Movie Songs
There are five Beatles movies available to enhance your visual and auditory experience, starting with A Hard Day’s Night; followed by Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine; and ending with Let It Be. The Beatles wrote songs specifically for each of their films. The style of the songs range from rock and roll, folk rock, and ballads to psychedelic. This book is about experiencing the Beatles’ music, but watching their movies will give you an even greater perspective on each of the Beatles’ individual personalities. There is John’s sharp-tongued wit, Paul’s sweet charm initially and then his domineering personality in Let It Be, George’s laid-back coolness in A Hard Day’s Night, and Ringo’s overall affable, go-along-with-anything charisma. Be sure to have lots of popcorn on hand. There are a lot of Beatles visuals to watch.
The Beatles could not have been happier in the summer of 1964. Beatlemania was happening throughout the world, their records were number one hits, and their first feature-length film premiered on July 6 at the Pavilion Theatre in London. A black-and-white film produced by Walter Shenson, United Artists released A Hard Day’s Night worldwide in the summer of 1964. The movie portrays a day in the life of the Beatles, traveling on a train, getting mobbed by fans, playing a concert before a live studio audience for a television show, and singing and playing their new original songs. The songs featured in the movie are “A Hard Day’s Night,” “I Should Have Known Better,” “And I Love Her,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “If I Fell,” “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You,” and “Tell Me Why,” plus “She Loves You,” the closing song in the television show segment. An orchestral version of “This Boy” arranged and conducted by George Martin underscores a scene where Ringo goes walking about and eventually gets into trouble.
The fast-paced film begins with fans chasing John, George, and Ringo. During the chase, George trips and falls, followed by Ringo falling on George. John looks back and sees them on the ground and laughs. Rather than reshoot the opening scene, director Richard Lester kept it as is, setting the exciting, and at times somewhat slapstick, tone of the movie.
George ignites the song “A Hard Day’s Night” with a sensational, harmonically complex chord played on his newly acquired electric Rickenbacker twelve-string guitar. The same chord is doubled on the piano, played by George Martin, while John plays a D suspended chord on his acoustic Gibson guitar and Paul plays a high D on his bass. It was the first time that the Beatles used the electric twelve-string guitar so boldly. After a few suspenseful seconds, John sings the lead vocals, and the full band comes in on the word hard. The melody in the bridge was too high for John, so Paul sings that section of the song. George raises the bar when it comes to lead guitar solos and plays single notes followed by a rapid circular guitar riff. Ringo is busy on the recording of “A Hard Day’s Night,” playing drums and overdubbing bongos and cowbell. The song ends with George playing an arpeggio configuration of the opening chord, alternating between the high notes G and F. “A Hard Day’s Night” ends positively with the lyrics “I feel alright.” This dynamic, fast-tempo song written by John perfectly matches the highly energetic movie and was a number one hit single in many countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
Outdoor drive-in movie theaters were popular during the 1950s and 1960s. When A Hard Day’s Night was released, cars jam-packed the theaters. . . . There is a long line of cars at the entrance to the Lakewood Drive-In Theater. You sit in the passenger seat while your mother patiently waits and eventually parks the car at one of the few remaining car slots. After rolling down the driver’s side window halfway, your mother lifts the small metal-encased speaker with wires attached to the post in the ground and places it on the car’s window. The hot summer sun had set, and you and everybody in all of the cars are anxious to see the new Beatles movie, A Hard Day’s Night. After watching a few commercials about buying food and drinks at the drive-in’s concession stand, the giant screen goes black. Then suddenly you hear the opening chord to “A Hard Day’s Night” along with the movie’s title and opening scene. Seeing the much-larger-than-life Beatles dazzles your eyes, and even though it’s only a two-inch speaker, their songs fill the inside of the car and electrify your ears.
The timing could not have been better with the movie released in advance of the Beatles’ 1964 world tour and North American tour. Produced by Walter Shenson, directed by Richard Lester, and released in the United Kingdom on July 6 and the United States on August 11, A Hard Day’s Night fueled Beatlemania. The single “A Hard Day’s Night” and B-side “I Should Have Known Better,” as well as the other songs from the soundtrack album, dominated radio airwaves. The songs were played repeatedly on Top 40 AM radio stations throughout America. The Beatles had made a successful leap from recording artists and performers to acting on the big screen. They did so, for the most part, by being themselves, by acting naturally. In the movie, their charming personalities were turned up all the way and they were irresistible to Beatles fans. The plot is centered around Paul’s grandfather’s seemingly innocent troublemaking. Played by actor Wilfrid Brambell, the “clean old man” grandfather persuades Ringo to leave the television studio where the Beatles are scheduled to perform live, and Ringo goes off exploring and gets into trouble. After being followed by a policeman who is suspicious of Ringo’s behavior, Ringo is taken to the police station, while the television director, played by Victor Spinetti, is on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. Ringo’s solo “exploring” scene showcased his natural acting abilities and enhanced his growing popularity. There’s another natural thing that happened during the filming of A Hard Day’s Night. George met an uncredited actress named Pattie Boyd who played the role of a schoolgirl during a train sequence. Taken by her beauty, George asked her out on a date, but she turned him down as she already had a boyfriend. Initially miffed by Pattie’s rejection, George continued to pursue her, and eventually Pattie became Mrs. George Harrison.
The first staged song performed by the Beatles in the film is “I Should Have Known Better.” Written by John, this moderate-paced love song has a recurring harmonica part. John sings the vocals and plays the harmonica. The climbing melody in the verses tops on the words do and more. In the movie, the song begins with the Beatles playing a game of cards, cuts to them playing the song, and then cuts back to them playing cards. “I Should Have Known Better” looks like it was shot in a cargo section of a train. Actually, it was filmed in a decorated van that was shaken periodically to give the viewing audience the impression that it was part of a moving train. George shines when he plays the lead guitar solo, based on the melody of the verse, while John plays the harmonica in the background. The bottom-line ending love lyrics in “I Should Have Known Better” are “you love me too.” After watching this scene, you’ll probably love the Beatles, too.
Written for the most part by Paul, “And I Love Her” is a light love ballad. The song was used in the movie when the Beatles play the rehearsal for the upcoming televised broadcast. Paul is featured and sings the sweet, tender lead vocals. George made a significant contribution in the arrangement of “And I Love Her.” He wrote the recurring low-string guitar riff, the arpeggio part during the verses, and the lead guitar solo based on the song’s melody, all played on a nylon-string classical guitar. Right before George’s guitar solo, a harmonic shift occurs—the music changes key and stays in the new key. Listen carefully to the ending lead guitar riff and you’ll hear Paul hum the same guitar notes. The last chord is a surprise—a major chord after a series of minor chords. In keeping with the song’s light-sounding quality, Ringo doesn’t play drums. Instead he plays bongos and claves.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” is groundbreaking in the way it was used in the movie. Using fast-paced editing techniques applied to film footage of the Beatles running, jumping, and dancing in an open field, the film sequence of “Can’t Buy Me Love” is a precursor to what would be called a music video. Twenty years later, music videos would become immensely popular. This quick-tempo song written by Paul is musically quite simple. It’s the high energy, combined with Paul’s powerful lead vocals and lyrics, that make it exciting. Addressing materialism, the song confirms that you can buy lots of things with money, but you can’t buy love. It was George Martin’s idea to have Paul sing the title to introduce the song. Paul wrote “Can’t Buy Me Love” when the Beatles were in Paris in January 1964, and they recorded the song at the local EMI studio. The Paris recording of “Can’t Buy Me Love” had background harmonies sung by John and George. Once back in London, overdubs were added. Paul recorded a new lead vocal without John’s and George’s harmonies, and George recorded a new lead guitar solo. When listening to George’s lead guitar solo, you will hear two overlapping solos—the initial one recorded in Paris combined with the overdubbed solo recorded at Abbey Road.
John wrote the love ballad “If I Fell” and sings the introduction, which has an unusual chord progression that does not reoccur. Then he and Paul sing the smooth two-part harmony throughout the song. On his twelve-string electric guitar, George plays a light arpeggio guitar part woven in beneath the vocals during the entire song. The cautionary lyrics address the uncertainty of romantic relationships, with hopes that new love will be true and won’t be in vain. The key word if underscores the uncertainty surrounding new love. During the film sequence of “If I Fell,” George leans against a Vox amplifier and it tilts backward, causing him to nearly fall. Here again, rather than reshoot the scene, the director kept it in, adding to the real, natural feel of the movie.
John and Paul wrote “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” for George to sing and feature in the TV rehearsal sequence in A Hard Day’s Night. George plays a Gibson acoustic guitar, and if you watch the film you will see that the surface of the guitar would have benefited from a good polish. The song begins with accented chords that are played in the bridge along with Ringo’s crash cymbals and drum fills. John’s quick-paced rhythm guitar playing propels the song forward. John and Paul harmonize, singing “dance with you” and “oh” background vocals. The high-note harmony “oh” underlines the excitement of the song’s dance rhythm. As was the case with many early original Beatles songs, brevity was common. “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” is one of the shortest songs in the Beatles’ catalog, being only one minute, fifty-eight seconds long. Once the TV studio is filled with an audience, the Beatles perform a medley of songs.
Listen to the lyrics to “Tell Me Why.” If by now you’re getting familiar with John’s lyrics, then you’ll know “Tell Me Why” could only have been written by John. The lyrics address being lied to, hanging one’s head, and moaning, yet he’s still desperately in love. Containing conflicted, emotional lyrics, the song begins with punchy drums and electric guitars. “Tell Me Why” features three-part harmony vocals sung by John, Paul, and George. John’s lead vocals are intense, and he leaps up to his falsetto voice in the bridge. The lyrics “I beg you on my bended knees” are almost word for word the same as “I begged her on my bended knees” from the song “One After 909.” John and Paul wrote “One After 909,” and the Beatles performed it in their 1970 Let It Be movie. The musical ending in “Tell Me Why” is a rhythmic variation of the beginning of the song. “Tell Me Why” was part of a medley of songs played during the live studio scene toward the end of the film.
As a true testament to its timeless appeal, A Hard Day’s Night continues to be shown at selected movie theaters and on some television channels. If you want to see what the Beatles looked like, feel Beatlemania, hear them speak, and listen to some of their best songs from 1964, watch A Hard Day’s Night.
The Beatles second movie, Help!, originally titled Eight Arms to Hold You, premiered at the London Pavilion Theatre on July 29, 1965, and was released in the United States a month later. Again, the Beatles timed the theatrical release of their movie to coincide with the start of their 1965 American concert tour and their historic performance at Shea Stadium. Help! had a much bigger budget than A Hard Day’s Night and was shot in color. The bigger budget allowed director Richard Lester to shoot the film in three different geographical locations: England, the Austrian Alps, and the Bahamas. The storyline is centered on Ringo, who wears a sacrificial ring. According to an East Indian cult, the ring is a necessary part in sacrificing a woman to the goddess Kali. A group of Indians, led by Clang, brilliantly played by actor Leo McKern, are determined to get the ring from Ringo. After numerous failed attempts to remove the ring, Clang discovers that the large ring is stubbornly stuck on Ringo’s finger. Clang has no choice but to make Ringo the sacrificial victim. Two scientists, played by Victor Spinetti and the comedic Roy Kinnear, become aware of the ring’s supernatural powers and are also determined to get the ring from Ringo. The pacing of Help! is slower than A Hard Day’s Night, but the cinematography and close-up color shots of the Beatles make up for the slower pace. The highlights of the movie are the songs, which are “Help!,” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “You’re Going to Lose That Girl,” “The Night Before,” “I Need You,” “Ticket to Ride,” and “Another Girl.” Similar to the way Lester used “Can’t Buy Me Love” in A Hard Day’s Night, the song segments in Help! are precursors to what would later be defined as music videos, especially the songs “Ticket to Ride” and “Another Girl.”
The movie begins with a sacrificial ceremony taking place, only to be halted because the woman to be sacrificed isn’t wearing the necessary ring. In the next scene, the Beatles, dressed in black turtleneck jerseys, play and sing “Help!” on a projected screen. Clang throws darts at the Beatles’ images on the screen, and the mission to get the ring from Ringo begins.
“You’re Going to Lose That Girl,” a warning song written by John and Paul, is the second song in the movie, shot in a mock-up recording studio. The lighting and close-up shots of the Beatles in “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” draw you into the film. This vocally rich song is filled with tight harmonies sung by Paul and George, who sing the song’s title and repeat what John sings in the lead vocals. During the chorus, John’s voice leaps up to his falsetto register on the word lose. “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” has a surprise harmonic change when the key changes in the bridge, where George plays a tasty, note-bending lead guitar solo, and then slips back to the original key. To add to the rhythm of the song, Ringo plays bongos. At the end of this song sequence in the film, a funny thing happens. The recording engineer hears a buzzing noise. He asks if any of the Beatles are buzzing, and then suddenly Ringo and his drum set fall through a section of the floor that was cut with a buzz saw by the Indians.
During the film’s “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” song sequence, John sings and plays his acoustic twelve-string guitar. Ringo plays the tambourine while sitting alone in John’s sunken bedroom. The actress Eleanor Bron, who plays the character Ahme, sits on a couch with George, who makes eyes at her while he plays a Gibson acoustic guitar. The ending flute solo is played by the Beatles’ indoor gardener, who trims the faux grass-covered floor in their adjoining apartments. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” embodies the folk-rock music style that was becoming increasingly popular in 1965.
The film scene for “Ticket to Ride,” a song written by John, was shot in the Austrian Alps. The Beatles are frolicking, sledding, skiing, and having lots of fun. They are also gathered around a grand piano in the snow, where they playfully mime the lyrics to the song. George looks especially cool wearing a nineteenth-century top hat. The song begins with George playing a recurring guitar riff on his electric twelve-string guitar. Then the full band comes crashing in. An overdubbed electric guitar part plays a droning open A string during the verses, giving the song a multilayered sound. Listen to “Ticket to Ride” and you will hear a unique syndicated drum part. While played by Ringo, it was Paul who came up with the drum pattern. In addition to playing bass and singing harmony with John’s lead vocals, Paul also plays the lead guitar part after the bridge of the song and during the “my baby don’t care” double-time, fade-out ending. “Ticket to Ride” was a number one hit in the United States and many other countries in May 1965.
There is only one George Harrison song in Help! and it’s “I Need You,” a love song that he wrote for Pattie Boyd. Filmed outdoors in a field on the Salisbury Plain, the Beatles are protected from Clang and his gang by military tanks and armed British troops. It was a cold, windy day, and Ringo shivers from the cold English air. This scene also reveals that the Beatles’ hair has grown longer than it was a year earlier when they appeared in A Hard Day’s Night. “I Need You” has a striking, characteristic lead guitar part played by George on his electric twelve-string, even though he plays a Gretsch electric six-string guitar in the film sequence. He plays suspended and resolved chords using a volume pedal when he sings the last two words of the verses, on the song’s title, and on the music at the end of the verses. This recording has an unusual percussion ensemble with Ringo hitting a guitar case (or backside of a guitar) and John playing a snare drum. Adding variety to the percussion, Ringo overdubbed a cowbell in the bridges. Background vocals sung by John and Paul add tenderness to George’s heartfelt “I Need You.”
“The Night Before,” written by Paul, was also filmed on the Salisbury Plain. The song begins with the prominent sound of a Hohner Pianet, played by John, who was particularly fond of the keyboard instrument in 1965. Paul sings the arcing lead vocal melody while John and George harmonize together, singing, “Ah, the night before.” Paul wants things to be the way they were in the past rather than how they turned out to be. The lyrics in “The Night Before” are a clever way of addressing how quickly romantic relationships can change. Paul’s vocal peaks on the word cry, adding a bit of a growl to his voice during the bridge. The note-bending lead guitar solo is played by George and Paul. They play the same part in different octaves, which gives the solo a layered texture. This octave guitar technique was a new sound for the Beatles in 1965 but was short-lived, except for when they used it again briefly in “Hey Bulldog.” During the film sequence, Ahme tricks Clang into believing that the Beatles are directly above an underground cavity filled with explosives. Ahme did this by playing “She’s a Woman” on a tape recorder hidden near explosives. Above ground, the Beatles are playing “The Night Before.” Both songs are spliced together and interspersed with each other, matching the film’s action. At the very end of “The Night Before,” the planted dynamite ignites with a huge explosion. The Beatles run for cover.
Moving on to the Bahamas, “Another Girl,” written by Paul, was shot on rocks by the ocean and on a coral reef. On the recording, the slippery lead guitar fills are played by Paul. In the film, the Beatles mime playing the song and exchange instruments. Paul pretends to be playing his bass on a bikini-clad actress, John mimes playing the drums, George plays the bass, and Ringo plays guitar. “Another Girl” is a fun-filled music segment in the film, in which the Beatles share a lot of laughs. The song begins with a strong declaration by Paul, proclaiming that he has another girl, and he has met quite a few. Through the course of the lyrics that repeat “another girl” sung in harmony by Paul, John, and George, many girls pose with them, reminding the audience that the Beatles were having no difficulty whatsoever getting girls’ attention during their wild Beatlemania days.
The Beatles did a lot of laughing during the filming of Help! They were smoking marijuana and were high most of the time. The album design for the Help! soundtrack illustrates how much fun the Beatles were having with the movie. On the front cover, you will see George above the H as in Harrison, Ringo above the E, John above the L as in Lennon, and Paul above the P as in Paul. Three Beatles names match the H, L, and P. That left Ringo with the E. Perhaps in this case we can call Ringo “Ringe”? Open the album cover and you will see a photo of the Beatles, and Ringo has red paint on him. Why red paint? According to the Indian cult, the person being sacrificed needed to be painted red before the ceremony could take place. There was a lot of red paint flying around in the movie, and it was all targeted at Ringo.
Something life changing happened to George during the filming of Help! In the Indian restaurant scene where the Beatles are confronted by Clang, an arrangement of the Beatles’ song “A Hard Day’s Night” is played on Indian instruments. This was the first time that George heard Indian instruments. Indian music would have a major impact on George as he studied the sitar, Indian culture, and Hinduism. George’s Indian music contributions to the Beatles are highlighted in chapter 8, “Broader Horizons: World Music Songs.” It should also be noted that Ken Thorne composed the outstanding orchestral soundtrack to the film, which included Indian instruments.
The movie Help! is dedicated to Elias Howe, who invented the sewing machine. Why would the Beatles dedicate the film to Mr. Howe? In the closing credits, there is a screenshot of a Singer sewing machine. The logical explanation is that the Beatles are singers, and so is this sewing machine.
By 1967, the Beatles’ music had changed dramatically, as you can hear in the songs on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour albums. On December 26, 1967, the Beatles released their self-directed and self-produced Magical Mystery Tour movie on television in the United Kingdom. This largely experimental, see-what-happens movie was Paul’s idea and is very different from the scripted A Hard Day’s Night and Help! movies directed by Richard Lester. Improvisational in nature, the loose plot is based on a group of varied characters, including the Beatles, who travel on a bus in the English countryside. Filming took place in September 1967, at the time when the Beatles were glowing with the critically acclaimed success of their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. A psychedelic glow glistened on the Magical Mystery Tour, but aside from the songs, the movie is more mysterious than magical. For some reason, Ringo continually argues with his aunt Jessie, and the bus conductor, Buster Bloodvessel, and Jessie fall in love with each other. A bizarre vehicle and foot race happens. John, dressed as a waiter, shovels pounds of gooey spaghetti onto Jessie’s overflowing plate. A strip show takes place, backed by the Bonzo Dog Band, and the movie ends with the Beatles in white-tailed tuxedos dancing to the song “Your Mother Should Know.” Something unfortunate, but funny, happened that was not included in the film. While the bus was traversing English country roads, it came upon a small bridge and proceeded forward. But not for long. The bridge was too narrow, and the magical bus got stuck on the bridge. Photographer Chris Walter traveled with the Beatles on their Magical Mystery Tour and took many photos of the Beatles at several locations. He happened to take a photo of the bus stuck on the bridge.
The Magical Mystery Tour movie was the Beatles’ first creative flop for a number of reasons. The unscripted, experimental approach was too unstructured and lacked continuity, and the Beatles had no experience directing a film. The film was released in the United Kingdom on Boxing Day, when exchanging gift boxes, not boxing gloves, takes place. The movie was shot using color film, but the majority of television sets in the United Kingdom were black and white. As a result, the dynamic colors could not be seen and the black-and-white broadcast looked dull. If Brian Epstein had still been alive, he may have prevented the release of the movie and focused on the strength of the songs and the album. The movie includes six new Beatles songs: “Magical Mystery Tour,” “The Fool on the Hill,” “Flying,” “Blue Jay Way,” “Your Mother Should Know,” and “I Am the Walrus.”
On the Magical Mystery Tour album cover, the Beatles are dressed in animal costumes and surrounded by multicolored stars. Below a walrus, which references the song “I Am the Walrus,” is the vibrant-colored album title. Unlike the lyrics in “I Am the Walrus,” when John says that he is the walrus, during the song “Glass Onion,” John sings, “The Walrus was Paul.” Therefore, it’s conceivable that Paul is dressed as the walrus on the album cover. The back cover is a multilayered collage photo of the Beatles dressed in white-tailed tuxedos from the “Your Mother Should Know” film scene. Side one of the album contains the six songs from the movie. Side two is a collection of the Beatles’ 1967 singles: “Hello, Goodbye,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” and “All You Need Is Love.” The style and production of the songs in the movie certainly parallel the trippy, psychedelic nature of the film.
It’s time to get on the bus. “Magical Mystery Tour,” the trippy title song to the movie, was written by Paul, with John contributing a few lyrics. Recorded less than a week after completing the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, the song begins with Paul’s carnival-sounding voice announcing, “Roll up!”—as in roll a joint before getting on the bus? The Beatles were doing plenty of drugs in 1967—marijuana and LSD. A direct reference to an acid trip, during the bridge of the song, John says, “Mystery trip.” Paul’s brilliant bass playing during the bridge is out front and in your face. Sounds of the bus go rushing by with stereo panning. The trumpet ensemble adds a lot of sparkle to the song with rhythmic punches. John’s and George’s backing vocals are heavily processed with effects. The piano warbles during the ending fade-out, sounds stretched and trippy with some applied tape manipulation and tremolo and reverb effects. Opening the movie with this song, the Beatles extend an invitation to take you away, far away, into the world of their magical songs.
There are hundreds of thousands of hills in England, but none of them appealed to Paul. So he flew, without a passport, to Nice, France, where he found a hill that satisfied him. That’s where the film segment for “The Fool on the Hill” was shot. When watching the footage, you will see many sides of Paul—spinning, dancing, jumping, and running on a hill. Paul says that the song is about someone like the Maharishi, but Paul is the only one on the hill. Certainly, Paul couldn’t be the fool.
“Flying,” composed of a simple three-chord progression, is one of the most unusual Beatles songs. Originally titled “Ariel Tour Instrumental,” it’s one of the few songs written by all four Beatles. The song is a rare Beatles instrumental with a “la, la, la, la, la” chorus and has no verses or bridges. John plays the organ and mellotron, an electronic keyboard instrument that plays prerecorded tape loops. The electric guitars are played by Paul and George. One of the guitars is heavily processed with a phasing effect and sounds choked or squashed. In contrast, the other guitar part has a mellow tone. The electronic sound effects at the end of the song, created by John and Ringo, are mind-bending, improvisational in nature, and have nothing to do with the music that precedes it. Even though the Beatles are on the bus, they do get off the ground with “Flying.”
“I Am the Walrus” is an amazing psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde, orchestral-backed pop song written by John. Everything about it is unlike any other Beatles song, and the same can be said for the “I Am the Walrus” scene in Magical Mystery Tour. The visuals in the film match some of the song’s image-rich lyrics. The repetitive lyric “I am the egg man” is portrayed by John’s head being wrapped in a white, egg-looking skull cap. There is a line of policemen holding hands on a high wall, bringing to life the lyrics “pretty little policemen in a row.” Negative images of the Beatles playing their instruments are cut in and out of the film footage. The lyrics are intentionally abstract. Influenced by Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” a nursery rhyme, plus a considerable dose of LSD, John paints disjunctive, bizarre pictures with his words, such as “pigs from a gun,” “crabalocker fish wife,” “pornographic priestess,” and “elementary penguin.” For extra measure, John mixes in some nonsensical gibberish with “goo, goo, g’joob.” What images do you see when you hear the lyrics to “I Am the Walrus”? Whatever they are, I’m sure they are colorful. You can discover more about “I Am the Walrus” in chapter 9, “Recording Studio Wizardry: Psychedelic and Electronic Songs.”
In August 1967, George was staying at attorney Robert Fitzpatrick’s home on Blue Jay Way, high up in the Hollywood Hills above the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Robert had been hired by Brian Epstein to handle some of the Beatles’ and Brian’s personal legal affairs. Robert was in Hawaii and offered his home to George, Pattie, and the Beatles’ personal assistant Neil Aspinall while they were in Los Angeles. It was getting late, and having just flown in from London, George was jet-lagged and tired. But he wanted to stay awake because Derek Taylor, who was also in Los Angeles, was on his way to visit George. To stay awake, George started playing the small organ in Robert’s home. As he played, George noticed that a fog was settling in on the city. That gave birth to the opening lyrics in the song “Blue Jay Way.” An Indian-flavored droning song, “Blue Jay Way” documents the true account of George waiting for Derek to arrive. A month later, back in London at Abbey Road, George and the Beatles recorded “Blue Jay Way” for the Magical Mystery Tour film and accompanying album. In the film segment, George sits cross-legged, dressed in Indian-styled clothes with a colored chalk drawing of an organ on the concrete floor at his fingertips. “Blue Jay Way” spotlights the organ and doesn’t include guitars. Paul and Ringo flesh out the sounds with bass and drums, which are processed with a flanging delay effect. “Blue Jay Way” begins with George playing long, sustained notes and the melody to the chorus on a Hammond organ followed by a solo cello, performed by an uncredited studio musician. George sings the first verse, which contains some backward music and fragmented voices. The rhythm is developed on the first chorus and second verse when Ringo plays his full drum kit, while George sings “Please don’t be long” on the chorus. John and Paul sing background vocals on the second chorus, repeating George’s “don’t be long” vocals. The solo cello returns during the second chorus and continues throughout the song, chugging along and playing descending notes between the vocal passages during the ending chorus. Instead of repeating and answering George on the ending chorus, John and Paul harmonize with George. Perfectly replicating a late, foggy night in Los Angeles, the overall effect of “Blue Jay Way” is nocturnal and sleepy.
“Your Mother Should Know,” written by Paul, is a throwback dance hall–styled song. This song was used as the closing number in the Magical Mystery Tour movie. The Beatles, dressed in white-tailed tuxedos, dance the same choreographed steps as they descend a large spiral staircase. John, George, and Ringo have red carnations attached to their jacket lapels. Paul is wearing a black carnation. A black carnation? Have you ever seen a black carnation? Why is Paul’s carnation black? Paul claims it was simply a mistake. Some people think this was a clue that supports the Paul McCartney death hoax. According to conspiracy theorists, Paul died in a car crash on either September 11 or November 9, 1966. If you find the death hoax interesting, there is extensive coverage on this subject on the Internet, which details visual clues on Beatles albums covers and lyric clues in some of their songs.
Paul wrote “Your Mother Should Know” to acknowledge mothers in general, who know more about their children than their children realize. The arrangement of the song is quite simple: Paul sings lead and harmony vocals and plays piano and bass guitar, John plays the organ and sings harmony, George plays rhythm guitar and sings harmony, and Ringo plays the drums. The sound and texture of John’s and George’s background voices are similar to their voices in the bridge of “Lady Madonna,” another one of Paul’s songs, which was recorded a few months later. The lyrics are repetitive, but even so, “Your Mother Should Know” is an appealing, toe-tapping song.
From the albums Meet the Beatles! to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles’ evolution as songwriters and as a band is unmatched. Starting with love songs using three or four chords and moving to complex lyrics and advanced, multichord progressions, the Beatles had raised the innovative creative bar so high that listeners expected every new Beatles album to be a new, evolutionary sound experience. The Beatles’ soundtrack albums are a mix of songs from the movies, instrumental orchestral music, and prereleased singles. Only side one of the Magical Mystery Tour album can be considered a soundtrack, since side two is a collection of previously released singles, unrelated to the film. The Yellow Submarine soundtrack album, the Beatles’ second album released on the Apple Records label, contains only four new songs on side one—“Only a Northern Song,” “All Together Now,” “Hey Bulldog,” and “It’s All Too Much,” along with the previously released singles “Yellow Submarine” and “All You Need Is Love.” Side two is made up of beautiful orchestral soundtrack music composed and conducted by George Martin. Unlike most Beatles albums, which contained wall-to-wall new songs, the Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine albums didn’t equal the all new songs high standard the Beatles had set. Nonetheless, the Yellow Submarine movie was a critically acclaimed success, and it sent a powerful message that love can prevail against evil.
You and your friends hear about the new animated Beatles’ movie, which is going to be shown at the local movie theater. You wonder why it is an animated film, like a cartoon, and not a movie with the real, physical Beatles. Maybe the theater will be filled with kids wanting to see a new cartoon? When you and your Beatles pals walk into the theater, you are happy to see that the audience is filled with teenagers. Most of the guys have long hair, and the girls have long hair with bangs. The film takes you on a fascinating journey through Pepperland and a variety of seas, including the Sea of Holes and the Sea of Green. You also experience the scary Blue Meanies, who hate music. The Blue Meanies have ruined Pepperland and have frozen its citizens, draining them of all color and life. The Beatles come to the rescue, and with their music they overcome the evil Meanies and peace and love returns to Pepperland. Even the leader of the Blue Meanies has a change of heart and no longer threatens the music-loving people of Pepperland. At the end of the film, you are suddenly surprised when you see the real Beatles on the big screen. But after looking through a periscope, John announces that he sees Blue Meanies approaching the movie theater! The only way to stop the Meanies is to sing, says John. After the closing credits roll to the song “All Together Now,” you and your friends walk out of the theater singing the song while holding hands. The Beatles restored peace and love in Yellow Submarine, and you and your friends feel that love and believe it.
The movie features brilliantly colored animated Beatles, created by animation directors Robert Balser from the United States and Jack Stokes from the United Kingdom. Watch Yellow Submarine and the wild, surreal animation will blow your mind and fill your heart with renewed love. In addition to the songs “Yellow Submarine,” “Only a Northern Song,” “All Together Now,” “Hey Bulldog,” “It’s All Too Much,” and “All You Need Is Love,” the movie also includes “Eleanor Rigby,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Nowhere Man,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” immediately followed by a snippet of “With a Little Help from My Friends,” and an excerpt from “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” which are not on the accompanying album. In addition to the songs, George Martin composed an orchestral soundtrack for the movie, which fills the entire second side of the Yellow Submarine album. John was critical of George Martin’s score and didn’t want it on the album. However, because the Beatles didn’t have enough new material to fill the album, John had to accept the inclusion of the orchestral score. Without Martin’s compositions, the movie and album would not have been complete.
The recording of the song “Yellow Submarine” is loaded with nautical sound effects, including bubbling water, a ship’s bell, waves, whistles, and chains. The Beatles had a lot of fun talking through tin cans and shouting like sailors. Paul conceived “Yellow Submarine” as a children’s song for Ringo to sing. A sing-along song with a big chorus of singers, the musical arrangement of “Yellow Submarine” is lean, with acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and tambourine. The marching band, sound effects, and big vocal chorus are what makes the song unique. A varied group of people sing the chorus: John, Paul, George, and Ringo; Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones; Mal Evans, who also bangs a bass drum; Pattie Boyd Harrison; recording artist Marianne Faithfull; plus extremely rare singing from George Martin, engineer Geoff Emerick, Neil Aspinall, and Brian Epstein. As the number one hit single recorded and released in 1966 along with “Eleanor Rigby,” two years later “Yellow Submarine” would give birth to the animated movie.
“Hey Bulldog,” a powerful, piano-driven rocker written by John with a little help from Paul, was not included in the original U.S. release of Yellow Submarine. The movie’s producer, Al Brodax, claimed that with “Hey Bulldog,” the film was too long. But the song was included in the 1999 rerelease of the film. With doglike creatures in Yellow Submarine, “Hey Bulldog” is certainly a good fit. John had said in 1980, and is quoted in the book by David Sheff, All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, that the song “is a good sounding recording that means nothing.”
“Only a Northern Song,” written by George, contains an orgy of sounds, including George playing the organ and singing lead vocals, John playing the piano and glockenspiel, Ringo on drums, and Paul playing bass guitar and a trumpet. The song was recorded at the time when the Beatles were recording the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, when they experimented with new sounds in the recording studio. George Martin, John, and Paul decided not to include “Only a Northern Song” on the Sgt. Pepper album. When four new songs were needed for the Yellow Submarine movie, “Only a Northern Song” was one of the four that were chosen. The lyrics are both humorously on the nose and telling. George wasn’t happy with the music-publishing agreement that he had with Dick Lewis and the music publishing company Northern Songs. The majority of monies received by the company went to John and Paul, while George’s royalties were less than 1 percent. The song is filled with a dizzying array of electronic effects, backward tape loops, and dissonance, all of which mirror the lyrics “chords going wrong” and “out of key.” “Only a Northern Song” was a musical vehicle for George to express his discontent with the publishing company and diminish the value of the song by stating that it didn’t matter what chords he played or words he sang. George goes one step further and sings, “There’s no one there,” as if he is removing himself from the Northern Songs publisher. “Only a Northern Song” perfectly matches the psychedelic nature of the Yellow Submarine movie.
Sounding similar to “Only a Northern Song” in terms of production and use of instruments, George’s second song contribution to the movie is “It’s All Too Much.” During the drug culture of the 1960s, a popular verbal phrase used to describe what happened when experiencing LSD was “too much.” Intense, screaming guitar feedback ignites the song, along with the words “to your mind.” Listening to this song can be a mind-expanding experience. The movie ends with “It’s All Too Much,” celebrating the defeat of the Blue Meanies with the positive force of love. You can read more about “It’s All Too Much” and “Only a Northern Song” in chapter 9, “Recording Studio Wizardry: Psychedelic and Electronic Songs.”
Concluding the animated part of the movie, “All Together Now” is a playful children’s sing-a-long song written mostly by Paul. Acoustic guitars, played by Paul and George, along with ukulele and harmonica played by John, round out the skiffle style of the song. “All Together Now” exudes a spirit of bringing people together, making it a perfect closing credits song for the movie. At the end of the movie, translations of “All Together Now” appear onscreen in many different languages, indirectly asking people from different countries to be all together. After the first chorus, Paul sings a series of colors and finishes the lyric line with “I love you,” suggesting an interpretation that differing races and cultures present no barriers to love and compassion. Paul sings the lead vocals and also plays the bass. Ringo plays the drums and finger cymbals. All four Beatles sing the chorus and clap their hands, along with some of their friends, which creates a party-sounding atmosphere. The last chorus accelerates and ends with clapping and a “honk-honk,” which adds to the fun nature of the song.
The animated Yellow Submarine movie appropriately included the 1967 hit song “All You Need Is Love.” After all, it was love that eventually overcame the Blue Meanies, turning them around and changing their hearts from being mean to lovable. More detailed information about “All You Need Is Love” is in chapter 4, “Playing America’s Heart Strings: Love Songs,” and chapter 10, “Orchestral Dimensions: Strings, Woodwinds, and Brass Songs.”
The Let It Be movie began as the “Get Back” recording sessions. The intent was to document the Beatles working on new songs for their next album without recording overdubs or building multiple tracks. These were songs that they would perform live. Starting on January 2, 1969, the Beatles met at Twickenham Studios in London to begin the project. Unfortunately, the tensions that existed during the recording of the White Album were still very much alive. John’s relationship with Yoko Ono had grown deeper. She was constantly with John, and her presence at Twickenham exacerbated the deteriorating relationships among the Beatles. They tried to get back to their musical roots by playing some of their favorite rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues cover songs, including “Ain’t She Sweet,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” and some of the songs they had played in Hamburg, Germany, and at the Liverpool Cavern Club, such as “That’s All Right (Mama),” “What’d I Say,” and “Be Bop a Lula.” The Beatles played more than a hundred songs during the sessions, including new songs that ended up on the Abbey Road and Let It Be albums. As much as the Beatles tried to get back, they couldn’t get back to where they once belonged, to borrow some of the lyrics from their single “Get Back.” While there were some happy moments among the Beatles, to a considerable extent, the film documents the band splintering and coming apart. At one point early on in the sessions, George walked out and quit the band. And how did John respond? He said they should call Eric Clapton. “He’s just as good and not such a headache,” declared John, as quoted in the book Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York and Points Beyond, written by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed the Let It Be movie.
A month prior, John had performed with Eric Clapton in the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. At that performance, Paul didn’t play bass and Ringo didn’t play drums. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones played bass, and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience played drums. John’s move to play with other musicians was an indication of his desire to be more than just a Beatle. So much so that in 1969, John formed a new band with Yoko called the Plastic Ono Band, which included a rotating roster of musicians such as Tommy Smothers, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and Alan White. While the Beatles were still officially together and working on the Abbey Road album, John released the single “Give Peace a Chance” by the Plastic Ono Band. Another loud and clear signal from John happened when the Plastic Ono Band released “Cold Turkey” in October 1969, the same month the Beatles released the “Come Together”/“Something” single. Ringo played drums on “Cold Turkey.”
George’s temporary departure happened for a number of reasons. He didn’t like Yoko being at the sessions, he didn’t like Paul telling him how to play the guitar and what to play, and he was frustrated with Paul and John having little interest in his songs. During the morning session, Paul was telling George how to play the guitar part in Paul’s song “Two of Us.” In this scene in the movie, George said to Paul with a frustrated tone, “I’ll play what you want me to play, or I won’t play at all if you don’t want me to. Whatever it is that’ll please you, I’ll do it.”
This was a sad and all-time low event in George and Paul’s long relationship. Paul had brought George into the Quarrymen in 1958, and they had shared a close friendship and many years of good times playing together as the Beatles. But ever since the Beatles started work on their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, Paul had taken on a domineering, directorial role. Paul’s proficiency with the guitar added to the tensions, which reached a boiling point on January 10, 1969, when George walked out on the Beatles.
The “Get Back” sessions were Paul’s idea. John, George, and Ringo participated, but they did not appear to be enthused about it. In one scene in the film, Paul speaks to John about the project and John doesn’t respond. He looks completely bored, says nothing, and just stares at Paul while smoking a cigarette.
The songs the Beatles play in the movie are “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “Two of Us,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “Oh! Darling,” “One After 909,” “Across the Universe,” “Dig a Pony,” “I Me Mine,” “For You Blue,” “Bésame Mucho,” “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” “The Long and Winding Road,” “Rip It Up,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” “Kansas City,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Dig It,” “Let It Be,” and “Get Back.” The Beatles had many conversations about where they would perform the new songs. Possible locations for the performance included a concert hall in London, aboard a cruise ship, and at a Roman amphitheater in Africa.
The film begins with a shot of Ringo’s bass drum with the Beatles’ logo on it. As he had done for several years, the Beatles’ trustworthy road manager Mal Evans moves instruments into place. Paul plays a classical composition by Samuel Barber on the piano with Ringo sitting nearby. A half-eaten Granny Smith apple is on top of the piano. Although not in the film, George enters Twickenham and says, “Hare Krishna,” which is on the “Fly on the Wall” bonus disc released with the Let It Be . . . Naked album in 2003. In the film, George comes in and smiles with Ringo. John and Yoko float in. Straightaway it’s obvious that the Beatles are in different worlds. Paul appears to be interested in classical music; George is the only one immersed in the Indian culture and Hinduism; John is focused on himself and Yoko; and Ringo is about to act in the film The Magic Christian with Peter Sellers.
Once the Beatles settle in with their instruments, they begin to play John’s new song about Yoko, “Don’t Let Me Down.” The Beatles work on the arrangement and rehearse and play the song during their impromptu rooftop performance. “Don’t Let Me Down” begins with a chord, bass note, and cymbal crash followed by a guitar riff and a repeat of the opening musical arrangement that introduces the chorus. Then John emphatically sings, “Don’t let me down,” followed by Paul harmonizing with John on the repeated song title lyrics. While the song is in an even four-four time, the isolated vocals before each verse have five beats. Despite the odd time signature, the lyrics and melody flow and sound completely natural. The bridge contains a melodious countermelody played by George on guitar and an octave lower on the bass, played by Paul.
George thought it would be good to have keyboardist Billy Preston join the Beatles during the “Get Back” sessions. Billy was able to lighten the sour mood overshadowing the band as he played electric piano on “Don’t Let Me Down” and performed with the Beatles at their rooftop performance. The only recording artist to have a name on a Beatles record, the “Get Back,” and “Don’t Let Me Down” single has “The Beatles with Billy Preston” printed on the record label. A peculiar omission by Phil Spector, who produced the Let It Be album, “Don’t Let Me Down” is not on the album despite the fact that the song is in the movie.
The Beatles rehearsing Paul’s song “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the next scene in the movie. Paul sings and simultaneously calls out the chord changes to John and George. During the chorus, Mal Evans bangs on an anvil with a hammer to the lyrics “bang, bang.” “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” also was not included on the Let It Be album, but it is on Abbey Road. The dark lyrics about a fictitious character named Maxwell who goes around killing people with a silver hammer are strikingly juxtaposed to the bright, upbeat music. Paul tells the story about bad-boy Maxwell by singing the lead vocals and playing piano, electric guitars, and the Moog synthesizer. During the second and third verses, the synthesizer part harmonizes with Paul’s lead vocals. George plays a rhythmic six-string bass part and acoustic guitar and sings background vocals along with Ringo, who plays the drums and bangs the anvil. You can hear Ringo’s voice loud and clear mixed in with the ending “Silver Hammer” lyrics. John, who did not like the song, is not on the recording.
When you watch the documentary film, you will see how Paul’s song “Two of Us” evolved. The first version is played as an up-tempo rock-and-roll song. During this film segment, John and Paul are having a good time singing and playing together. But Paul wasn’t satisfied with the arrangement, so he replaced his bass guitar with an acoustic guitar and rearranged the song. The final version of “Two of Us” is performed by the Beatles in the second part of the film. Part two of the film takes place at the Beatles’ recording studio in their office building on Savile Row. In the recording studio parts of the film, unlike the rehearsal sessions, where the Beatles are casually dressed, the Beatles dress up a bit more.
The Beatles rehearsed “I’ve Got a Feeling,” and once again John and Paul were having a good time. The song is a combination of Paul’s “I’ve Got a Feeling” and John’s “Everybody Had a Hard Year.” During the rehearsal, Paul tells John how he wants the descending lead guitar to be played, illustrating another example of Paul having fixed, definitive musical parts to his songs. The year 1968 had been a hard one for John. He had divorced Cynthia, Yoko had had a miscarriage, he was addicted to heroin, he was arrested for possessing drugs, and he was unhappy being a Beatle. In contrast with John’s lyrics is Paul’s uplifting “I’ve Got a Feeling.” During the bridge, Paul screams passionately about years of trying to find the love of his life and finally meeting her. Unlike the rehearsal, it’s George who plays the descending guitar part in the rooftop performance. During the last verse, John and Paul sing the lyrics to their individual songs together. With Billy Preston playing the electric piano on the recording and during the rooftop performance, one could say that in January 1969, he was the fifth Beatle.
George’s growing discontent with the Beatles is clearly evident in the film when he presents his new song “I Me Mine” to Ringo and says, “I don’t care if you don’t want it.” George sings a heartfelt lead vocal as he, Paul, and Ringo rehearse the song while John dances with Yoko. To further demonstrate John’s disregard and lack of interest in George’s song, when the Beatles recorded it for the Let It Be album, John didn’t attend the recording session. George plays all the guitars on “I Me Mine,” and Paul harmonizes with George on the rocking choruses. Ringo plays drums with the Beatles for what would be the last time while John was still alive.
At the beginning of part two of the film, the Beatles individually arrive at Apple headquarters on Savile Row. Underscoring their arrival is George’s song “For You Blue,” which segues to the Beatles playing the song in their recording studio. Yoko sits next to John as he plays the lap steel guitar. You can find out more about “For You Blue” in chapter 6, “A Lighter Side: Folk-Rock and Country-Rock Songs.”
Going back to a song that the Beatles had recorded on a demo tape on January 1, 1962, the Beatles played a spirited cover version of the Spanish song “Bésame Mucho,” written by Consuelo Velázquez. One of the lighter, fun performances in the film, Paul sings the song with an over-the-top operatic voice while John gives him a big smile.
Following the fun-packed rendition of “Bésame Mucho,” George and Ringo sit at a grand piano, where they work on Ringo’s new song “Octopus’s Garden.” George and Ringo worked well together as collaborative writers, and as a team after the Beatles had broken up, they produced Ringo’s solo hit songs, “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Photograph.” While George and Ringo work on “Octopus’s Garden,” John gets on Ringo’s drum kit and provides them with some rhythm while lighting up a cigarette.
Along with Billy Preston playing organ, the Beatles jammed for more than fifteen minutes on a song written by all four Beatles titled “Dig It.” The three-chord song is loosely based on the chorus to Bob Dylan’s song “Like a Rolling Stone.” John actually sings the lyrics “like a rolling stone” during the jam session. With Paul playing the piano, John plays a six-string bass. George plays lead guitar with his Fender Telecaster, Ringo plays his drums, and George Martin, who did not officially produce the Let It Be album, makes an appearance and plays maracas. Less than one minute from the jam is included on the Let It Be album. On the album, “Dig It” ends with John saying, “That was ‘Can You Dig It’ by Georgie Wood, and now we’d like to do ‘Hark the Angels Come,’” which is the introduction to “Let It Be,” the next song on the album.
As much as Paul tried to keep the Beatles together as a band, the core of the apple had rotted. The Beatles had to call it quits and let it be. The philosophical lyrics in “Let It Be” are timeless. In troubled and difficult times, instead of putting up a fight, just let it be. These were troubling times for Paul and the Beatles. The band was falling apart, and their personal and musical differences were too far apart to bridge the distant holes in their relationship. John, George, and Ringo wanted Allen Klein to manage the Beatles’ business affairs, but Paul wanted Linda’s father, Lee Eastman, to manage them.
Engineer Glyn Johns had recorded the Beatles’ “Get Back” sessions and presented mixes of the songs to Paul and John, who were not satisfied with what Glyn had produced. The unfinished album, originally titled Get Back, was shelved, and the Beatles moved forward and recorded and released Abbey Road in late September 1969. In March 1970, John and Allen Klein, who had become the Beatles’ business manager, decided to bring in Phil Spector to take over what Glyn had put together. Phil rearranged and produced the songs from the Get Back album, which was renamed Let It Be. On the back cover of the album is the following statement: “This is a new phase BEATLES album. Essential to the content of the film Let It Be, was that they performed live for many of the tracks. In comes the warmth and the freshness of a live performance, as reproduced for disc by Phil Spector.” Yes, some, or as stated, “many,” of the songs are live. But contrary to it being a complete live album, Spector added strings and brass on “I Me Mine” and “Let It Be,” plus a choir and harp on “The Long and Winding Road.” The front cover has live-action photos of the four individual Beatles, boxed in separate squares. All have long hair, and Paul sports a beard. John and Paul are singing, Ringo looks sad, and George has a big smile on his face. It’s ironic that George smiles, since he was the least-happy Beatle during the “Get Back” sessions. On the original albums released in the United States, the Apple label was a red apple. All previously released Apple recordings had the green Granny Smith apple label. A red apple, as in “stop, the end,” signifying this is last Beatles album? While one could construe that was the reason the apple had turned red, it being red had to do with United Artists having the rights to the Let It Be film and accompanying soundtrack album. To differentiate the album from a Capitol recording, United Artists Records made the Apple label red.
The studio session of “Let It Be” in the movie has lots of close-up shots of Paul. After all, he wrote the song and sings it with a convincing voice. The ballad is immediately appealing, with piano chords that lay down the harmonic structure. In the book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, by Barry Miles, Paul had said that he had a dream about his mother, Mary, who reassured him that things would be alright. That was the inspiration for the song and the lyrics “when I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me.” During the film sequence, when Paul sings the chorus, he says, “There will be no sorrow,” a variation of him singing, “There will be an answer.” Billy Preston plays a gospel-sounding organ part. George’s lead guitar solo is played through a Leslie speaker cabinet, which gives it a swirling, textured sound. John’s contribution to the song is minimal. He sings background vocals with George and plays a six-string bass. However, on the single and album releases of “Let It Be,” it’s Paul who plays an overdubbed bass part.
The single version of “Let It Be,” produced by George Martin, contains overdubbed background harmonies, which include a rare vocal performance by Linda Eastman and a subdued orchestral arrangement. On the Let It Be album, produced by Phil Spector, George Harrison plays a higher-pitched guitar solo, which continues in the last choruses. You can hear the lead guitar solo played by George on the single bleed through in the background. In addition to his organ part, Billy Preston also played electric piano. Phil Spector applied a delay effect on Ringo’s hi-hat, and during the third verse, Ringo added a rhythmic tom-tom pattern. The arrangement and production differences between the single and album versions clearly illustrate the differing production touches and flourishes by George Martin and Phil Spector.
The last song to be presented in the recording studio section of the Let It Be movie, “The Long and Winding Road,” written by Paul, has to be the saddest original song recorded by the Beatles. The Beatles had traveled on a remarkable, magical road, filled with record-breaking accomplishments and worldwide appeal, but ultimately the road became four individual paths. Along with Billy Preston playing a Fender Rhodes electric piano, the Beatles performed “The Long and Winding Road” on January 31, 1969, as a no-frills arrangement. Similar to the instrumentation in “Let It Be,” the song features Paul singing lead vocals and playing piano, George playing a Leslie-treated lead guitar part, John playing a six-string bass, and Ringo on drums. The single, released more than a year later in May 1970, is based on a recording the Beatles made on January 26, 1969. “The Long and Winding Road” single, which was the Beatles’ twentieth number one single in the United States, was produced by Phil Spector with a lush orchestral backing complete with a harp and a fourteen-part female choir. You can read more about this aspect of the song in chapter 10, “Orchestral Dimensions: Strings, Woodwinds, and Brass Songs.”
There were to be no Beatles’ performances on an ocean liner, at a Roman amphitheater, or in a concert hall in London. On the final day of the “Get Back” sessions, January 30, 1969, the Beatles used the rooftop of their office building on 3 Savile Row in London as the location for their performance. This was the last time that the Beatles performed together live as a band.
It was a cold, cloudy day in London when the Beatles ventured out onto the rooftop of their office building. Ringo, wearing his wife Maureen’s red raincoat, positioned himself on the drum kit. John wore a brown fur jacket; George wore a black fur coat; Paul wore a black suit jacket; and Billy Preston wore a black leather jacket. Unlike the stage positions that John, Paul, and George had taken during their touring years and in most televised performances, it was John who took the center position instead of George. Paul, like he always had done, stood forward right of Ringo. George was off to the left, where John usually stood. To begin their impromptu concert, the Beatles played “Get Back.”
The sound of music coming from the rooftop drew curious Londoners out of their offices. Some folks came out of windows and stood on nearby rooftops, while many more gathered on the street below. The Beatles ended “Get Back” and played “Don’t Let Me Down.” With dozens of people gathering on Savile Row, cars were having difficulty driving through the crowded street. Some local business owners called the police and complained about the noise and congestion. Unaware of what was going on down at street level, the Beatles continued to play and moved on to “I’ve Got a Feeling.” While there were some complaints, there were also compliments from people on the street, who said that they loved hearing the Beatles’ new songs. Then the Beatles played “One After 909.”
One of the first songs that John and Paul wrote after the budding songwriters teamed up together, “One After 909” is a rock-and-roll song with lyrics about catching a train. Originally, the song was played with a straight four-four rock-and-roll rhythm. The Beatles made attempts to record “One After 909” in 1963, but they were not happy with the recording and abandoned the song. Since the “Get Back” sessions were about getting back to their rock-and-roll roots, it was entirely appropriate for the Beatles to revisit the song. In 1969, the Beatles played “One After 909” with a shuffle, swing beat. On the rooftop, John sang the lead vocals and played his Epiphone Casino guitar, Paul played bass and sang harmony, George played his bright-toned Fender Telecaster guitar, while Ringo shuffled away on his drums and Billy Preston played electric piano. During this song’s film sequence, George plays his lead guitar riffs and solo enthusiastically, portraying a striking contrast to his unhappy mood during rehearsals. At the end of the song on the rooftop, John surprises everyone by singing a few lines from the classic Irish song “Danny Boy.”
Meanwhile, the London police were not impressed with the Beatles’ unannounced, disturbing-the-peace performance. A few bobbies entered 3 Savile Row and were greeted by Mal Evans, who took them up to the rooftop. The Beatles, with Billy Preston, played John’s new song “Dig a Pony.” The song was so new that John had not memorized the lyrics to the song, so a film crew member held a clipboard with a lyric sheet attached to it and kneeled in front of John. The lyrics are abstract, stream-of-consciousness Lennon. For example, John sings “do a road hog” and “roll a stoney.” Unlike the album version, during the rooftop performance of “Dig a Pony,” the song began with an abbreviated version of the chorus, with Paul singing “all I want is . . . ,” and ended with “all I want is you.” The album version begins with the four-bar bouncy guitar riff, which repeats before John comes in singing the lead vocals. As the Beatles dug a pony, Mal tried his best to persuade the police to let the Beatles continue to play and finish their planned set of songs. The Beatles launched into their closing reprise performance of “Get Back.” The police instructed Mal to stop the Beatles’ performance, so he turned off George’s and John’s amplifiers. Not willing to be shut down, a defiant George turned the amps back on. During the final last chorus, Paul ad-libbed lyrics about your mommy not wanting you to play on the rooftop and getting arrested by the police. The Beatles did not get arrested, but they had managed to get back together for one more live performance, which would be their last.
While George had quit the Beatles for about a week, John worked up the lead guitar solo in Paul’s “Get Back.” Musically, the song is made up of a simple rock-and-roll, three-chord progression. With this song, the Beatles did get back to their rock-and-roll roots. Evidently, the majority of the world’s singles charts liked the Beatles’ return to rock and roll. In the spring of 1969, “Get Back” was a number one hit single in eleven countries. Unlike the melodious riffing bass lines Paul played on so many Beatles recordings, he plays a simple, repetitive bass part in “Get Back.” The lyrics “Jo-Jo” and “Tucson, Arizona,” can be interpreted as a reference to Linda Eastman’s first husband, Joseph Melville See, who was from Tucson. However, Paul had said in Miles’s book, Paul McCartney, that the lyrics are not about anyone in particular. Instead, Paul claims that Jo-Jo is a fictitious character who is a man and a woman. Based on the lyrics “sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman, but she was another man,” Loretta is the mixed-gender character in “Get Back.” The song begins with a rhythmic build as Ringo drives the song, playing a steady drum pattern on his snare. Ringo’s two cymbal crashes along with George’s rhythm guitar striking out two chords introduce Paul singing the lead vocals. During the second chorus, John harmonizes with Paul, singing, “Get back.” Billy Preston plays a dazzling syncopated electric piano solo. George’s guitar playing and Ringo’s cymbal crashes give the song dynamic rhythmic punches that contrast with the ongoing rhythm of the song and with John’s lead guitar part.
The “Get Back” single, produced by George Martin, includes a suspended false ending after Billy Preston plays a descending piano riff toward the end of the song. Paul wails a high note, followed by Ringo playing drumbeats. The full band resumes playing the chorus, and the song finally fades out. The album version of “Get Back,” produced by Phil Spector, has an entirely different beginning and ending. The song begins with the Beatles warming up and chatting. Paul says “Loretta” a few times and John sings an a cappella variation of the “Sweet Loretta” lyrics in the song. This introduction is cross faded with the beginning of the recorded single. At the end of the song, after the false ending, the band does not come back in playing the chorus. Instead, Spector spliced in sounds from the end of the “Get Back” rooftop performance, which includes Maureen Starr clapping and saying “yea,” Paul thanking her with “Thanks, Mo,” and John saying, “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition.”
Released in the United States in May 1970, watching Let It Be was a sobering experience. During the screening of the film, the audience was extremely quiet, taking in every word the Beatles had said. Let It Be revealed some of the animosity that was eating away at the group. When leaving the theater, no one was singing, rejoicing, or feeling uplifted, because the Beatles were finished.
The breakup of the Beatles was the result of numerous events and personal and business conflicts among the band. Brian Epstein’s death, Yoko Ono’s ongoing presence in the recording studio, Ringo feeling unappreciated and temporarily quitting, George’s frustration with Paul and walking out during the “Get Back” sessions, and John forming another band were all contributing factors. Another incident that brought tensions to a head was when Paul released his first solo album, McCartney, in April 1970. John and George let Paul know that they had instructed Apple’s parent company, EMI, to delay the release of the McCartney album to avoid it being released around the same time as the Let It Be album and movie. Paul ignored the instructions and released his album as planned on April 17 in the United Kingdom and on April 20 in the United States. On April 9, Paul sent advance copies of the album along with an interview to the London media. In the Q&A interview, Paul mentioned his break with the Beatles and that he had no future plans with the Beatles. The next day, the media announced that Paul had quit the Beatles and that the band had split up. John was furious, not because Paul had quit the band, but because John had announced to Paul at a band meeting on September 20, 1969, that he wanted a “divorce.” For business reasons, John agreed not to go public with his leaving the band. It was John’s band from the beginning. He started it, and he wanted to end it, not have Paul end the Beatles and use it as a publicity stunt to promote his McCartney album.
The disbanding of the Beatles was a tough pill to swallow. They had been a big part of millions of lives, and after many years of providing their worldwide fans with more than two hundred songs, inspiration, joy, and musical innovation, the Beatles ended their historic career.
The Beatles’ movies document their evolution as songwriters, performers, and personalities. From fun-loving, witty mop-tops in A Hard Day’s Night and Help! to drug-induced psychedelic wizards in Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine to broken individual Beatles in Let It Be, the Beatles provided eye-popping visuals to their stunning musical achievements.
Suggested Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night”; “Help!”; “You’re Going to Lose That Girl”; “Magical Mystery Tour”; “Yellow Submarine”; “It’s All Too Much”; “Let It Be”