Fab Four Blog

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

By making Help! a seven-song Beatles album and reducing Rubber Soul to 12 songs (two of those refugees from the British Help! LP) Capitol Records had, by 1966, almost enough material to compile a new album of songs unissued in the US to that time. There were eight available, three more would be ideal, so an application was made for three of the new Revolver recordings to be sent across for release a few months earlier than planned. The answer was positive and mono mixes and edits made this day of "Doctor Robert", "I'm Only Sleeping" and "And Your Bird Can Sing", were done for just a purpose.

Yesterday....And Today was issued by Capitol on Monday, June 20th, but these three songs were later mixed again for the British Revolver LP, causing some slight differences between the two sets.

The Beatles taking a break in-between recording at EMI Studios in London

The Beatles taking a break in-between recording at EMI Studios in London.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Ten piano/drum takes of another superbly crafted Paul McCartney ballad, "For No One", formed the basis of this night session, Paul overdubbed a clavichord track and Ringo added cymbals, maracas, hi-hat and tambourine onto take ten. There was no role for either John or George in the recording of "For No One'.

Paul added his lead vocal as an overdub on May 16th and the song's fine French horn solo was taped three days after that.

In between recordings at EMI Studios in London.

A previously unreleased letter that George Harrison wrote to Atlanta DJ Paul Drew in May of 1966 reveals that the Beatles seriously contemplated recording at Stax in Memphis with producer Jim Stewart before the plan was derailed by financial issues. "We would all like it a lot," Harrison wrote by hand, "but too many people get insane with money ideas at the mention of the word 'Beatles,' and so it fell through!"

Word of the proposed Stax sessions has circulated before, but it was always said they pulled out due to security issues. It was also never known they contemplated working with Jim Stewart as opposed to George Martin, the only producer they'd ever worked with until the end of their career three years later. 

The letter, which was postmarked May 7th, 1966, was written when the Beatles were in the early stages of recording Revolver. "The album we are making now should be out around October," Harrison wrote. "But I hear Capitol will make an intermediate album with unused tracks from Rubber Soul, a few old singles and about two or three of the new tracks we have just cut…Well I am off to the studio any minute, as soon as John and Ringo arrive." That "intermediate" album would eventually be released as Yesterday and Today.

"The general assessment is that Capitol did pretty much whatever they wanted with Beatles records," Gold says. "To see that George had a very specific understanding of what Yesterday and Today was going to be before it came out was kind of a revelation too. It surprised me."

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Recording for I'm Only Sleeping concluded on this day, with the addition of vocals by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

The day began with the creation of two reduction mixes, the second of which was preferred, to combine the previous day's backwards guitar solos onto one track of the four-track tape.

Onto track four Lennon double-tracked his lead vocals in places (the main lead part had been added on April 29, 1966), while McCartney and Harrison simultaneously performed harmonies.

I'm Only Sleeping was mixed in mono on 12 May and 6 June, and in stereo on 20 May and 21 June.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

A 9:30 PM to 3:00 AM session in Studio Three of Abbey Road. Typically, when The Beatles decided to record a backwards guitar solo onto Take 11 of I'm Only Sleeping, they chose to do it the hard way. They figured out a pleasing sequence of notes and played them in reverse so that the solo would sound backwards, but still have the same melodic sound of a forwards-running tape. George Harrison spent this whole session recording not only one backwards guitar solo overdub, but another backwards solo to have the two superimposed on top of each other.

The Beatles are given permission to perform in Japan.

Pattie posing at a press conference at the London Waldorf Hotel to launch the new blanket, Nightlong Bliss, by Morphy Richards.

Playhouse Theatre, London

The Beatles gave two sets of interviews for BBC radio programs on this day, at the Playhouse Theatre in London.

The first was for the 400th edition of Saturday Club. The Beatles discussed their work so far on the as-yet-untitled Revolver, along with the forthcoming US tour and their lower public profile in 1966. The interviewer was Brian Matthew.

Afterwards Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remained behind to be interviewed again by Matthew for Pop Profile, a show for the BBC Transcription Service to be syndicated overseas. John Lennon and George Harrison had made a similar appearance on November 30, 1965.

The pair were interviewed separately. Starr's was recorded from 5pm, and McCartney's from 5.30pm, both lasting 15 minutes but later edited down to eight. The interviews were posted to participating stations worldwide later in May 1966 on 7" vinyl discs.

The 400th edition of Saturday Club, meanwhile, was broadcast from 10am-midday on 4 June on the BBC Light Programme service.

Empire Pool, Wembley

A fourth and final appearance at the New Musical Express Annual Pool-Winner's All Star Concert, this time the 1965-66 version, performed before an audience of 10,000 during this Sunday afternoon. It was also the Beatles' last live concert in Britain, a short set in which they delivered "I Feel Fine", "Nowhere Man", "Day Tripper", "If I Needed Someone" and "I'm Down".

The group were on a bill which also included The Spencer Davis Group, The Fortunes, Herman's Hermits, Roy Orbison, The Overlanders, The Alan Price Set, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, The Rolling Stones, The Seekers, The Small Faces, Sounds Incorporated, Dusty Springfield, Crispian St Peters, The Walker Brothers, The Who, The Yardbirds and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. The comperes were Peter Murray and Jimmy Savile.

Although ABC TV was filming the concert, Brian Epstein failed to reach an agreement over terms, so the cameras were turned off while The Beatles performed. The group were, however, filmed receiving their poll awards.

APRIL 30, 1966 KRLA BEAT MAGAZINE

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

Vocal overdubbing onto "Eleanor Rigby" was the main task today in this 5:00pm to 1:00am session, after which the recording was considered complete and mixed into mono. (A further overdub on June 6th rendered this mix redundant, though, and a new one was made on June 22nd for inclusion on the LP)

Following this work, John added his lead vocal onto the previously recorded "I'm Only Sleeping", the first of three overdub sessions for the song.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

The first session for Paul McCartney's most famous and best-loved songs, Elanor Rigby, took place on this day, with the recording of the string octet backing.

The session was a short one, beginning at 5pm and finishing at 7.50pm. A string octet had been booked, featuring four violins (played by Tony Gilbert, Sidney Sax, John Sharpe and Jurgen Hess), two violas (Stephen Shingles and John Underwood), and two cellos (Derek Simpson and Norman Jones).

The performers were each given a standard Musicians' Union fee of £9 for their work, and performed a score written by George Martin. Two brief rehearsals took place, with and without vibrato, and the musicians opted to play without.

Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were present at the studio, but remained in the control room of Studio Two. George Martin was on the studio floor conducting the musicians.

The strings were recorded with a close microphone technique, giving them a timbre different from anything that had previously been heard.

Fourteen takes of the strings backing were recorded, the last of which was the best. The instruments were recorded two per track, and a reduction mix - numbered take 15 - was made at the end of the session to free up three further tracks.

A new mix of the instrumental backing was made in 1995 for the Anthology 2 collection, presenting the strings in full stereo for the first time.

The picture below is from the graveyard next to the church where Paul and John met. However, Paul said in later interviews that the line in the song had nothing to do with the grave that he could remember, but maybe subconciously he did.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

The Beatles were not only attending mix sessions, but also to make presence felt is clear from this day's studio documentation. One mix of "Taxman", one of "And Your Bird Can Sing" and nine of "Tomorrow Never Knows" was produced between 6:00 and 11:30 pm, yet none was used for the finished album.

Between 11:30 and 3:00 am, the Beatles started work on a new song, John's dreamy "I'm Only Sleeping", taping 11 takes of a mostly acoustic basic track. Overdubs were added on April 29th and May 5th and 6th.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Booked for 2:30-5:30 and 7:00-10:00 pm, the Beatles got thoroughly stuck into this day's re-make of John's "And Your Bird Can Sing", working uninterrupted from 2:30 pm until 2:45 the following morning. They recorded 11 more takes of the song's rhythm track and overdubbed onto what they considered to have been the "best" of these, take ten.

(An interesting blend of lead guitar vamping and Paul's bass guitar notes ended the song, and the best version of this section came in take six, so future mixes combined the two elements.)

Two rough mono mixes of "Got To Get You Into My Life", without echo or the Beatles' attendance, were made this day at EMI, 10:00-11:00 am, for the purpose of cutting acetates.

Nothing much going on today

Another day off recording at the studio

The Beatles decided to take a break today. After all, it's the weekend.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

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Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

George's wonderfully sardonic "Taxman" was virtually completed during a 2:30 pm-12:50 am session, in which the Beatles recorded 11 takes of the rhythm track and then set about overdubbing onto the last of these.

By the end, the song lacked only the final session's spoken count-in, the "Mister Wilson, Mister Health" regrain which extended the fame of Britain's two most prominent politicians right around the world, a cowbell and the distinctive guitar solo outro. (This solo was in fact a copy of the middle-eight piece, edited onto the end of the the song during the final mono and stero mix on June, 21st).

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Two new songs were begun in this 2:30pm to 2:30 am session, although both would be re-made for record release. The lion's share of the 12 hours was devoted to John's "And Your Bird Can Sing", taping two takes and then, considering it complete, producing mono mixes of the "best", take two. However, a re-make was recorded on April 26th.

Four rehearsal rhythm track takes of George's "Taxman" were taped towards the end of the session but recording started fresh the next day.

There was no recording session scheduled for April, 18, 1966, so John Lennon and George Harrison went to the Marquee Club in London, where they saw The Lovin' Spoonful perform.

Between 1964 and 1988 the Marquee Club was situated at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, London. On this night Harrison met Eric Clapton; the pair would become close friends in subsequent years. They had met once before, during Another Beatles Christmas Show at Hammersmith Odeon in 1964-65.

Afterwards Lennon and Harrison visited a London nightclub in the company of Brian Jones, Spencer Davis, Stevie Winwood and Tom McGuinness.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

"Doctor Robert" was completed with vocal overdubs onto take seven and, at the end of the 2:30-12:00 pm session, rough mono mixes.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

An afternoon evening session, the Beatles recording in seven takes the basic track of John's new composition "Doctor Robert", written about a certain New York doctor who, allegedly, administered hallucinogenic drugs to friends from his Manhattan practice.

(Speaking of Dr. Robert, I think everyone should go on BeatlesRadio.com and take a look. Thanks to our own "Dr. Robert", you can see and hear what a wonderful job he does!)

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Eleven uninterrupted hours, 2:30 pm-1:30 am, completing "Rain", overdubbing tambourine, bass and more vocals, then doing tape-to-tape reductions to add yet more overdubs. Four mono mixes, the third marked "best", were produced at the end of the session. (Rain was first mixed into stereo on December 2, 1969)

Paperback Writer was an attempt by McCartney to write a song based on a single chord - possibly influenced by Indian music, but most likely a result of their marijuana use; other songs from this period, notably The Word, If I Needed Someone and Tomorrow Never Knows, were similarly modelled.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

"Paperback Writer" was completed between 2:30 and 7:30 pm, with numerous overdubs onto the previous night's take two, including Paul's lead and John and George's novel "Frere Jacques" backing vocal, evoking schoolboy memories of French lessons. The finished recording was mixed into mono.

At 8:30 pm, after a 30 minute pause, recording began of "Rain", to be the B-side of "Paperback Writer" when issued in June. Like many of the Revolver era recordings, "Rain"  was full of all of the latest technological advancements: limiters, compressors, jangle boxes, Leslie speakers, ADT, tapes played backwards, machines deliberately running faster or slower than usual, and vari-speed vocals.

By the end of the session, at 1:30 am, the Beatles had made five passes at completing a rhythm and vocal track. The song would be taken through to completion in the next session.