1 PLAYLIST SEPT. 23RD 2012 9AM 1 2 The Beatles - For No One - Revolver (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Written entirely by Paul in March 1966 while on vacation with then-girlfriend Jane Asher at the Swiss ski resort of Klosters. The backing track was recorded in 10 takes on May 9, 1966 with only Paul (piano) and Ringo (drums) present. John and George do not perform on this song. Overdubs included Paul on clavichord, and Ringo on cymbals and maracas. Paul’s lead vocal was recorded on May 16. The baroque-style French horn solo was credited to Alan Civil and recorded on May 19. Ringo’s original drum part was removed from the track in the reduction mixdown. The song was originally called “Why Did It Die?” Paul: “I was in Switzerland on my first skiing holiday. I'd done a bit of skiing in ‘Help!’ and quite liked it, so I went back and ended up in a little bathroom in a Swiss chalet writing ‘For No One.’ I remember the descending bass line trick that it's based on, and I remember the character in the song - the girl putting on her make-up.” On U.S. album: Revolver - Capitol LP Paul McCartney & Wings – Single Pigeon – Red Rose Speedway ‘73 Recorded in Los Angeles. This Paul-on-piano is the B-Side opener of the album. 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. The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine - Revolver 2 3 (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul One of the fastest recorded tracks during the sessions for the “Revolver” album. The song, written primarily by Paul with assistance from John, was originally known as “A Good Day’s Sunshine,” and was recorded on June 8 and 9, 1966. McCartney said the song “was very much a nod” to the Lovin’ Spoonful’s 1966 hit “Daydream.” On U.S. album: Revolver - Capitol LP 9.11 BREAK George Harrison – I Dig Love - All Things Must Pass ‘70 Some have considered this the most “throwaway track” of the album. But for this master class in songwriting, this track is far from a throwaway. The Beatles - All You Need Is Love - Non-LP track (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles’ fifteenth single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. Written by John Lennon especially for the first-ever worldwide television transmission. The epic event, a 6-hour program entitled “Our World,” featured segments linking 24 countries in five continents via satellite, with a potential of 400 million viewers. The Beatles were honored to be invited to represent Great Britain in the program. For the event, they would premiere a brand new song written just for the occasion. John 3 4 Lennon’s “All You Need Is Love” became the anthem of 1967, the summer of love. To decrease the chances of an on-air foul-up, George Martin had the Beatles play to their own pre-recorded rhythm track. Only the vocals, bass guitar, lead guitar solo in the middle eight, drums and orchestra would be live. Recording began on June 14, 1967 at Olympic Studios. In all, 33 takes of the basic rhythm track and a few vocals were completed this evening. Overdubbing the lead and backing vocals took place on June 19. The orchestra was recorded for the first time on June 23. On June 24, the day before the event, it was decided that “All You Need Is Love” would be issued as the new Beatles single as soon as possible after the program aired the evening of June 25. Guests in the studio during the performance included the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the Who’s Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Donovan wore colorful mod clothing. The 13 orchestra members wore formal evening attire. After the guests left the studio, additional overdubs were made to what was now take 58. Ringo added the now-familiar snare drum roll to the song’s introduction and John re- recorded part of his vocal. The song was mixed for mono the following day and sent out to EMI for pressing. Surprisingly, the “All You Need is Love”/“Baby, You’re A Rich Man” single is the first instance of George Martin being given credit on the record label as producer on a Parlophone Beatles single. Brian Epstein: “This is an inspiring song because they wrote it for a worldwide program and they really want to give the world a message. It could hardly have been a better message. It’s a wonderful, beautiful, spine- chilling record. When you say ‘All You Need Is Love’ you are saying everything.” Issued July 7, 1967 in the UK and July 17, 1967 in the U.S. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP 4 5 John Lennon – Give Peace A Chance (Lennon/McCartney) - Live Peace in Toronto 1969 John makes up some amusing alternate words for the “the bits in between,” and the choruses are spirited. George Harrison – Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) - LITMW This track and lead single would be a massive hit all over the world. This single version runs a little bit faster than the LP version. The Beatles - The Word - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in three takes at a late night session starting on November 10, 1965 that ran until 4 a.m. the next morning. Overdubs include Paul on piano, George Martin on harmonium, and Ringo playing the maracas. The song is a full collaboration between Lennon and McCartney, and began as an attempt to write a song based around a single note. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP Paul McCartney – Peace in the Neighborhood - Off The Ground ‘93 A well-meaning track that tried to promote the idea of unity between brother, sister, and community. This was also part of the ’93 World Tour, which some say was the perfect song to dance to the concession stand to. 5 6 9.44 BREAK The Beatles - Yer Blues - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John At John’s request, “Yer Blues” was recorded in a small storage room next to the control room of Abbey Road’s Studio Two. According to author Bruce Spizer, Lennon got the idea to record there when engineer Ken Scott jokingly complained to John about all the unconventional things the group was doing in the studio. Scott remarked, “Bloody hell, the way you lot are carrying on you’ll be wanting to record everything in the room next door!” John thought it was a great idea and had the studio crew set up the band’s amplifiers, microphones and instruments in the control room’s tiny annex. Fourteen takes of the basic track were completed on August 13, 1968. On August 14, John recorded his lead vocal, Paul added his backing vocal line “girl you know the reason why,” and Ringo double-tracked his snare drum during the guitar solo. The vocal bleeding through in the final mix is John’s guide vocal that was recorded on August 13, which he decided to leave as is. Ringo’s count-in (“two, three…”) was an edit piece recorded on August 20. The Beatles - Martha My Dear - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Recorded in one take on October 4, 1968, at Trident Studios. With the exception of the strings and horns section orchestrated by George Martin that was overdubbed onto take 1, the piano-driven ballad “Martha My Dear” was another Paul McCartney solo performance on the “White Album.” Although it takes its name from Paul’s sheep dog, Martha, the song is a love song about a woman. In addition to his lead vocal, Paul plays piano and drums. Once the outside musicians left, Paul re-recorded his lead vocal part, adding handclaps at the same time. After “Martha My Dear” was finished McCartney turned his attention to “Honey Pie,” adding the line “now she’s hit the big time!” 6 7 The Beatles – Not Guilty – The Beatles (Harrison) Recorded: 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th August 1968 Location: Abbey Road 2 Producer: George Martin Engineer: Ken Scott Musicians: George Harrison – lead vocal, guitars, harpsichord (?); John Lennon – harpsichord (?); Paul McCartney – bass guitar, drums (?); Ringo Starr – drums Lead Vocal George Harrison 1.00 The Beatles - Rocky Raccoon - 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 “Hey Jude,” 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 Ken Scott. The Beatles - Happiness Is A Warm Gun - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John 7 8 John Lennon’s “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” was actually three different, and unfinished, song segments he had strung together to form one finished song.