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Home , Across the Universe, Dear Prudence, Some Other Guy

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Playlist Nov. 22nd 2015

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The Beatles - Back In The U.S.S.R. - (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written while in , 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 in the spring of 1968 and as McCartney was working on his new , 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 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 . 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 tape library. Specifically, “Volume 17: Jet and Piston Engine Aeroplane.” 3

The Beatles - - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded at ’ 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. ’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 earlier in the year while they were in India. plays his 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 , 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.

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The Beatles - - (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 “” 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 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 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.

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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 , 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.”

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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 - (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 - - 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. Each cottage had twin beds and modern bathroom facilities. George Harrison had been enlightened by the Indian culture and the Maharishi’s teachings and invited his band mates to immerse themselves in it as well. But instead of rejuvenating the other Beatles, the trip became tedious. Ringo and wife Maureen left Rishikesh after 10 days, complaining of missing their children and not liking the food. John and Paul turned it into a songwriting vacation, much to Harrison’s irritation. Paul and girlfriend Jane Asher returned to England on March 26. In April, things came to a head when a rumor circulated that the Maharishi had made sexual advances toward at least one of the women at the compound. John: “We went to see him after we stayed up all night discussing was it true or not true. When George started thinking it might be true, I thought well, it must be true, because if George started thinking it might be true there must be something to it. So we went to see Maharishi, the whole gang of us, the next day, charged down to his hut, his bungalow, and as usual, when the dirty work came, I was the spokesman.” But instead of accusing the Maharishi outright of wrongdoing or inquiring about the specifics of the rumor, Lennon announced cryptically “We’re leaving.” When the Maharishi asked why, Lennon’s response was “Well, if you’re so cosmic you’ll know why.” True or not, Lennon and Harrison had had enough and left with their entourage immediately. “Sexy Sadie” was written by John while waiting at Delhi Airport, and was originally titled “Maharishi” with lyrics being “Maharishi, what 9 have you done? You made a fool of everyone.” At Harrison’s request, Lennon backed off and substituted ‘Sexy Sadie’ for ‘Maharishi.’

The Beatles - I Am The Walrus - (EP) (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles’ sixteenth single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. John Lennon pushed to have his “I Am The Walrus” as the A-side of the coupling with Paul’s “Hello, Goodbye,” but his song was deemed too unconventional and less commercial than Paul’s catchy tune. The title is inspired by the Walrus and the Carpenter from Lewis Carroll’s “Through The Looking Glass.” Lennon described his lyrics as purposely being Dylan-esque. In his 1980 Playboy interview he explained, “In those days I was writing obscurely, a la Dylan, never saying what you mean, but giving the impression of something.” The “I Am The Walrus” session is notable because it was the first Beatles recording session following the untimely death of their manager, Brian Epstein. Ironically, Epstein had stopped by the last time the Beatles were recording (for “Your Mother Should Know” at Chappell Recording Studios on August 23, 1967). He was found dead on August 27, aged just 32. All four Beatles met at Paul’s St. John’s Wood house on September 1 to discuss how they should proceed. Among other business matters, it was decided that they would press on with the “Magical Mystery Tour” project, temporarily postponing a planned visit to India to study Transcendental Meditation. The basic rhythm track was recorded in a six-hour session beginning at 7:00 p.m. on September 5, 1967. Sixteen takes were attempted, only five of them were complete run-throughs. Starting the next day overdubs were added to create John Lennon’s textured masterpiece. Specifically, additional bass from Paul, more drums from Ringo and John’s memorable lead vocal on Sept. 6, and a 16-piece orchestra under the direction of , and 16 members of the Mike Sammes Singers, a large group of vocalists who did much session and television work, that brought the “Ho-ho-ho, hee- hee-hee, ha-ha-ha” section to life, in separate sessions on Sept. 27. Issued November 24, 1967 in the UK and November 27, 1967 in the U.S. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP

The Beatles - I’ve Got A Feeling - Let It Be (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul and John In compiling the soundtrack to the “Let It Be” film, producer Phil Spector had no time to sift through the hours of music the Beatles had recorded at the end of January 1969. Instead, he relied on two versions mixed by . He also screened a print of the movie. Spector had four different Glyn Johns mixes of “I’ve Got A Feeling” to consider: an incomplete January 22 run-through, a more polished take recorded on January 27, and two performances of the song from the rooftop concert on January 30, 1969. On March 23, 1970, Spector remixed the January 27 take and the first of the rooftop performances, but when banding the final album, he chose the first rooftop performance for inclusion.

“I’ve Got A Feeling” is the compilation of two separate songs, Paul’s “I’ve Got A Feeling” and John’s “Everybody Had A Hard Year.” Lennon’s song had been demoed during 10

rehearsals for “The White Album” in May 1968, but was not used for that project. Paul’s song was a new composition inspired by his soon-to-be wife Linda Eastman. Musically, the two songs were a perfect fit, so McCartney and Lennon combined them, working out the arrangement at Paul’s Cavendish Avenue home. The version of “I’ve Got A Feeling” on “Let It Be… Naked” includes a composite edit of the two rooftop performances. One version, from January 23, 1969, was included on the ”Anthology 3” album.

The Beatles – Three Cool Cats – Anthology I (George)

The Beatles - - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Another of Paul McCartney story songs, this one is a country song in which McCartney tackles an American southern accent. The song was recorded in a single session held on August 15, 1968, in which lyrics were being written and rejected between takes. The rhythm track was perfected in nine takes and features Paul on vocal and acoustic guitar, John on harmonica and Fender Bass VI (a six-string bass guitar) and Ringo on drums. George Martin plays the piano solos in the middle and end instrumental breaks, which were recorded on the Challen “jangle box” piano with the tape running at half-speed. When played back at the proper speed, the piano had a rollicking honky-tonk sound. Paul overdubbed an additional bass line. As was the case with “,” Paul did not want George Harrison playing guitar fills on the song, so George was sent to the control room. On the session tape it is George Harrison’s voice that announces “take one” instead of engineer . 11

QUIZ #2 During the White album sessions the Beatles took a break to film 2 promo clips for Hey Jude & Revolution at Twickenham studio’s in London which would later air on the David Frost Show (Frost On Sunday) in the UK and Smothers Brothers here in the US…for the tickets…name the director of the Hey Jude & Revolution promo clips of 1968? 12

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Winner here MLH/ 13

Live vocals The Beatles - Hey Jude - Non-LP Track (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul The Beatles’ eighteenth single release for EMI, the first on the label. Paul McCartney’s masterpiece. The 7 minute, 11 second track was the longest released by the Beatles up until that time, and the song broke wide open the usual two to three minute mold that had long been the standard for pop singles. Paul got the idea for the song while driving to visit Cynthia and . He wrote the lyrics as a message of encouragement to young Julian while his parents were in the throes of a very public separation. Paul wanted to stay friends, so he planned a visit. Cynthia was still living in John’s Kenwood estate, and since Paul usually wrote songs on the way there to collaborate with his writing partner, he fell into the same routine. Paul: “I started with the idea ‘Hey Jules,’ which was Julian, don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Hey, try and deal with this terrible thing. I knew it was not going to be easy for him. I always feel sorry for kids in divorce. The adults may be fine but the kids … I had the idea by the time I got there. I changed it to ‘Jude’ because I thought that sounded a bit better.”

Rehearsals for “Hey Jude” began at Abbey Road on July 29, 1968, but there was some acrimony between Paul and George Harrison. Their disagreement came to a head on 14

July 30. George wanted to play an answering guitar phrase immediately after each “Hey Jude” vocal, but Paul abruptly vetoed the suggestion. This sent Harrison sulking and he spent the evening sitting in the control booth as the other three Beatles worked through the song. These rehearsals were recorded, but the proper recording would take place at Trident Studios on July 31 and August 1. Trident Studios was of great interest to the Beatles because it had state-of-the-art eight-track recording facilities. Abbey Road did have an eight-track machine, but it wasn’t installed yet. It was at Trident that some of the newly signed Apple Records artists were recording their first releases for the label. George was producing , and Paul was handling production for Mary Hopkin, a new artist that had been suggested to him by the model Twiggy. McCartney also popped in to an occasional James Taylor session. Four proper takes of “Hey Jude” were recorded on July 31. On August 1 overdubs were made of Paul’s bass part, his lead vocal, and the backing vocals of John, George and Ringo. That evening, a 36-piece orchestra arrived to play their parts.

It’s coupling with John Lennon’s “Revolution” made for a stunning single, the Beatles’ first release on their own Apple Records label. As had become their custom, no singles would be released from their upcoming album. “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” would be stand-alone tracks, at the time issued only as a 7” vinyl 45 rpm single worldwide. Fans clamored for the new single and it debuted on Britain’s “Melody Maker” chart at number one, holding the top spot until being passed by another Apple single, “Those Were The Days” by Mary Hopkin, which was produced by Paul McCartney. The single was issued on August 30, 1968, in the UK, and on August 26 in the U.S. Within a week it had sold 300,000 copies in the UK. In America, the single was an even bigger phenomenon. It hit number one in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed there for nine weeks. By mid-January 1969 the single had sold 3.75 million copies. “Hey Jude” would go on to sell nearly five million copies in the U.S. and eight million copies worldwide. On U.S. album: Hey Jude - Capitol LP 15

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The Beatles - Revolution - Non-LP Track (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles’ eighteenth single release for EMI, their first on the Apple Records label. John Lennon lobbied hard to get his magnificent rocker on the A-side of the band’s summer 1968 single, but by any standard, Paul’s “Hey Jude” was an unbeatable choice for the A-side. There are three versions of John’s “Revolution.” The first one recorded was the slower version which opens the fourth side of “The Beatles” and was released under the title “Revolution 1.” That track was the first song to be recorded for what would be known as the “White Album.” Ultimately, the song ran over 10 minutes. Much of it was cut out and used to create the sound collage entitled “,” which would also appear on side four of the new album. Shortly before his death in 1980, John explained the reason for the song’s remake into a fast rocker: Paul and George refused to allow the original slower recording to be released as the next Beatles single, fearing it was not upbeat enough. So Lennon decided they would record the song fast and loud. Recording began on the fast and loud single version of “Revolution” on July 10, 1968. Additional overdubs were added on July 11 and 12, and the final mix was completed on July 15. The single was issued on August 30, 1968, in the UK, and on August 26 in the U.S. The “Hey Jude”/“Revolution” single would go on to sell nearly five million copies in the U.S. and eight million copies worldwide. On U.S. album: Hey Jude - Capitol LP

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Pete Best has a birthday this week…he’ll be 74… The Beatles - Love Me Do – (McCartney-Lennon) Lead vocal: John and Paul The Beatles’ first single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. Released October 5, 1962, it reached #17 on the British charts. Principally written by Paul McCartney in 1958 and 1959. Recorded with three different drummers: (June 6, 1962, EMI), Ringo Starr (September 4, 1962), and Andy White (September 11, 1962 with Ringo playing tambourine). The 45 rpm single lists the as Lennon-McCartney. One of several Beatles songs Paul McCartney owns with . Starting with the songs recorded for their debut album on February 11, 1963, Lennon and McCartney’s output was attached to their publishing company. Because their first single was released before John and Paul had contracted with a music publisher, EMI assigned it to their own, a company called Ardmore and Beechwood, which took the two songs “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.” Decades later McCartney and Ono were able to purchase the songs for their respective companies, MPL 17

Communications and Lenono Music. Fun fact: John Lennon shoplifted the harmonica he played on the song from a shop in Holland. On U.S. albums: Introducing… The Beatles (Version 1) - Vee-Jay LP The Early Beatles - Capitol LP Pete Best Combo – Some Other Guy – Best Of The Beatles Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller

Happy Birthday this week Pete Best!

Break for NEWS here.

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B/ The Beatles - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles had taken to recording rehearsals of songs and numbering them as takes. And if nothing recorded for a particular song seemed usable they’d erase the tape and start again on another day. The first playing of this then-untitled John Lennon rocker was a series of rehearsal run-throughs on June 26, 1968, all of which were erased and the band started fresh the next day. On June 27, six proper takes were recorded with 18

John on Epiphone Casino electric guitar, George on Gibson SG, Paul on percussion (alternating between cowbells and chocalho), and Ringo on drums. Overdubs added on July 1 included Paul’s bass guitar and John’s lead vocal. Still unhappy with his lead vocal, John re-recorded it on July 23. Backing vocals and handclaps were also added to the mix on July 23 and the song was declared finished. In his 1980 Playboy interview, John described the song as “a nice line that I made into a song. It was about me and Yoko. Everybody seemed to be paranoid except us two, who were in the glow of love.” George Harrison has said that the opening line, “Come on is such a joy,” was a favorite saying of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey” is the longest title of any Beatles song. 19

The Beatles - Julia - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in three takes on October 13, 1968, “Julia” is the only John Lennon solo performance in the Beatles catalog. Written primarily in Rishikesh, India, John learned 20

the finger-picking guitar style from Donovan while in India, and used this style on “Dear Prudence,” as well as some of his post-Beatles recordings such as “Look At Me,” and Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band B-side “Remember Love.” The “Julia” in question is his free-spirited mother, who was killed when John was 17. In his 1980 Playboy interview, John described the song as “a combination of Yoko and my mother blended into one.” The lyric “ocean child” is a reference to Yoko Ono, whose name means “child of the ocean.” “Julia” was the last new song recorded for the “White Album.” According to author Bruce Spizer some of the song’s lyrics were adopted from “Sand and Foam,” a collection of writings and drawings by Kahili Gibran, a Lebanese poet and philosopher. Gibran’s words are: “Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so the other half may reach you” and “When life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind.” Lennon was also influenced by Yoko, who sent letters to John while he was in India. John: “She would write things like ‘I am a cloud. Watch for me in the sky.”

The Beatles - I’ve Just Seen A Face - Help! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written by Paul at the Asher family home on Wimpole Street. Paul had the tune prior to coming up with the lyrics and originally named the song “Auntie Gin’s Theme” because his aunt liked it. George Martin’s instrumental “Help!” album includes an orchestrated version of “I’ve Just Seen A Face” using the title “Auntie Gin’s Theme.” Recorded in six takes at the same June 14, 1965 McCartney-dominated session that produced “Yesterday” and “I’m Down.” One of only five Beatles songs Paul chose to perform live on his Wings Over America tour in 1976. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP

Paul McCartney & Wings – One More Kiss – Red Rose Speedway ‘73 Recorded in Los Angeles, a countrified tune that is considered one of the highlights on the album according to Paul.

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The Beatles - - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John In 1980 John described “Glass Onion” as one of his “throwaways,” but the word play in the song is fascinating. Aside from many references to other Beatles songs, listeners were probably left guessing what Lennon meant by phrases such as “bent backed tulips,” “cast iron shore,” and “dovetail joint.” Specifically the phrase “looking through the bent backed tulips to see how the other half lives” referred to a floral arrangement on display at the posh London restaurant Parkes. The Cast Iron Shore is a name for Liverpool’s beach, and a dovetail joint is not a drug reference, but a type of construction wood joint. The title “Glass Onion” is British slang for monocle (or eye piece), and was one of the names suggested by John for the Iveys, an Apple band that changed its name to Badfinger. 22

The Beatles - Helter Skelter - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Paul has said that he was inspired to write “Helter Skelter” after reading an interview with the Who’s Pete Townshend in which the guitarist described his band’s new single, “I Can See For Miles,” as the loudest, rawest, dirtiest, and most uncompromising song 23

the band had ever recorded. Paul wanted to out-do the Who by making an even louder, rawer, and more raunchy song. On July 18 the band worked through extended versions of “Helter Skelter.” Take 1 ran 10:40, take 2 was 12:35, and take 3, an epic 27:11, the longest-ever Beatles recording. The nearly half-hour take was deemed the best. On September 9 they returned to the song and re-made it at a more manageable length. Eighteen blistering takes were recorded with Paul offering a lead vocal for the ages and playing his Epiphone Casino electric guitar, John Lennon playing Fender Jazz Bass guitar and saxophone (!), George Harrison playing a distorted lead guitar part on his Gibson Les Paul, Ringo Starr on drums, and on trumpet. Producer Chris Thomas recalls the session being chaotic and the individual Beatles, heavily into hallucinogens at the time, being out of control during the recording. “While Paul was doing his vocal George Harrison had set fire to an ashtray and was running around the studio with it above his head, doing an Arthur Brown! All in all, a pretty undisciplined session, you could say.” The mono and stereo mixes of “Helter Skelter” are noticeably different, with the stereo version running almost a minute longer. The stereo version fades out and then back in to continue the jam, where the mono version simply fades out and ends. After suffering through 18 grueling takes of the punishing song it is Ringo that shouts “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!” at the end. This was kept on the stereo version of the song. The 27-minute “take 3” of “Helter Skelter” has yet to be issued. On October 9, 1968, Paul withdrew the July 19 “Helter Skelter” session tape from the Abbey Road tape library and made a copy of this long version for his private collection. A helter skelter is a spiral slide at a British fairground.

George Harrison – Not Guilty - George Harrison ‘79 The “forgotten” Beatles song – which the band had slogged over 102 takes during the “White Album” sessions, but ultimately left off the album. Here it is again, although much mellower than it was in the late 1960’s.

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Spanky & Our Gang – Sunday Will Never Be The Same w// Hugh McCracken Wings #9 Billboard 1967

Sunshine POP just tailor made for a Sunday morning..

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SUN 11/29 - Spanky & Our Gang's SPANKY McFARLANE featuring Coco Dolenz - 8:00 PM - $20 Elaine Spanky MacFarlane Spanky & Our Gang appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers and Hollywood Palace and charted five best selling top 40 hit songs,

Spanky & Our Gang - And Your Bird Can Sing – 1966 25

The Beatles - Mother Nature’s Son - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Another Paul McCartney solo performance for the “White Album.” Paul remembers writing the song at his father’s home in Liverpool 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. 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. George Martin’s brass arrangement was also added to the mix. 26

The Beatles - - The Beatles (Harrison) Lead vocal: George George took his inspiration for his fourth song on the “White Album” from a box of chocolates, specifically a Mackintosh’s Good News double centre chocolate assortment box, said by George to be Eric Clapton’s favorite brand. Most of the candies mentioned by George in the song came from the specific candies found in the box. Confections such as Creme Tangerine, Montelimart, Ginger Sling, Coffee Dessert and Savoy Truffle were part of the assortment. Cool Cherry Cream and Coconut Fudge were Harrison creations. When George sings “But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle,” it is a warning to his friend Eric Clapton that he will have to have his decaying teeth pulled out. After some rehearsal, the backing track was recorded in one take on October 3, 1968, at Trident Studios. With George playing electric piano, Paul on Rickenbacker bass, and Ringo on drums. Harrison’s lead vocal was recorded at Trident Studios on October 5. Chris Thomas’ score for saxophones (distorted at Harrison’s 27

request) was recorded at Abbey Road on October 11. The final overdubs for “Savoy Truffle” on October 14 were also the last instruments recorded during the “White Album” sessions: organ, tambourine, bongos, and George playing a lead guitar part on his Fender Telecaster. This is the third of four Harrison songs on the “White Album” that John Lennon does not appear on.

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Close w/ Spanky & Our Gang – Lazy Day