The Beatles, “Why Don’t We Do It In the Road?” from The White Album (1968)
On October 9, 1968, Paul McCartney asked engineer Ken Townshend to join him in Studio One at Abbey Road. The singer had an idea for a simple, bluesy track, and wanted to get the vocals and basic backing track (minus the drums) laid down. Thus “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road,” one of the White Album’s raunchiest and shortest tracks, was born, along with some subsequent controversy.
During the late stages of the Beatles White Album sessions, McCartney improvised the rocker, and elected to enter the studio by himself to record the track. He laid down five takes, which began with acoustic guitar and McCartney’s vocals. Originally he sang in a subdued style, gradually escalating to the screaming technique present on the final version. By take five, he decided to stick with the raucous vocalization throughout the track. This early version, which features McCartney thumping his guitar to create a beat, later surfaced on the Anthology 3 compilation. Once take five was completed, Paul McCartney overdubbed the piano section.
The next day, McCartney and Townshend resumed work on the track while John Lennon and George Harrison were overseeing the string overdubs for “Glass Onion” and “Piggies.” After completing additional vocals and adding handclaps, lead guitar and bass, McCartney asked Ringo Starr to join him in the studio to lay down the drum track and more handclaps.
The origin of the simple but risqué lyrics derives from the Beatles India retreat. Paul McCartney explained to author Barry Miles in Many Years from Now that he was inspired to write the lyrics by watching two monkeys, um, coupling. While sitting on a rooftop meditating, McCartney witnessed a male monkey suddenly hop on a female’s back; after a few seconds, the two separated as if nothing had happened. “And I thought, bloody hell, that puts it all into a cocked hat."
By: Kit O'Toole
Source: Something Else Reviews
