John Lennon Album By Album

Transcription

1 PLAYLIST OCT. 7 th 2012

2 John Lennon Album By Album BONUS STARTER! The Beatles Ain t She Sweet June June Recording session with Tony Sheridan, but this time John on lead vocal. George on lead guitar, Paul on bass and backing vocals, John rhythm guitar, Pete Best on drums. The Beatles Please Please Me Please Please Me

3 Recorded Nov John said it was his attempt Written at his Aunt s home on Menlove Ave. at writing a Roy Orbison song. And the first record owned by Elvis Costello who was in the Beatles Fan Club when he was eleven. The second official EMI release Single released Jan Released 3 different times in the US on Vee Jay Lennon 1.00 US - Vee-Jay LP Introducing the Beatles (Version 2) US The Early Beatles The Beatles It Won t Be Long - With The Beatles Recorded July 30 th 1963 The first song Neil Young performed live for an audience at his high school cafeteria in Canada. Lead vocal John Lennon 1.00 US - Capitol LP Meet the Beatles! The Beatles I Should Have Known Better - AHDN Recorded Feb. 25 th & 26 th 1964.

4 This song was performed in the film AHDN in the train compartment scene, which was actually filmed in a van with the crewmembers rocking the van to fake the train in motion. Flip of AHDN in US. and the 12-string guitar making an appearance on Beatle record for the 1 st time courtesy of Mr. George Harold Harrison. Lead vocal John Lennon 1.00 US - United Artists LP A Hard Day s Night Apple LP Hey Jude The Beatles I Don t Want To Spoil The Party - Beatles For Sale September 29 th, 1964 A personal favorite of John s Featuring George Harrison on his Gretsch Tennessean guitar. Lennon 1.00 US - Capitol LP Beatles VI The Beatles You ve Got To Hide Your Love Away HELP/ Anthology Recorded Feb. 18 th `65 in a quick afternoon session. Interesting note: 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 lets leave it all those psudes will really love it. Lead vocal John Lennon 1.00 US - Capitol LP HELP! The Beatles In My Life - Rubber Soul Recorded Oct.18 th 1965 Of all the Lennon/McCartney collaborations only 2 songs have really been disputed by John & Paul themselves one being Eleanor Rigby and the other is In My Life. John saying that Paul only wrote the middle eight melody and Mr. McCartney saying that he created the entire melody and intro of the song. He adds that John had all the lyrics already down but needed a melody and that he (Paul) has vivid memories of composing it on John s mellotron while Lennon had a cup of tea in another room. Lennon? / McCartney?

5 The Beatles I m Only Sleeping Revolver Basic tracks recorded April 27, 1966 A song John wrote about Paul constantly waking him up to get to work on the Revolver LP.Lead vocal John Lennon 1.00 US - Capitol LP Yesterday and Today 3.12 Break John Lennon - Album By Album In the order they were released A swig from each LP Picking things up in The Beatles Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Recorded Feb. 17 th 1967

6 John swiping the lyrics from a Fairground poster from 1843 purchased during the filming of the Penny Lane video Featuring Paul on lead guitar and sez Paul a very co-written song. Lead vocals John Lennon.6 / McCartney.4 The Beatles - Dear Prudence - The Beatles sessions Recorded Aug. 28 th 1968 at Trident Written in India about Mia Farrow s sister who locked herself in her hut while on retreat in India. Paul on drums. Mal tambourine. Jackie Lomax and Paul s cousin John sang backing vocals. Lennon 1.00 Two Virgins (Side 2) - Unfinished Music Two Virgins / Nov The Beatles - Hey Bulldog - Yellow Submarine January 1969 Recorded 11th February 1968 John said, It s a good sounding record that means nothing. Newly remixed for the Yellow Submarine Soundtrack expanded version. Lead vocal Lennon Lennon

7 No Bed For Beatle John - Unfinished Music No.2 Life w/ The Lions / May 1969 Zapple The Beatles Come Together - Abbey Road Sept. 29 th 1969 Recorded July 21 st 1969 Borrowing more that a line from Chuck Berry s You Can t Catch Me. Agreed to record 3 songs from the publishing Co. BIG SEVEN MUSIC on his R n R LP. SHOOT ME.One of John s favorite Beatle tracks. Lennon 1.00

8 /The Wedding Album Nov John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance Live Peace In Toronto / Dec The Beatles Dig A Pony - Let It Be May 1970 January 30, 1969 (rehearsal & 1 take; rooftop performance) John Lennon on a tear in 1969 releasing 3 solo LP s 2.12 Break

9 John Lennon Hold On - Plastic Ono Band / Dec John Lennon Gimme Some Truth Imagine sessions Sept John on NYC

10 John Lennon New York City Some Time In NYC /Summer of 1972 Mind Games radio spot-`73 HR 2 John Lennon Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox) Walls & Bridges / Sept.1974

11 John Lennon Bony Moronie - Feb /John Lennon Instant Karma - Shaved Fish / Oct John Lennon Starting Over - Double Fantasy / Nov. 1980

12 2.34 Break The Beatles Ask Me Why Please Please Me Recorded Nov. 26 th First heard by the public on Teenagers Turn on June 11, 1962 / B Side of Please Please Me on VJ & Parlophone. Lead vocal John Lennon.7/ McCartney.3 US - Vee- Jay LP Introducing the Beatles (Version 2) US The Early Beatles The Beatles All I ve Got To Do - With The Beatles Copyrighted in 1961 in the UK The song was later re-copyrighted when Lennon and McCartney had their own music publishing company in 1964 recorded September 11 th 1963 lead vocal John Lennon 1.00 US - Capitol LP Meet the Beatles! The Beatles If I Fell AHDN A song John called the precursor to In My Life it has the same chord progression said John D and B minor and E minor Flip of And I Love Her in the US

13 Lead vocal John & Paul Lennon 1.00 US - Capitol LP Something New/ United Artists LP A Hard Day s Night The Beatles No Reply - Beatles For Sale Recorded Sept. 30 th 1964 Including some nice piano work from producer George Martin. Lennon 1.00 John Lennon HELP! 1970 Home/ The Beatles HELP! HELP! Recorded April 1965.

14 John s autobiographical tune from what he called his fat Elvis period. #1 in the States for 3 weeks in 1965 and 4 weeks in the UK at #1. Lead vocal John Lennon.9 / McCartney.1 US - Capitol LP HELP! The Beatles Girl - Rubber Soul Recorded Nov. 11 th 1965 Written about a dream girl that didn t really exist and containing a somewhat suggestive background vocal by Paul & George. John says, it s one of my best Lead vocal John. 100.Lennon. John Lennon He Said Home `66/

15 The Beatles She Said She Said Revolver Recorded June 21 st 1966 Written after a record 32 cups of extremely strong tea while in LA during a break in their 1965 tour John was hanging out w/ The Byrds and a whole bunch of girls at a party and actor Peter Fonda kept whispering in John s ear I know what it s like to be dead. thus the lyric The Beatles A Day In The Life - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Recorded Jan & Feb 1967 Quite possibly the finest Lennon/McCartney collaboration of their song-writing career Break The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever Magical Mystery Tour Recorded Nov/ Dec Written in Spain while John was filming How I Won The War Strawberry Fields was actually a Salvation Army home in the neighborhood where Lennon grew up. John used to go to parties there and it always brought

16 back happy memories to John. One of the only two HONEST songs that John says he wrote for the Beatles the other? (HELP!) Lead vocal John Lennon 1.00 The Beatles - Happiness Is a Warm Gun - The Beatles Recorded Sept. 23 rd 1968 LP Nov John taking the title from an article on the cover of the American Gun Magazine (which he never read) which said Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand Lennon 1.00 (Excerpt)Two Virgins (Side 2) - Unfinished Music Two Virgins / Nov. 29th NO SUB SONG HERE- Baby s Heartbeat - Unfinished Music No.2 Life w/ The Lions / May 1969 Zapple

17 John & Yoko- /The Wedding Album Nov John & Yoko This Is Radio Peace 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

18 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, galeforce 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 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 The Beatles Maggie Mae - Let It Be May NEWS BREAK HR. 3

19 The Beatles - Twist And Shout Please Please Me (Medley-Russell) Lead vocal: John The last song recorded during the marathon session on February 11, Two takes were completed before Lennon s voice gave out. The released version is the first take. Originally recorded by The Isley Brothers in May 1962, The Beatles performed it regularly in their live act between 1962 and Its inclusion in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller s Day Off sent the song up the Billboard singles chart 22 years after its initial U.S. release. On U.S. albums: Introducing The Beatles - Vee-Jay LP The Early Beatles - Capitol LP The Beatles - You Really Got A Hold On Me With The Beatles (Robinson) Lead vocal: John Recorded June 18, 1963, Paul McCartney s 21st birthday. Originally recorded by the Miracles and released as a single by Motown Records in November The single was a crossover smash, topping the Billboard R&B chart and reaching #8 on the Billboard pop chart. Miracles lead singer William Smokey Robinson is the credited songwriter. It is one of three Motown songs covered by The Beatles on their second LP. On U.S. album: The Beatles Second Album - Capitol LP The Beatles - A Hard Day s Night - A Hard Day s Night

20 (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John with Paul The Beatles seventh single release for EMI s Parlophone label. The title is a Ringoism, coined by the drummer sometime in 1963 and used by John in his book In His Own Write. With the film nearly completed the last bit of business was to give the film a name. The project was being filmed with the working title Beatlemania. On April 13, 1964 The Beatles met with key personnel from the studio and bounced title ideas. It was felt they d find no better suggestion than Ringo s offhand remark it s been a hard day s night and John volunteered to write the title song that evening. The next morning he brought the song in and taught it to Paul. Paul cleaned up the middle section and the two played it for producer Walter Shenson. Two days later The Beatles would formally record the song. It was a rarity for an outsider to be allowed in the studio or control booth while The Beatles rehearsed and recorded. An exception was made for the director of the A Hard Day s Night film, Richard Lester. Lester was in the control booth and offered many suggestions during the morning while this key song was worked out, much to the dismay of producer George Martin. It was Lester s suggestion that the song open dramatically (as it would open the film), and fade out at the end in a cinematic way. He got his wish. George s striking a G suspended 4th chord on his 12-string Rickenbacker make this record instantly recognizable in its opening two seconds. Released as a single in the UK on July 10, 1964, it went straight to #1. On U.S. album: A Hard Day s Night - United Artists LP The Beatles - I m A Loser - Beatles For Sale (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in eight takes on August 14, Written mostly by John Lennon. The song style, more autobiographical and introspective than the yeah, yeah, yeah pop the group had previously recorded, was heavily influenced by the work of Bob Dylan. Paul McCartney called it a folk song gone pop. The Beatles debuted I m A Loser on ABC s Shindig program, an appearance taped in London and airing on October 7. The song was performed during the Beatles European Tour commencing June 20, 1965, but was not on the set list for the U.S. shows two months later. John s harmonica solo was a last minute addition to the song, appearing first in Take 6. George Martin and the group considered I m A Loser a potential single and had initially chosen it to be the LP s opening song. On U.S. album: Beatles 65 - Capitol LP The Beatles - It s Only Love- Help! (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded in six takes on June 15, 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.

21 On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP The Beatles - Run For Your Life - Rubber Soul (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The first song completed when sessions for Rubber Soul began on October 12, John Lennon lifted the opening line ( I d rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man ) from Baby Let s Play House, popularized by Elvis Presley. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing - Revolver (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John John Lennon called this fan favorite another of my throwaways...fancy paper around an empty box. On another occasion he simply referred to it as another horror. The song, written primarily by John, is notable mainly for the twin guitar riffs -- played live without overdubs by George Harrison and Paul McCartney -- that drive the song, and Paul s distinctive bass notes at the end of the song. Lennon played the rhythm guitar in the D major position with the capo on the second fret to account for the song being in the key of E. John used the second fret capo several times ("Nowhere Man," "Julia," "Norwegian Wood," to name a few). Initial recording of the song commenced on April 20, 1966, with two takes being completed. Take 2 was deemed the best and various overdubs were added. While recording vocals John and Paul got a case of the giggles and laughed their way through much of the song. That hilarious version can be found on the Anthology 2 compilation. On April 26, the band decided to scrap the previous version and start

22 over from scratch, recording 11 takes. The term bird was British slang at the time for girl. Although Lennon never elaborated on the inspiration behind the lyrics, it is believed to refer to the rivalry between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Although the two groups were friends, Lennon saw the Stones as Beatles copyists, and the 'bird' in the title may have been Mick Jagger s on-again, off-again girlfriend/muse Marianne Faithfull. The working title of the song was You Don t Get Me. And Your Bird Can Sing 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. "And Your Bird Can Sing" was used as the theme song of The Beatles' cartoon series during its third season. On U.S. album: Yesterday And Today - Capitol LP 3.12 BREAK

23 The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John Recorded March 1, John Lennon s classic song of psychedelic imagery was inspired by a drawing brought home by son, Julian, who was four years old at the time. In February 1967, Julian returned home from his nursery school with a painting depicting one of his classmates, Lucy O Donnell. Young Lucy was pictured with a background of stars in the sky. When asked by his father about his painting, Julian said it was Lucy, in the sky, with diamonds. John was so taken with the phrase he combined it with passages similar to two books by Lewis Carroll that he d loved as a child, Through The Looking Glass and Alice s Adventures in Wonderland. Paul added the line about newspaper taxis and Lennon s beloved Goon Show got a shout out. Their famed plasticine ties merged with Through the Looking Glass to become plasticine porters with looking glass ties. Work began on Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds with an evening full of rehearsals. The rhythm track was recorded on March 1 with Paul playing the opening riff on a Lowery organ (with a bell stop), George on acoustic guitar, Ringo on drums and John on maracas and offering a guide vocal. John s lead vocal and other instruments (George s tamboura, Paul s melodic bass) were added the next evening. The Beatles - I Am The Walrus - Magical Mystery Tour (EP) (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John The Beatles sixteenth single release for EMI s Parlophone label. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP

24 The Beatles - Glass Onion - The Beatles (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: John In 1980 John described Glass Onion as one of his throwaways, but the wordplay 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. The lyric that got the most attention was John s announcing, And here s another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul. When the Paul is dead rumor surfaced in late 1969, conspiracy theorists worked themselves into a frenzy proclaiming John s revelation was proof positive that Paul was dead because in some cultures the walrus was a symbol of death. But in the I Am The Walrus sequence in the television film Magical Mystery Tour, John was the Walrus, not Paul. John had little patience for people that scoured his songs lyrics for hidden meanings, and wrote Glass Onion just to give them some raw meat to chew on or as John put it, just to confuse everyone a bit more.

25 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.

26 The Beatles Mean Mr. Mustard - Abbey Road Recorded July 24 th. Written in India as we heard on the White LP demos from Esher. When the band is playing it during the Let It Be sessions Pam was then a Shirley. Lennon 1.00 John Lennon Money (Bradford-Gordy) - Live Peace in Toronto 1969 A longtime staple of the Beatles early live shows, this is one of the sloppier tracks during the show BREAK The Beatles - One After Let It Be (Lennon-McCartney)

27 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 the Quarrymen 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 ( From Me To You and Thank You Girl ), 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 Billy Preston 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. John Lennon God - Plastic Ono Band sessions 70 This was the definitive track on the LP. This song was stuck together from three different, unfinished compositions. This included a laundry list of John s opinions on his lost beliefs (namely people and philosophies). This was the song that confirmed the Beatles were over John revealed he didn t believe in the band, nor was Paul the walrus. John finally reveals that he was indeed the walrus. John Lennon Imagine Imagine 71 John s most famous anthem, and one of the most memorable songs of all time, this was to be considered John s Yesterday. It was inspired by Yoko s poem Cloud Piece from It continues to have massive radio play to this very day and was infamously censored (and retracted) by Clear Channel following the 9/11 attacks. This was John s dream no religion, no wars, no possessions his utopian ideal BREAK

28 The Beatles - Love Me Do Please Please Me (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 Recorded with three different drummers: Pete Best (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 songwriters 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 Northern Songs publishing company.

29 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 - P.S. I Love You Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon) Lead vocal: Paul Recorded in ten takes on September 11, 1962, with Andy White on drums. The b-side of Love Me Do, released October 5, 1962, in the UK. The Beatles originally intended this to be the A-side of their first Parlophone single but because another song with the same title had been released by Peggy Lee they were persuaded to put this on the b-side. One of the three original compositions they performed during their EMI audition. Written mostly by Paul McCartney in April or May 1962 while The Beatles were in Hamburg, Germany. John has said it was Paul s attempt to mimic Soldier Boy by The Shirelles, which was a hit in April of 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-McCartney s output was attached to their Northern Songs 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. On U.S. albums: Introducing The Beatles (Version 1) - Vee-Jay LP The Early Beatles - Capitol LP UK single release: "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" (Parlophone R 4949).

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