sign in sign up
<<
Home , 20 Forthlin Road, Around the Beatles, Cry Baby Cry, Glass Onion, Helen Shapiro, Horse to the Water

1

Playlist July 24th 2016

Beatles songs you know and love… Just slightly different.

2

9AM

The Beatles - – TK #9 (McCartney-) Lead vocal: Paul Recorded February 11, 1963. A Paul McCartney original, the song was written in one day in September 1962 in the front parlor of , Allerton (the McCartney family from 1955 to 1964), with helping with some of the lyrics. It was recorded under its working title, “Seventeen,” at the marathon recording session that produced the majority of songs for ’ debut album. A fan favorite, the Beatles recorded “I Saw Her Standing There” eleven times for BBC Radio between March 1963 and May 1964. McCartney has said that his bass line was lifted almost note for note from the obscure song “I’m Talking About You,” released by Berry in February 1961. The Beatles performed “I’m Talking About You” at some of their club shows in 1962 and 1963. It is included on the “Live! At The Star Club” CD.

3

Specially selected by staff members to be the b-side of the American “” single on Capitol in the U.S., replacing “” for the honor. The first song on the first Beatles LP. On U.S. albums: Introducing… The Beatles (with “1, 2, 3” inexplicably missing from Paul’s count-in) - Vee-Jay LP Meet the Beatles! - Capitol LP

The Beatles – Misery – Please Please Me TK#6 (McCartney-Lennon) Lead vocal: John and Paul Recorded February 11, 1963. Written for at the time the Beatles were one of the opening acts on her concert tour. She never did record the song. Often referred to by American Beatles fans as one of the few “lost Beatles songs,” “Misery” was in print in the U.S. only on the Vee-Jay LP “Introducing… The Beatles,” which was released and withdrawn from the marketplace in 1964. When the U.S. distribution rights to the “Please Please Me” material reverted back to Capitol Records they issued 11 of the songs on “” in 1965, leaving “Misery” and “There’s A Place” off. “Misery” and “There’s A Place” were not on any U.S. album again until 1980, when they turned up on the Capitol compilation “Rarities.” On U.S. albums: Introducing… The Beatles - Vee-Jay LP Rarities - Capitol LP (1980)

The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand - A Collection Of Beatles Oldies /No hand claps! (Lennon-McCartney) 4

Lead vocal: John with Paul The Beatles’ fifth single release for EMI’s label. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the Beatles’ first single issued by Capitol Records. It is the song that launched in the United States. It was written equally by John and Paul in the basement music room in Richard and Margaret Asher’s house at 57 Wimpole Street in the west end of London in September 1963. Paul had been dating the couple’s daughter, actress Jane Asher, and was spending a lot of time at the Asher home whenever he was in London. Paul would eventually accept an invitation to move in, taking up residence in their attic.

The Beatles - No Reply - TK#3 (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in eight takes on September 30, 1964. Written entirely by John Lennon. John and Paul had been giving away a treasure trove of original compositions to other artists to record and release because they felt the songs were too pop for Beatles records. John had planned to give “No Reply” to another managed artist, Tommy Quickly, to record, but those plans were cancelled in early August 1964 when it was determined the group was going to be short of new material for their upcoming album. The song’s storyline was based somewhat on “Silhouettes,” a number three hit in the U.S. for the R&B group the Rays, which was later covered with great success by Herman’s Hermits. Lennon: “I had that image of walking down the street and seeing her silhouetted in the window and not answering the phone.” Includes some nice piano work from producer . On U.S. album: Beatles ‘65 - Capitol LP

The Beatles - Help! - Help! MONO (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles’ tenth single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. 5

Recorded during a three-hour session on April 13, 1965. Written mostly by John with some help from Paul. In 1965 was interviewed about the upcoming single, saying “it’s probably the best single we’ve done.” Harrison said the group was really pleased with the song, and described it as being more “involved” than previous Beatles songs. “It has a counter melody going on as well as a main melody.” In 1980 John Lennon said, “The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension. I was eating and drinking like a pig and I was fat as a pig, dissatisfied with myself, and subconsciously I was crying for help. When ‘Help!’ came out, I was actually crying out for help. I didn't realize it at the time. I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. So it was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: he - I - is very fat, very insecure, and he's completely lost himself.” Lennon has pointed to 1967’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Help!” as his only “honest” songs . The song was number one in the U.S. for three weeks, and in the UK it spent four weeks at number one. On U.S. album: Help! - Capitol LP

The Beatles - I’m Only Sleeping – Revolver US Rarities (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Written by John and Paul at Kenwood, John’s estate in Weybridge, in one writing session. Recording of the backing rhythm track began at 11:30 p.m. on April 27, 1966. John recorded his lead vocal on April 29. Both the vocal and backing track were recorded at variable speed. It was during the recording of “I’m Only Sleeping” that The Beatles discovered the “backwards guitar.” On May 5, 1966, as the band continued working on the song, George painstakingly transcribed the notes in his guitar solo and flourishes and then wrote them out backwards. He then played them in that reverse order. The tapes were then superimposed BACKWARDS in the mix, playing the solo notes and embellishments in the correct order, but maintaining the eerie backwards sound. “I’m Only Sleeping” was one of three songs issued in America six weeks prior to their official release in the UK. American and Canadian Beatles fans heard “I’m Only Sleeping,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and “Doctor Robert” first on Capitol Records’ “Yesterday And Today” album, issued June 20, 1966. The rest of the world had to wait until the first week of August for them to appear on the “Revolver” LP. On U.S. album: Yesterday And Today - Capitol LP

6

The Beatles - - Non-LP track US promo single (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul The Beatles’ fourteenth single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. Following the disastrous 1966 world tour the individual Beatles took control of their hectic schedule. They were no longer in a rush to do anything. In September 1966, Brian Epstein informed EMI and Capitol that there would be no new Beatles album, and quite possibly no single, ready in time for the 1966 Christmas season. EMI quickly assembled a 16-track greatest hits album (“A Collection Of Beatles Oldies”). In the U.S., Capitol did not release a hits compilation and instead waited impatiently for a new single. The band reconvened in late November to begin work on their next LP. With no deadlines, they simply brought in new songs as they dreamt them up.

The Beatles - - The Beatles REEL TO REEL No Walrus Was Paul (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 on display at the posh London restaurant Parkes. The Cast Iron Shore is a 7

name for ’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 .

The Beatles - - album version - Let It Be sessions/ Jan. 25th 1969 Apple Studios (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul “Let It Be” was the last song properly recorded on multi-track at Apple Studios during the “” sessions in January 1969. It was completed in eight takes (numbered Take 20 through 27 to match the film crew clapboard numbers) on January 31, 1969, the day after the rooftop concert. Take 27 had two complete performances of the song and the first of these Take 27 performances was deemed the best. Though the intent of the January 1969 “Get Back” sessions was to capture the Beatles “live” in the studio without benefit of studio trickery like overdubbing, an exception was made on “Let It Be” so that George Harrison could re-record his lead guitar solo. George’s overdub was recorded on April 30, 1969. Author : “It is widely believed that there are two different takes of ‘Let It Be’ publicly available - the single released (in the UK) on March 6, 1970 and the “Let It Be” LP version released (in the UK) May 8, 1970. Certainly the lead guitar solos in the middle eight differ considerably, and the LP version has a longer duration. But, in truth, these are one and the same version. That is, they are derived from the same tape.”

8

9 Beatles songs in a row spanning the years 1963 to 1969…all slightly different like that version of Let It Be 9.28 BREAK Beatles songs you know and love… slightly different.

The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles Long version (Harrison) 9

Lead vocal: George In his book, “,” George explains that while visiting his parents he decided to create a song from the first thing he saw upon opening a book. George randomly opened a book and saw the phrase “gently weeps.” He put the book down and started writing lyrics.

The first proper recording of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” took place on July 25, 1968. Nearly two months into recording the Beatles’ new album, this was George’s first chance to record some of his new material. George: “I always had to do about ten of Paul and John’s songs before they’d give me the break.” On this first day George recorded several rehearsals and one proper take. At this stage, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was an acoustic song, with George’s solo vocal and some organ overdubbed near the end that ran 3:13 and had a final verse not found in the final version. This exquisite “take 1,” which was a demo for the other Beatles, is one of the highlights of the “” album. George would continue working on the song at home, and eventually re-imagined the song as a rocker. On August 16, the full band revisited the song, making 14 takes of a rhythm track.

The Beatles - Girl - / No overdubs (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 this one of his best. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP

10

The Beatles - Lovely Rita - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band /No overdubs (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul Paul heard that in America “traffic wardens” were called “meter maids,” which he thought was humorous and decided to see what he could rhyme with it. Written entirely by Paul McCartney and recorded on February 23, 1967. The basic rhythm track was completed in eight takes. Take 8 was deemed the best and it was mixed down to a single track and the Beatles added overdubs to create the finished recording. Specifically, Paul’s bass on Feb. 23, Paul’s lead vocal on Feb. 24, John, Paul and George’s backing vocals on March 7, and George Martin was elected to fill the song’s middle eight with a piano solo, recorded on March 21.

BREAK

Better believe it…always thought it was Leave it! Learn something new every day!

The Beatles - Octopus’s Garden - TK11 (Starkey) Lead vocal: Ringo 11

“Octopus’s Garden” is ’s second solo composition in the Beatles catalog, credited to his real name, Richard Starkey. He got the idea for the song after he abruptly “quit” the group for one week during the making of the “White Album, in August 1968. He traveled to Sardinia on the Mediterranean and spent time on actor Peter Seller’s yacht. On board, Ringo was told that octopus go around the ocean bed and pick up stones and shiny objects and build gardens in front of their caves. The still unfinished song was played for George on January 26, 1969. This segment was shown in the “Let It Be” film. A proper rerecording of the song took place on April 26. The group went through 32 takes with Ringo on drums and guide vocal, George on his Stratocaster through a Leslie speaker, John on Epiphone casino electric guitar and Paul on Rickenbacker bass guitar. Overdubs were recorded on July 17 and 18 with Ringo’s lead vocal with ADT (artificial double tracking), Paul adding piano and more drums, and backing vocals from Paul, George and Ringo. During the instrumental break Ringo can be heard blowing through a straw into a glass of water for bubbling sounds.

The Beatles - Can’t Buy Me Love - A Hard Day’s Night TK 4 (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul The Beatles’ sixth single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. During their 19-day engagement at Paris’s Olympia Theatre The Beatles took time out to record German-language versions for two of their biggest hits. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “” were chosen to get new vocals to increase sales in the German market. This was at the insistence of EMI’s German branch, Odeon, which felt they couldn’t sell large quantities of records unless they were sung in German. With less than an hour left on their booked recording time, The Beatles recorded four takes of a new song by Paul, “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Issued in the U.S. on March 16, 1964, it sold 940,225 copies in the U.S. the day it was released, earning a gold record award that day and shattering all previous sales records. Within two weeks sales had totaled 2 million copies. The single went on to sell over 3 million by the end of the year. The UK single was released four days later, on March 20, 1964. Recorded Jan. 29, 1964 at Pathe’ Marconi Studio in Paris. It’s inclusion in “A Hard Day’s Night” was a decision by director , who opted for Paul’s fast paced million seller over John’s slower new song “I’ll Cry Instead.” The decision to cut “I’ll Cry Instead” from the film was so last minute that the American soundtrack LP, which had been rush-released on United Artists Records, included “I’ll Cry Instead” in its song line-up. On U.S. album: A Hard Day’s Night - United Artists LP - Apple LP (1970)

“” Live for the ITV show, "Around The Beatles". Recorded 19th April 1964, (Johnson-Penniman-Blackwell) Lead vocal: Paul Paul McCartney recorded this Little Richard screecher in just one take on March 1, 1964. Prior to being properly recorded, the Beatles performed the song for an American audience during the Beatles’ first concert appearance, in Washington D.C. on February 12

11, 1964. In a rare instance, two of the songs from the “Long Tall Sally” EP were issued first in America (“Long Tall Sally” on “The Beatles’ Second Album” and “I Call Your Name” on “Something New”). The initial pressings of the “Long Tall Sally” EP credited only Enotris Johnson as the writer of “Long Tall Sally.” Johnson was a little girl that had written some original lyrics for a song she hoped Little Richard would record. She gave a popular local radio disc jockey a note with the lyrics to give to Little Richard. The DJ gave the note to Little Richard’s producer and a hit was born. The “Penniman” that is credited is Richard Penniman, aka Little Richard. Little Richard’s recording was released in March 1956 and hit #1 on the Billboard R&B sales chart, becoming the best-selling 45 of the history of Specialty Records. Originally recorded by Little Richard with the working title “The Thing.” On U.S. album: The Beatles’ Second Album - Capitol LP

The Beatles - - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Work began in the studio on John’s “Cry Baby Cry” on July 15, 1968, with the Beatles 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 13

Abbey Road Studios 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.”

The Beatles - Can You Take Me Back - The Beatles (unlisted link track) (McCartney) (uncredited) Lead vocal: Paul On September 16, 1968, the Beatles recorded 67 takes of Paul’s classic ballad “,” with Paul on acoustic guitar, Ringo playing maracas and cymbals, and John on temple blocks, tapping out a beat with wood on metal. George Harrison was not at this session. Not all 67 takes were complete run-throughs, and as Paul was still putting the finishing touches on the song, he would drift into other songs during the numerous takes. Of particular note was take 19, which included a 2:21 untitled song with lyrics along the lines of “Can you take me back where I came from, can you take me back?” Twenty- eight seconds of this song were used as a link between “Cry Baby Cry” and “Revolution #9” on Side 4 of the “White Album.” The song fragment is unlisted and uncredited, giving the impression it is part of “Cry Baby Cry.”

9.58 BREAK The songs you know and love just slightly different

John Lennon – Working Class Hero - Plastic Ono Band ‘70 14

This was to become John’s personal anthem, and it was also the first track where a Beatle sings an expletive.

Paul McCartney & Wings – Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five – One Hand Clapping 74 A fantastic ending to a flawless album, the hook had been floating around Paul’s head for months prior to the composition. There was a mastering error on the song (and CD versions) that remained for many, many years where the beginning was affected by a “quick fade up.”

The Beatles - - Abbey Road 15

(Harrison) Lead vocal: George The second of two CLASSIC songs George Harrison delivered for the “Abbey Road” album. “Here Comes The Sun” and “Something” was a phenomenal one-two punch that had to have Lennon and McCartney wondering what else Harrison had up his sleeve. George wrote the song while walking around the sunny back garden of ’s home, strumming o0ne of Eric’s acoustic guitars. Harrison had skipped out of one of the many Apple business meetings that day. Recording in 13 takes on July 7, 1969, Ringo’s 29th birthday, with George on his Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar, Paul on his Rickenbacker bass guitar and Ringo on drums. John was sidelined for the week due to be hospitalized following a car accident in Scotland. The next day George overdubbed his lead vocal, and Paul and George recorded their backing vocals twice, rather than simply double- tracking. Additions continued on July 16 (handclaps and harmonium), and August 6 and 11 (George’s acoustic guitar). George Martin’s orchestral score was recorded.

NEWS HERE

The Beatles - Here, There And Everywhere - Revolver (Lennon-McCartney) 16

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 L

10.28 BREAK

The Beatles - I’ve Got A Feeling - Let It Be sessions (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul and John In compiling the soundtrack to the “Let It Be” film, producer 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 Glyn Johns. 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. 17

The Beatles – - Let It Be Recorded 4th February 1968 - 8 takes Overdubs 8th February 1968 onto take 8 Overdubs 1st April 1970 onto take 8 creating take 9 “Across the Universe" was originally donated to a charity album for the World Wildlife Fund. That original song was a faster, higher version than the Let It Be version, which was the original track slowed down and combined with an orchestra by producer Phil Spector. Lennon. 1.00

QUIZ #1 BREAK (add Long Quiz tones HERE

Today July 24th in 1969 Paul McCartney went into Studio #2 EMI and recorded a full production demo of a song called Come & Get It which became a hit for Apple Artists Badfinger. For the prize…which member of Badfinger sang lead vocal on Come & Get It?

18

Paul – Come & Get It – Anthology

Winner HERE______The Beatles - - Revolver sessions

(Harrison) Lead vocal: George 19

Completed in 11 takes on April 21, 1966. Written by George when he started realizing the majority of his money was going to the British government in the form of taxes. George went to John Lennon for some help with the lyrics, and Lennon was especially pleased with his line “Now my advice for those who die: declare the pennies on your eyes.” Featuring a nice lead guitar solo by Paul on his Epiphone Casino. The ‘pennies’ lyrical reference derives from Greek mythology – it is the payment to Charon (the ferryman of the underworld) to ferry the deceased to their destination in the underworld. To pay the ferryman, the deceased person's relatives place a coin on each eye of the deceased. The Mr. Wilson and Mr. Heath mentioned in the song were real people. Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister Married 2 kids and Edward Heath not married was head of the opposition party at the time the song was recorded. It is the first time a George Harrison composition opens a British Beatles album. On U.S. album: Revolver - Capitol LP

John Lennon – Give Me Some Truth – Imagine sessions ‘71 This was also composed in the Spring of ’68 in India. It was also “rehearsed” during the Get Back sessions. The song had contemporary lyrical additions, in reference to “Tricky Dicky” (Richard Nixon) and a desire for such people to give John the truth.

The Beatles - – Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon) Lead vocal: John and Paul 20

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 Yoko Ono. 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 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

The Beatles - - 1963 (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John and Paul One of the oldest songs in the Lennon-McCartney catalog, “One After 909” had been written by John when he was 17 or 18, and had been performed by in 1960, and by the Beatles in their pre-fame club days. The song was first recorded by the Beatles at the March 5, 1963, session for their third EMI single. After completing both sides of the new single (“” and “”), John and Paul had two additional songs they wanted the group to record. In addition to “One After 909” they also brought in “What Goes On,” but there was only enough time in the session to record one additional song, so “One After 909” got the go-ahead. Six years later the group revisited the song, with on keyboards. In his 1980 “Playboy” interview, Lennon admitted the song was probably resurrected for “Let It Be” because of a lack of material. As the rooftop performance drew to a close John sang an impromptu line from “Danny Boy.” The previously unreleased 1963 version can be found on the “Anthology 1” album.

10.58 BREAK The songs you know and love just slightly different

Let visit the Rubber Soul sessions…what are we gonna hear gentlemen? (hit It) QUIZ #2

21

The Beatles - I’m So Tired - The Beatles sessions (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 “” conspiracy theorists another major clue: “Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him.”

The Beatles - SHOUT! - Live for the ITV show, "Around The Beatles".

The Beatles - Helter Skelter - The Beatles MONO & Stereo! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul 22

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 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 , 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 – A Horse To The Water (remix)

23

The Beatles - - A Hard Day’s Night sessions (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 Something New - Capitol LP

John & Ringo – I’m The Greatest

The Rutles – Cheese & Onions !

11.28 BREAK

The Beatles - Michelle - Rubber Soul sessions (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul The basic backing track of this classic song was completed in one take on November 3, 1965. Various overdubs and double-tracking were added to complete the song the same 24

day. Lennon is credited with coming up with the “I love you” middle eight section. The tune had been written by Paul several years earlier but he didn’t have proper lyrics until 1965. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP

The Beatles - It’s Only Love- Help! sessions (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

The Beatles - Think For Yourself - Rubber Soul NO FUZZ (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 25

“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

The Beatles - In My Life - Rubber Soul sessions (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocals: John with Paul Recorded October 18, 1965 and written primarily by John, who called it his “first real major piece of work.” Of all the Lennon-McCartney collaborations only two songs have really been disputed by John and Paul themselves -- “” and “In My Life.” Both agree that the lyrics are 100% Lennon, but John says Paul helped on the musical bridge, while Paul recalls writing the entire melody on John’s Mellotron. George Martin provides the gorgeous piano solo. To give his solo a harpsichord sound the producer played the piano at half speed and an octave lower so that when played at regular speed it would be in the correct key for the song. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP

26

BREAK

Yer switched on…Yer tuned in to a special edition of BWTB

The songs you know and love just slightly different

Beatles US Rubber Soul just slightly different.

The Beatles - Hey Jude – Half Live (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 Julian Lennon. 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.”