1 PLAYLIST SEPT. 23RD AM 1

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1 1 PLAYLIST SEPT. 23 RD AM 1

2 2 The Beatles - For No One - Revolver 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 3 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, 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 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 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 rerecorded 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, spinechilling 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 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 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 BREAK The Beatles - Yer Blues - The Beatles 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, 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 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 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 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 Lead vocal: John 7

8 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. Recording started on September 23, 1968, and the takes numbered into the dozens, an unusual practice for the Beatles. But the three song sections were not alike and had different tempos so it made for difficult transitions. On the first day, 45 takes were attempted. The next day, 25 more attempts to perfect the rhythm track were made. The three distinct parts of the finished song are I Need A Fix, Mother Superior Jumped The Gun, and Happiness Is A Warm Gun. The instrumental line-up was the same both days, with John on Epiphone Casino electric guitar, George on Fender Telecaster, Paul on Rickenbacker bass and Ringo on drums. Ultimately, it was decided that take 53 up to 1:34 was the best of the first two parts of the song and take 65 was the best version of the third part, so those two best takes were edited together to create the best overall take of the complete song and overdubbing began. Specifically, John s lead vocal (triple-tracked in some places), the happiness, bang bang, shoot shoot backing vocals from John, Paul and George, organ, piano, snare drum beat, additional bass, and tambourine. The working title was Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand, and that wording was taken directly from text on the cover of an American gun magazine George Martin had shown to John. That phrase was a take-off of the then-hugely popular Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz, who used the line Happiness is a warm puppy. John considered Happiness Is A Warm Gun one of his best songs. Paul and George reportedly said the track was their favorite on the new album. QUIZ Which one of those 5 white album era songs started it s recording today Sept. 23rd in 1968? Get it right you go to see MMT of the BIG SCREEN! NEWS w/ Jackie HERE BREAK Winner HERE after SPOTS New HOT 5.1 remixed and remastered MMT TRACKS???? 8

9 9 The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - Magical Mystery Tour (EP) Lead vocals: Paul and John When Paul McCartney was in the U.S. in early April 1967 he came up with the idea for a Beatles television film about a mystery tour on a bus. During the April 11 flight back home he began writing lyrics for the title song and sketching out some ideas for the film. Upon his arrival in London, Paul pitched his idea to Brian Epstein who happily approved. Paul then met with John to go over the details and the two began work on the film s title track. The title track was written primarily by Paul but was not finished when McCartney brought the song in to be recorded on April 25, John helped with the missing pieces during the session. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP The Beatles - I Am The Walrus - Magical Mystery Tour (EP) Lead vocal: John The Beatles sixteenth single release for EMI s Parlophone label. John Lennon pushed to have his I Am The Walrus as the A-side of the coupling with Paul s Hello, Goodbye, but his song was deemed too unconventional and less commercial than Paul s catchy tune. The title is inspired by the Walrus and the Carpenter from Lewis Carroll s Through The Looking Glass. Lennon described his lyrics as purposely being Dylan-esque. In his 1980 Playboy interview he explained, In those days I was writing obscurely, a la Dylan, never saying what you mean, but giving the impression of something. The I Am The Walrus session is notable because it was the first Beatles recording session following the untimely death of their manager, Brian 9

10 10 Epstein. Ironically, Epstein had stopped by the last time the Beatles were recording (for Your Mother Should Know at Chappell Recording Studios on August 23, 1967). He was found dead on August 27, aged just 32. All four Beatles met at Paul s St. John s Wood house on September 1 to discuss how they should proceed. Among other business matters, it was decided that they would press on with the Magical Mystery Tour project, temporarily postponing a planned visit to India to study Transcendental Meditation. The basic rhythm track was recorded in a six-hour session beginning at 7:00 p.m. on September 5, Sixteen takes were attempted, only five of them were complete run-throughs. Starting the next day overdubs were added to create John Lennon s textured masterpiece. Specifically, additional bass from Paul, more drums from Ringo and John s memorable lead vocal on Sept. 6, and a 16-piece orchestra under the direction of George Martin, and 16 members of the Mike Sammes Singers, a large group of vocalists who did much session and television work, that brought the Ho-ho-ho, heehee-hee, ha-ha-ha section to life, in separate sessions on Sept. 27. Issued November 24, 1967 in the UK and November 27, 1967 in the U.S. On U.S. album: Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol LP The Monkees The Porpoise Song HEAD `68 *Name the Micky Dolenz directed episode of the Monkees TV show that featured the Beatle song Good Morning Good Morning? No laugh track. Directed by Micky Dolenz CBS syndicated version replaced "Zor and Zam" with "I Never Thought It Peculiar". Singer/songwriter Tim Buckley performs "Song to the Siren" in the tag. 10

11 11 "Mijacogeo" is an anagram of the names in Micky's family: Micky, Janelle (mother),coco (sister), and George (father). Fourth and final mention of Mammoth Studios, which has now been turned into a television station called KXIW. 58 "The Frodis Caper" (aka "Mijacogeo") March 25, 1968 The Monkees match wits with the insane Wizard Glick (Rip Taylor), who is out to control the minds of television viewers worldwide. Song: "Zor and Zam" (Original version) Winner Grand Prize The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) - Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band Lead vocals: John, Paul, George, Ringo The Beatles had promised EMI that they have the master tape of the Sgt. Pepper album delivered no later than April 12, Paul McCartney had made arrangements to travel to America between April 3 and April 12, so this session on April 1 would be his last chance to add vocals or instruments to the project. Only George Harrison s contribution to the album ( Within You, Without You ) remained to be recorded, and that was being performed without John, Paul or Ringo. George Martin credits Neil Aspinall with the idea of reprising the title track on the second side of the record. For the reprise of the title song the Beatles convened in Abbey Road s studio one, a cavernous space usually reserved for orchestral recordings. George Martin felt this room enhanced the live feeling of the song, giving it an electrifying, football stadium atmosphere. According to author Mark Lewisohn, all four Beatles chanted out the quickpaced vocals. Mono mix includes the audience sounds beginning more sharply, the drum intro is four beats longer, and there are some words spoken by John as well as some 11

12 12 audience laughter, all of which are missing from the stereo mix. Paul ad-libs some lyrics at the end, but it can barely be heard on the stereo version. The Beatles - A Day In The Life - Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band Lead vocals: John and Paul Work began on January 19, 1967, for what is quite possibly the finest Lennon- McCartney collaboration of their songwriting career. On this evening, following some rehearsal, Lennon rolled tentatively through four takes, drawing a road map for the other Beatles and George Martin to follow. Lennon on vocals and Jumbo acoustic guitar, McCartney on piano, Harrison on maracas and Starr on congas. Sections were incomplete and to hold their space Mal Evans stood by a microphone and counted from one to 24, marking the time. To cue the end of the middle eight overdub section an alarm clock was sounded. There was no Paul McCartney vocal yet, merely instruments at this point where his contribution would be placed. On January 20, Paul added his section, which he would re-recorded on February 3. Lennon told Beatles biographer Hunter Davies that the first verse was inspired by a story in the January 17, 1967, edition of the Daily Mail about the car accident that killed Guinness heir Tara Browne. John: I didn t copy the accident. Tara didn t blow his mind out, but it was in my mind when I was writing that verse. The second verse was inspired by Lennon s work on Richard Lester s film How I Won The War. According to Paul, the third verse came from a Daily Mail article published on January 7, 1967, about 4,000 potholes in the streets of Blackburn, Lancashire BREAK The Beatles - Yes It Is flip Ticket To Ride 12

13 13 Lead vocals: John, Paul and George Recorded over five hours on February 16, 1965, the rhythm track of Yes It Is was completed in 14 takes. John, Paul and George then spent three hours recording the vocals live, the best version being laid on top of Take 14 as an overdub. Starting in 1965 this was the new way they would record. Previously, every edit piece or overdub would have been numbered. Now they just recorded until they got it right and placed that on top of a numbered take, the best rhythm track. Written primarily by John Lennon. John: That's me trying a rewrite of This Boy, but it didn't work. Yes It Is is notable for its lush harmonies and George Harrison s 12-string Rickenbacker played through a foot-controlled volume pedal, what is now known as a wah-wah pedal. The B-side of the Ticket To Ride single, issued April 9, 1965 in the UK and April 19, 1965 in the U.S. Capitol Records printed From the United Artists release Eight Arms To Hold You on both sides of the single. The wrong film title and this song was not included in the film. On U.S. album: Beatles VI - Capitol LP The Beatles - Do You Want To Know A Secret Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon) Lead vocal: George Recorded February 11, Written primarily by John Lennon for George Harrison to sing. The song was given to another Brian Epstein-managed act, Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, to cover. Their version topped the British charts in late spring Inspired by "I'm Wishing," a song from Walt Disney s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that Lennon s mother used to sing to him when he was a child. On U.S. albums: Introducing The Beatles - Vee-Jay LP The Early Beatles - Capitol LP The Beatles - You Won t See Me - Rubber Soul Lead vocal: Paul Written entirely by Paul. Recorded in two takes on November 11, 1965, at the final recording session for the Rubber Soul album. The song is notable for Paul s melodic bass line, something new to rock and roll. Paul: It was very Motown-flavored. It's got a James Jamerson feel. He was the Motown bass player, he was fabulous, the guy who did all those great melodic bass lines. It was him, me and Brian Wilson who were doing melodic bass lines at that time. Beatles roadie Mal Evans is credited on the album s back cover with playing Hammond organ on this track, but it is inaudible in the final mix. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP 13

14 14 The Beatles - Little Child With The Beatles Lead vocal: John Composed in about two hours just days before being recorded, Little Child was originally written for Ringo Starr to sing on The Beatles second album. When he passed, John and Paul penned a similar and simpler song for him to sing entitled I Wanna Be Your Man. John Lennon provides the lead vocal. Overdubs include John s harmonica part and Paul on piano. The song was never performed in concert by The Beatles. Recorded September 11 and 12, and October 3, On U.S. album: Meet The Beatles! - Capitol LP The Beatles - All Together Now - Yellow Submarine Lead vocal: Paul In May 1967, with the Sgt. Pepper album in the can and awaiting release, the Beatles went to work on two projects at the same time. They began recording the title track for Magical Mystery Tour and also starting to record the new songs they had promised for the Yellow Submarine film. The first song specifically recorded for the Yellow Submarine film was Baby, You re A Rich Man (on May 11, 1967), but that song was pulled several months later to fill the B-side of the All You Need Is Love single. George Harrison s Sgt. Pepper reject Only A Northern Song was added to the stack of film songs. Paul s sing-along All Together Now was started and finished on May 12, Nine takes were recorded. Instruments included two acoustic guitars (probably Paul and George), bass guitar (Paul), bass drum (Ringo), harmonica and banjo (John). The Beatles - Drive My Car - Rubber Soul Lead vocals: Paul and John 14

15 15 The lead off track to Rubber Soul on the UK version was recorded on October 13, This session was the first in Beatles recording history to go past midnight. The music was written by Paul but he needed help with the lyrics. He and John worked through the song and came up with baby you can drive my car in place of temporary lyrics Paul was using ( you can give me golden rings ). Drive my car is an old blues expression for sex. The basic track was completed in four takes. Thanks to overdubbing, McCartney plays bass, piano and slide guitar (his Epiphone Casino). Paul provides the guitar solo in the song s introduction, middle and ending. On U.S. album: Yesterday and Today - Capitol LP Aerosmith Come Together Sgt. Pepper SDTK `78 / #23 billboard Cue to call Aerosmith I m Down Permanent Vacation `87 Caller # BREAK Linda Louise Eastman McCartney 15

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17 17 Paul McCartney & Wings My Love Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney (née Eastman; Red Rose Speedway 73 Another massive hit for Paul and a great shot in the arm after being derided by critics, who were still unimpressed by McCartney s solo efforts. This song was written about Linda and has become a staple in McCartney s live set list. My Love was also released as a single in March 1973, reaching #1 on the US charts, with a #9 showing in the UK. The Beatles - I Will - The Beatles Lead vocal: Paul One of Paul McCartney s most cherished ballads, I Will was recorded in 67 takes on September 16, 1968, 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 Good Night on Side 4 of the White Album. The song fragment is unlisted and uncredited. It was determined that take 65 was the best version of I Will, and overdubbing began. Paul added additional vocals, hummed his bass guitar part and 17

18 18 played a 12-string guitar. Paul has said he had the tune before he traveled to India and there he recruited folk singer Donovan to help him with the lyrics, but was not satisfied with what they came up with. Paul McCartney The Lovely Linda McCartney 70 The recording Paul first used to test his new home recording set-up. It is the shortest song in McCartney's catalogue at 42 seconds long. Wings I Am Your Singer Wild Life 71 Another great ballad from Paul, this is considered one of the stronger tracks on the album. 18

19 19 Paul McCartney Maybe I m Amazed McCartney 70 Written in London, on piano. A promotional movie of the song was created featuring Linda s photography in a slide show. BREAK. a set for Linda Eastman McCartney who would have turned 71 tomorrow..(read back) and you know Linda sang on a Beatles song..did ya know? Yes The Beatles - Let It Be - Let It Be Lead vocal: Paul Let It Be was the last song properly recorded on multi-track at Apple Studios during the Get Back sessions in January 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 19

20 20 Be so that George Harrison could re-record his lead guitar solo. George s overdub was recorded on April 30, Author Mark Lewisohn: 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, 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. Paul McCartney Somedays Flaming Pie 97 Composed on March 18, 1994 while Linda was on a photo shoot in Kent (for one of her cookbooks). Paul gave himself a self-imposed mission to complete a song in one-session. George Martin later provided the orchestral arrangement for this emotional stunner BREAK 20

21 21 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 - I Saw Her Standing There Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon) Lead vocal: Paul Recorded February 11, A Paul McCartney original, the song was written in one day in September 1962 in the front parlor of 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton (the McCartney family from 1955 to 1964), with John Lennon 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 the Beatles debut album. A fan favorite, the Beatles recorded I Saw Her Standing There eleven times for BBC Radio between March 1963 and May McCartney has said that his bass line was lifted almost note for note from the obscure Chuck Berry song I m Talking About You, released by Berry in February The Beatles performed I m Talking About You at some of their club shows in 1962 and It is included on the Live! At The Star Club CD. Specially selected by Capitol Records staff members to be the b-side of the American I Want to Hold Your Hand single on Capitol in the U.S., replacing This Boy 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 Bruce Springsteen Something Live 01` 21

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