PLAYLIST Sept. 28 th 2014

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2 2 PLAYLIST Sept. 28 th AM The Beatles - I Want You (She s So Heavy) - Abbey Road (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles, with Billy Preston on keyboards, and with Glyn Johns as producer, recorded 35 takes at Trident Studios on February 22, From that session, take 9 was the best for the early part of the song, take 20 had the best middle eight, and take 32 was the best for the rest. The three best sections were edited into one all-encompassing master take. On April 18, at Abbey Road Studios, without Preston, and with Chris Thomas producing, John and George overdubbed layers of guitar parts onto the Trident best take, and a reduction mixdown was made, called take 1. Overdubs were added onto that. More overdubs followed on April 20. Fast forward to August 8. Now with George Martin producing, John overdubs sounds from the white noise generator of Harrison s Moog synthesizer which produced the swirling, gale-force wind effect for the last three minutes of the song, and Ringo adds more drums (mostly crash cymbals). To complicate things, the group has been adding overdubs to two different master tapes of the song, so the best of each master is edited together to create the final album version of the song. The final album master has take 1 for the first 4:37 and the original Trident tape for the remaining 3:07. The final album master of John s sprawling song

3 3 ran 8:04, but John opted for a surprise ending. Engineer Alan Parsons: We were putting the final touches to that side of the LP and we were listening to the mix. John said, There! Cut the tape. Geoff [Emerick] cut the tape and that was it. End of side one. At 7:44 it is second only to the sound collage/clip compilation Revolution 9 as the longest Beatles track. It was the last song to be mixed for inclusion on the Abbey Road album. This final mixing date, August 20, 1969, is significant in Beatles history - it is the last time all four Beatles were together in a recording studio BREAK 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

4 4 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. The Beatles - I m Only Sleeping - Revolver (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, 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, 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

5 The Beatles - She s Leaving Home - Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocals: Paul and John Recorded March 17, 1967 in six takes. Written primarily by Paul with lyrical assistance from John, the song is based on a story appearing in the February 27, 1967, edition of the Daily Mail about seventeen-year-old runaway Melanie Coe. Paul begins the story about the girl leaving a note for her parents before slipping out of the house, John provides the parents anguished point of view. When Paul called George Martin to ask if he d create a string arrangement for the song he was told that Martin had already committed to a Cilla Black session and Paul would have to wait. Paul then contacted Mike Leander to score the song. Paul had met Leander at the October 11, 1965, Decca Studios session for Marianne Faithfull s cover of Yesterday. The score called for four violins, two violas, two cellos, a double-bass and a harp. The harp is played by Sheila Bromberg, who became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording. As was the case with Eleanor Rigby eleven months earlier, no Beatles played an instrument on She s Leaving Home. Martin made only slight adjustments to Leander s arrangement when it was recorded on March 17. An interesting side note Melanie was a dancer on the Ready Steady Go! TV show and met the Fabs Oct when she won a mime contest and was awarded prizes by the Beatles! 5

6 6 George Harrison All Things Must Pass - All Things Must Pass 70 REMASTERED FOR A 3 rd time? Another track that was written and rehearsed during the Let It Be sessions, it was considered sub-par and never considered for a Beatles album. The wait did the song wonders, as George brought it back and gave it a thorough shine. The song was also inspired by The Band s song, The Weight. BREAK

7 7 Let start real quick with the 1 st album s that preceded All Things Must Pass WONDERWALL (Apple) & ELECTRONIC SOUND (Zapple) The 1 st Apple Album.interesting as it features Eric Clapton Ringo, Peter Tork, GH1 George Harrison Ski-ing - Wonderwall Music 68 This is the track with, as George put it, Clapton playing backwards guitar over the Indians. The Indian part is just a simple drone and could just as easily have been played by George in the studio. Also features Ringo. The stereo version is thirteen seconds longer than the mono mix. The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles (Harrison) Lead vocal: George In his book, I Me Mine, 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, 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 Anthology 3 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.

8 QUIZ # 1 5 REEL TO REEL: WONDERWALL AND WONDERWALL MUSIC AT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM THIS THURS OCT 2 ND 7:30PM The GRAMMY Museum's executive director Bob Santelli and Emmy-nominated music journalist and TV writer David Wild will discuss the film and George Harrison's music. 8

9 9 The new GH Apple Box set is OUT. Containing all of GH s APPLE albums and one Zapple album Electronic Sound Here s yer QUIZ? > Name the John Lennon Zapple album released the same day as George s Zapple album in 1969.? 9.42 BREAK Winner HERE Put some of that Under The Mercy Wall under me and our winner 2 albums ya never listen to all the way through both sides? right background researcher Matt Hurwitz? ALL THINGS MUST PASS REMASTERED An LP close to my heart and wallet! Remastered? Again? Dylan connection started here/ interesting John & Paul so enamored

10 10 GH2 George Harrison I d Have You Anytime (co-written with Bob Dylan) All Things Must Pass 70 This composition began at Bob Dylan s home in Woodstock, New York during Thanksgiving George completed the song when he returned to England. The Beatles - You ve Got To Hide Your Love Away - Help! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in less than two hours on February 18, Written entirely by John Lennon, who freely admitted the obvious Bob Dylan influence. Lennon wrote this at Kenwood, his home on the St. George s Hill estate in Weybridge, Surrey (where the Beatles would be

11 11 photographed for the cover of their Rubber Soul album). John s original lyric was I can t go on feeling two foot tall, but when singing it for Paul the first time he accidentally said, two foot small. Lennon then laughed and said, Let s leave it all those pseudes will really love it. The first of their songs since Love Me Do in 1962 to feature an outside musician. Johnnie Scott provides the flute solo at the end of the song, though he is not credited on the album jacket. On U.S. album: Help! - Capitol LP George Harrison Let It Down - All Things Must Pass 70 Also written during the Let It Be sessions, this track shows Phil Spector running rampant with the Wall of Sound. BREAK HERE The Beatles Let It Down Let It Be sessions BREAK HERE Speaking of The Beatles here is a song written by George in 1966 There's nothing Sister Mary can do, will keep me here with you Was originally. There's nothing Mr. Epstein can do, will keep me here with you NEWS HERE BREAK

12 12 George Harrison Bangla Desh Single July `71 George wrote the song in ten minutes, for his friend, Ravi Shankar s war-torn homeland. While in LA working on the soundtrack for the Raga film, Ravi informed George of the atrocities occurring in his native India. Leon Russell, who played keyboards on the session, contributed the idea for the story introduction to the song. The song included George, Eric Clapton, Ringo, Bobby Keys, Billy Preston and Leon Russell. Although the lineup is disputed by Jim Horn, who recalls that himself, George, Leon Russell, Klaus Voorman and Jim Keltner were present. No Bangla Desh LP in Box why?

13 13 LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD June 1973 Apple The album did very well for George in the U.K. album charts where it reached number 2. #1 USA George Harrison Living In The Material World - Living In The Material World 73 Written in the late summer of 1971, it includes references to his friends, John and Paul, and a little drum-fill from Ritchie, made the reference complete. BREAK

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15 15 George Harrison Don t Let Me Wait Too Long - Living In The Material World 73 This track was the single that should have been, almost was, but never appeared. This is a prime piece of pop songwriting, and was scheduled as the second single from the LP for release on September 24 th, It was assigned an Apple catalog number (Apple 1866), but was mysteriously cancelled at the last minute. The Beatles - Wait - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocals: John and Paul Recorded June 17, 1965 during the Help! sessions, the song was left unfinished when The Beatles had hit the deadline to submit the album. Five months later, as the deadline to submit Rubber Soul was upon them, they grabbed the unfinished song, threw on some overdubs and decreed it finished. Specifically, they added a tone pedal guitar, tambourine, maracas, and more vocals on November 11, 1965, the final day of recording for Rubber Soul. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP Switch CD s QUIZ BREAK / 3 winners ONLY For tickets to Fest For Beatles Fans! The Beatles Apple records was their very own label so they could stick anything they wanted on the labels of their solo records. They stopped using the Apple and put pictures sometimes of themselves and sometimes even their WIVES on the labels.right Matt? Here is yer Apple Records quiz question for tix to Fest For Beatles Fans Name the records (LP s or singles) where a Beatle wife has a photo her face on the records label. I can think of 4 off the top of my head

16 16 Name the Beatle wife s and the name of the Beatles solo records (LP or 45) where their faces are on the record s label Go Google that! Matt pick a moderately short song from LITMW while we wait. WINNER HERE Back w/ Dark Horse remastered BREAK DARK HORSE

17 17 Dec #4 US UK Not Charted!???!!!! GH5 George Harrison Simply Shady - Dark Horse 74 Written in Bombay, George s voice was very hoarse during this track (a problem that would plague him throughout his tour). With mentions of drink, drugs and Sexy Sadie. 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. 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 have you done? You made a fool of everyone. At Harrison s request, Lennon backed off and substituted Sexy Sadie for Maharishi. GH6 BREAK

18 18 George Harrison Far East Man (written with Ron Wood) - Dark Horse 74 Written in late 1973, the track was originally given to Ron Wood for use on his LP I ve Got My Own Album To Do, which was issued in September George revisited the track for his own take. He had wished for it to be sung by Frank Sinatra, joining the ranks of Paul s Suicide, and John s Nobody Loves You (When You re Down and Out) as songs earmarked for the crooner. The Beatles - Something - Abbey Road (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The Beatles twenty-first single release for EMI, and fourth on the Apple Records label. Although initially crediting Lennon and McCartney as the songwriters, legendary crooner Frank Sinatra called George Harrison s Something the greatest love song ever written. Commonly referred to as George s first Beatles A-side, some sales chart makers at the time considered the single a double-a, as both sides of the record received significant radio airplay, and charted both Something and its flip side (John s Come Together ) as one combined chart listing. The song is the first of two CLASSIC songs George delivered for the Abbey Road album, the other being Here Comes The Sun. It was a phenomenal one-two punch that had to have Lennon and McCartney wondering what else Harrison had up his sleeve BREAK

19 19 EXTRA TEXTURE (READ ALL ABOUT IT) Sept/Oct 1975 UK #16 US #8 BUMPER / George Harrison You Originally written for Ronnie Spector, and recorded during the sessions for her sole Apple single, Try Some, Buy Some, in February According to George, they recorded four or five tracks before Phil fell over, (something Phil Spector had a tendency to do often. George dug this tape out during the Extra Texture sessions, but didn t bother redoing the backing track, which is why you can hear Ronnie Spector singing one of her trademark Be My Baby oh-oh-oh s in the background. BREAK EXTRA TEXTURE (READ ALL ABOUT IT) Sept/Oct 1975 UK #16 US #8

20 20 Still gotta come up with a question for the George Apple Box.. Talk about this LP Extra Texture (Read All About It ) GH7 George Harrison Tired Of Midnight Blue - Extra Texture 75 Originally titled, Midnight Blue, but Melissa Manchester had a big hit with her own version titled the same in 1975, so George tacked on extra words, as he was still smarting over the verdict of the My Sweet Lord/He s So Fine situation (though both songs are dissimilar). Although not credited, Leon Russell is featured on piano. The Beatles - For You Blue - Let It Be (Harrison) Lead vocal: George Recorded on January 25, 1969, and completed in six takes. John Lennon provides the lead guitar part playing a lap steel guitar and using a shotgun shell as a slide. Paul McCartney plays piano. Nearly a year later, on January 8, 1970, George Harrison rerecorded his lead vocal to the already completed backing track. During the instrumental break he ad-libbed go Johnny go and Elmore James got nothin on this baby to give the impression he was singing live with the band. Immediately prior to the start of the song, John can be heard saying "Queen says no to pot-smoking FBI members." It is one of the few inclusions of film dialogue heard on the soundtrack LP. Written by George Harrison for his wife, Pattie, For You Blue was a straight-forward blues song. George: It's a simple 12-bar song following all the normal 12-bar principles, except that it's happy-go-lucky! For You Blue was the flip-side of the American The Long And Winding Road single, released on May 11, A new mix of take six was made in 2003 for Let It Be... Naked and an alternative take from the January 25, 1969, session is included on the Anthology 3 album. QUIZ BREAK George s various Blue periods Better come up with a question here for the Box set researched by Matt Hurwitz!

21 For the box set KLOS George released 7 LP s while an Apple Artist. Wonderwall 1968 Electronic Sound 1969 ATMP 1970 Concert For Bangladesh 1972 LITMW 1973 Dark Horse 1974 & Extra Texture

22 22 Which of those albums used the original green Apple as the label when originally released. (read LP s titles again) KLOS The solo Beatles liked to mess around and a lot of the time wouldn t use the standard green Apple label.

23 23 While we wait for that answer how about another one from Extra Texture George Harrison This Guitar (Can t Keep From Crying) - Extra Texture 75 Jesse Ed Davis provided the guitar overdubs. This Guitar would be the A-side (It Is He on the flip) and the final Apple released single for George Harrison. It also has the dubious honor of being the first Beatles solo single NOT to make the Billboard Hot 100. BREAK WINNER HERE!!!!! George Harrison I Don t Care Anymore Recorded in a single take with simply George and a barely in-tune guitar. While recording the tune, George had complained that recording a B-Side was a pain in the a**, and definitely complains about the lack of volume in his headphones while the tape is rolling - he just didn t care anymore! December 6th, 1974 US December 21 st, 1974 UK QUIZ BREAK Get a few FEST tickets left Wanna Play who s singing that Beatles song???? BREAK George Harrison Dark Horse - Demo