2015

1 Playlist Nov. 22nd 2015 9AM 2 The Beatles - Back In The U.S.S.R. - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written while in India, Paul’s “Back In The U.S.S.R.” is based on Chuck Berry’s 1959 hit “Back In The U.S.A.,” but was written to mimic the classic sound of the Beach Boys. Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love was on the Transcendental Meditation sojourn in India with the Beatles in the spring of 1968 and as McCartney was working on his new song, Love suggested the lyrics about Ukraine and Moscow girls, similar to his lyrics in “California Girls.” Recording began on August 22, 1968, and it was during this session that Ringo Starr officially quit the band. His departure was blamed on a disagreement with Paul over his drumming. Ringo flew to the Mediterranean to spend time on actor Peter Sellers’ yacht. It was there that he wrote “Octopus’s Garden.” On September 3, Ringo returned to the studio to find his drum kit smothered in flowers. Ringo: “I felt tired and discouraged … took a week’s holiday, and when I came back to work everything was all right again.” But Ringo added, “Paul is the greatest bass guitar player in the world. But he is also very determined; he goes on and on to see if he can get his own way. While that may be a virtue, it did mean that musical disagreements inevitably arose from time to time.” To keep the sessions moving forward in Ringo’s absence, the other members, but primarily Paul, played drums on several songs. The rhythm track for “Back In the U.S.S.R.” was completed in five takes. Through the use of composite pieces the three remaining Beatles can be heard playing multiple instruments at the same time on the song. For “Back In The U.S.S.R.” John, Paul and George each played bass guitar, and both Paul and George playing lead guitar on the track. According to Paul, he sang the song in his “Jerry Lee Lewis voice.” His lead vocal, the Beach Boys style backing vocals by John and George, and handclaps were added on the bridge on August 23. The sound of the airplane taking off and landing that starts and finishes the song is taken from the vast collection of sound effects in the Abbey Road tape library. Specifically, “Volume 17: Jet and Piston Engine Aeroplane.” 3 The Beatles - Dear Prudence - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded at Trident Studios’ eight-track recording facilities on August 28, 29, and 30, 1968. Ringo Starr had quit the band temporarily and the three remaining Beatles moved forward with sessions for the new album. John Lennon’s “Dear Prudence” features Paul McCartney on drums. The guitar picking which opens and runs through the song is supplied by John on his Epiphone Casino. The finger-picking style was taught to him by folk singer Donovan earlier in the year while they were in India. George Harrison plays his Gibson Les Paul guitar and overdubbed a distorted Fender Telecaster lead guitar part. In addition to his drumming, Paul plays his Rickenbacker bass guitar, provides the piano track and a very short burst of flugelhorn. John wrote the song in Rishikesh, India, for Prudence Farrow, sister of the actress Mia Farrow, who had cordoned herself off in a hut to meditate for hours on end. Lennon’s song was a plea for her to take a break from her excessive meditation and join the others on the trip. 4 The Beatles - Across The Universe - Let It Be (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Prior to leaving for an extended trip to India to study Transcendental Meditation in early 1968, the Beatles recorded several new songs to fill the sides of their upcoming single, which would be released while they were away. John had originally wanted his new composition, “Across The Universe,” for the A-side of the single but was still not happy with the mix of the song. When the Beatles sat down to decide which two of their new recordings should be used, John preferred “Across the Universe” remain on the shelf for the time being, giving Paul’s more commercial “Lady Madonna” the A-side. “Across The Universe” was written entirely by John and was recorded February 4, 1968, in eight takes. Overdubs were recorded on February 8. Comedian and author Spike Milligan had been at Abbey Road when the group was working on the song and some months later inquired about it. He was surprised to learn that “Across the Universe” was sitting unreleased in EMI’s vault, so Milligan asked Lennon to donate the song to a charity album he was organizing for the World Wildlife Fund. Milligan was a British comedy legend who, along with Peter Sellers, starred in “The Goon Show,” one of John’s all-time favorite programs. Lennon not only gladly contributed the song to be used on the charity album, but arranged to have the songwriting royalties from the recording given to the World Wildlife Fund. This charity album version, known by fans as the “Wildlife” version, was released in December 1969. Although it is popularly believed that the two versions of “Across The Universe” are different recordings, they are not. Both the “Wildlife” version and the Phil Spector re-produced version are derived from the same February 8, 1968, master tape. For the charity album, the sound of birds was added and the tape was sped up to give it a higher pitch. On April 1, 1970, Spector stripped some elements from the original February 8, 1968, master tape, slowed it down and added an orchestra and choir. The instrumental line-up is John on acoustic guitar, Paul on piano, George on tamboura and wah-wah guitar (second and third refrains only) and Ringo on drums. Wings – Tomorrow – Wild Life ‘71 Contains the lyrics: Honey, pray for sunny skies so I can speak to rainbows in your eyes. Let's just hope the weatherman is feeling fine and doesn't spoil our plan. BREAK 5 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 a phrase that when played backwards offered “Paul is dead” conspiracy theorists another major clue: “Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him.” 6 The Beatles - Blackbird - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Another Paul McCartney solo performance for the “White Album.” Paul wrote “Blackbird” at his Scottish farm house and the song was started and finished in 32 takes, 11 being complete run-throughs of the song, on June 10, 1968. Paul has said the music was inspired by Bach’s “Bourree in E Minor,” which he learned to play at a young age. The tapping sound on the recording is not a metronome. The percussion-like sound keeping the beat is actually Paul tapping his foot on the studio floor, which was separately miked onto one of the tracks. Paul has since revealed that the song was a message of solidarity to black people living in the U.S. The Beatles - I’ll Be Back - A Hard Day’s Night (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John 7 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 - Think For Yourself - Rubber Soul (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The fifth original composition by George Harrison to be recorded by The Beatles was completed on November 8, 1965 in one take with overdubs under the working title “Won’t Be There With You.” The song features Paul playing his bass through a fuzz box to give it a distorted sound. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP QUIZ #1 8 The Beatles first Apple album was releasd this week in 1968…yer question. Which country released the Beatles white album first? The UK (22nd) or US (25th)? 9.27 BREAK The Beatles - Sexy Sadie - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John On February 19, 1968, the Beatles left the comforts of the UK for an oft-postponed extended trip to Rishikesh, India. Arriving the next day, they had come to learn the powers of mediation under the direction of Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the Academy of Transcendental Meditation. The compound was located 150 feet above the Ganges surrounded on three sides by jungle-covered mountains. Students would live in stone cottages.

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