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Even though it sounds like a harpsichord, the middle eight is played by George Martin on a piano. He plays it back and rerecords it at double speed to achieve the harpsichord sound | |
The Beatles are at Abbey Road Studios for their last recording session. They work on a song written by Paul with Aretha Franklin in mind for the lead vocal. | |
Sheila Bromberg performs on the harp and becomes the first woman to play on a Beatles album. | |
John, Paul, and George record 'mouth brass' for the middle eight of a song that Paul wrote out of respect for hard - working women. | |
Ringo records his first and last drum solo as a Beatle. | |
George brings in his friend Eric Clapton to perform a guitar solo on his new track. | |
A recording of BBC Third Programme's King Lear is added to the song to provide an additional layer of madness. | |
Forty musicians join the Beatles in the studio to complete an orchestral crescendo. The musicians wear formal attire and novelty accessories. | |
Yoko Ono attends her first recording session. The Beatles record a song improvised on the spot while the band has some down time. There is plenty of barking to go around. | |
The Beatles can't find a calliope, so a sixty foot-long tape of steam organs is cut up, thrown into the air, and reassembled randomly for the track. | |
A french horn solo is added to complement Paul's descending bass-line. | |
Paul, George, and Ringo add instrumentation and backing vocals to a song that initially consisted of only John's voice and piano. | |
Applause and laughter are added to this title track. Also added are screams from fans at the Hollywood Bowl and the warming up of an orchestra. | |
The Beatles record their first single longer than three minutes. Appropriately, this is also the day that John earns his driver's license. | |
A piccolo trumpet is recorded to complete the middle eight and to add a flourish at the end of the song. | |
| Information | Song Title |
The Beatles audition at Abbey Road, playing a song that features the word 'love' 25 times. After the Beatles replace Pete Best with Ringo, this song becomes their first single. | |
400 million people tune in for a live broadcast of take 58 of this song. | |
The sound of chirping birds is added to this track to assist the sounds of a guitar and a metronome. | |
A string quartet joins Paul on the first single to feature only one Beatle. | |
A Viscount jet is overdubbed onto the track. Prior to this day, Paul had recorded drums after Ringo walked out on the band. | |
John records the only Beatles song in which he is the sole singer and instrumentalist (acoustic guitar). | |
Billy Preston becomes the first guest artist to be credited on a Beatles single. | |
This song is recorded with opening guitar feedback created by John holding his guitar close to an amp causing the A string to vibrate. | |
Perhaps intentionally, John adds fuel to the 'Paul is dead' theory by adding the phrase 'cranberry sauce' to the end of this masterpiece. | |
Paul and John record this song in its entirety during one long day. Detailing John's recent nuptial difficulties, it is the first Beatles single recorded in stereo. | |
A double string quartet is recorded as the only instrumentation for this sad Beatles tune. Since there are no drums on the track, Ringo is quite a lonely person. | |
Without permission, Phil Spector overdubs orchestral parts to a song written by Paul. This angers Paul so much that he sends an angry letter to Spector demanding changes. | |
A parade of animal sounds is added to this song. In order, they are a rooster, cats, dogs, horses, sheep, lions, elephants, a fox and bloodhounds, horses, a cow, and a hen. | |
The Beatles begin recording songs for the White Album. The first track will eventually be split into three different versions, two of which make it to the album. | |
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