1 1 2 Greek Theater Ringo July 19th 2014 2 3 TH PLAYLIST JULY 20 2014 9AM The Beatles - Yellow Submarine - Revolver (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Ringo The Beatles’ thirteenth single release for EMI’s Parlophone label. One of The Beatles’ most innovative creations to date, a children’s sing-along, was written mostly by Paul with assistance from John for Ringo’s vocal contribution to the “Revolver” album. The track would later be used as the title song of the group’s animated film project, which was released in 1968 in the UK. Pop singer Donovan helped Paul with the lyrics, coming up with the memorable line, “Sky of blue, sea of green.” Although at the time of its release it was rumored to be about drugs, McCartney denied this, saying, “I knew ‘Yellow Submarine’ would get connotations, but it really was a children’s song in the key of Ringo.” The basic rhythm track was recorded in four takes on May 26, 1966. The session is notable in Beatles recording history because producer George Martin had taken ill with food poisoning and his future wife, Judy, manned the console to capture all of the action in his absence. Lead and background vocals where then added. Six days later, on June 1, with Martin back at the helm, recording resumed. On this date Lennon added his shout out (“Full speed ahead Mr. Boatswain, full speed ahead”), additional backing vocals, and sound effects, including bells, whistles, crashing waves, clinking glasses, etc., were superimposed. Participating in the backing vocals along with George Martin and the four Beatles were guests including Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Pattie Harrison, and band assistants Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans. The 3 4 song was issued as a double-A side single, paired with “Eleanor Rigby.” This strayed purposely from The Beatles’ usual release pattern. Generally they would not issue songs from an LP as single sides. But John and Paul had tired of other artists recording their album tracks and having chart hits with them, so this time out The Beatles opted to have the hit single version of two of their album tracks. The “Yellow Submarine”/”Eleanor Rigby” single, issued simultaneously with the “Revolver” album, marked the first time the band issued LP songs on a single in Britain. In the U.S., the single sold a remarkable 1.2 million copies in the first month of release, and became the group’s 21st gold record. This is the first time a Ringo Starr lead vocal had appeared on the A-side of a Beatles single. On U.S. album: Revolver - Capitol LP Yellow Submarine - Capitol LP The Beatles – Boys – Please Please Me (Dixon-Farrell) Lead vocal: Ringo Recorded in just one take on February 11, 1963. “Boys” was drummer Ringo Starr’s first recorded lead vocal. Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell’s song was originally recorded by The Shirelles and was the b-side to their smash hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” This song was usually Ringo’s contribution at The Beatles’ live performances during their North American Tour in the summer of 1964. On U.S. albums: Introducing… The Beatles - Vee-Jay LP The Early Beatles - Capitol LP The Beatles - Don’t Pass Me By - The Beatles (Starkey) Lead vocal: Ringo The second song to be recorded for the “White Album” was the first solo songwriting credit for Richard Starkey, aka Ringo Starr. Although Ringo had assistance from Paul McCartney on the catchy, very McCartney-ish chorus (“Don’t pass me by, don’t make me cry, don’t make me blue, ‘cuz you know darlin’ I love only you”), the verses are all Ringo, who had been dabbling with this song off and on since 1963! The rhythm track was recorded in three takes on June 5, 1968, with only Paul on piano and Ringo on drums. Overdubs included a second piano part, sleigh bells, and bass guitar part. Work continued on June 6 with the recording of Ringo’s lead vocal. On July 12, outside musician Jack Fallon was brought in to play the violin part. The quirky introduction was a seven-second edit piece of Paul tinkling piano keys, recorded on July 22. A slightly longer introduction to the song was put together by George Martin, but was not used. This 48-second piece, entitled “A Beginning,” can be found on the “Anthology 3” album. 9.12 BREAK 4 5 The Beatles - Get Back - single version (Non-LP track) (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: Paul The Beatles’ nineteenth single release for EMI, and second on the Apple Records label. The “Get Back” sessions, as the January 1969 recording sessions were now known, produced about 475 hours of film and 141 hours of audio tape that had to be sifted through. But proper multi-track recordings weren’t made until the band was recording in the basement of the Beatles’ Apple headquarters between January 21-31, 1969. Producer/Engineer Glyn Johns attempted to construct an album entitled “Get Back” from the tapes but his versions were rejected. The tapes were left dormant in the vault for a year, with the exception of a single (“Get Back”/“Don’t Let Me Down”). “Get Back” had been rehearsed and reworked throughout the January sessions, including over 30 takes of the song on January 27, 1969. Among those over 30 takes was the master take of the song, but it did not include the familiar coda at the end. That would be recorded the following day and edited on to the January 27 master. Like John Lennon’s “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Get Back” features Billy Preston on keyboards. The song is also notable as one of John’s best guitar solos. Rush-released as a single with the hope of being in stores in the UK on April 11, 1969, the single showed up a week later. Although the single did not list a producer credit, it did, for the first time on a Beatles single, list an artist in addition to the Beatles: “THE BEATLES with Billy Preston” graced both sides of the single. “A great honor,” said Preston. The Beatles - Don’t Let Me Down - Non-LP B-Side 5 6 (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John with Paul The Beatles’ nineteenth single release for EMI, and second on the Apple Records label. The “Get Back” sessions, as the January 1969 recording sessions were now known, produced about 475 hours of film and 141 hours of audio tape that had to be sifted through. But proper multi-track recordings weren’t made until the band was recording in the basement of the Beatles’ Apple headquarters between January 21-31, 1969. Producer/Engineer Glyn Johns attempted to construct an album entitled “Get Back” from the tapes but his versions were rejected. The tapes would be left dormant in the vault for a year, with the exception of a single (“Get Back”/“Don’t Let Me Down”). John Lennon’s “Don’t Let Me Down” was a love song for Yoko Ono and was the first song given a full run-through by the group when sessions for the new album began at Twickenham Studios on January 2, 1969. But proper multi-track recording takes were not done until the band changed location to the basement recording studio at their Apple headquarters. The master take was recorded on January 28, 1969. Like Paul McCartney’s “Get Back,” the song features Billy Preston on keyboards. Rush-released as a single with the hope of being in stores in the UK on April 11, 1969, the single showed up a week later. Although the single did not list a producer credit, it did, for the first time on a Beatles single, list an artist in addition to the Beatles: “THE BEATLES with Billy Preston” graced both sides of the single. “A great honor,” said Preston. The single debuted at number one on the Record Retailer singles chart. In America, the single was issued on May 5, 1969, and it topped the Billboard sales chart for five weeks. It is the first Beatles single released in stereo, but the stereo mixes were for the American market, not the UK. The UK would have to wait until the next single release (“The Ballad Of John And Yoko”) to get its first stereo Beatles 45. Prior to this all previous Beatles singles had been issued in mono. Although the song appears in the “Let It Be” film, it is not included on the soundtrack album. On U.S. album: Hey Jude - Capitol LP (1970) 6 7 The Beatles - Old Brown Shoe - Non-LP B-Side (Harrison) Lead vocal: George On February 25, 1969, his 26th birthday, George Harrison went to Abbey Road Studios and recorded elaborate eight-track demos of three of his latest compositions: “Old Brown Shoe,” “Something,” and “All Things Must Pass.” All three of the demos recorded this day can be found on the “Anthology 3” album. “Old Brown Shoe” had made a brief appearance near the end of the “Get Back” sessions with a few run-through/rehearsals on January 28, 1969. The full band revisited the song for a proper recording on April 16, 1969. The rhythm track was finished in four takes, with George on lead guitar, Paul on jangle piano, John on rhythm guitar (which would be erased in favor of a Hammond organ part played by George on April 18), and Ringo on drums. Overdubs included bass guitar, lead guitar, and backing vocals by John and Paul. In his book, “I Me Mine,” George said, “I started the chord sequences on piano, which I don’t really play, and then began writing ideas for the words from various opposites… Again, it’s the duality of things - yes no, up down, left right, right wrong, etc.” Released as the flip side of “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” in the UK on May 30, 1969, while the “Get Back” single was topping the charts.