(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 21, 1969: Eight takes were recorded. The basic track was recorded on EMI's four-track machine. Take 6 was considered best and was bought across to the eight-track machine. Take 1 of this song is on Anthology 3.
July 22, 1969: Overdubbing of a new lead vocal, electric piano, rhythm guitar, and maracas.
July 25, 1969: Overdubbing of vocal harmonies.
July 29, 1969: Overdubbing of guitar for the middle part.
July 30, 1969: More guitars were overdubbed.
August 7, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John Lennon - lead guitar, electric piano, lead vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, piano, harmony vocal
George Harrison - lead guitar
Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
John: "'Come Together' was an expression that Tim Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and tried, but I couldn't come up with one. But I came up with this, 'Come Together,' which wouldn't been no good to him. You couldn't have a campaign song like that, right? Leary attacked me years later, saying I ripped him off. I didn't rip him off. It just turned into 'Come Together.' What am I going to do, give it to him? It was a funky record. It's one of my favorite Beatle tracks, or one of my favorite Lennon tracks, let's say that. It's funky, it's bluesy, and I'm singing it pretty well."
Interesting Facts
- This was banned from airplay by the BBC when it was first released because of the mention of "Coca-cola" in the lyrics. That violated the BBC's anti-advertising rules.
(Harrison)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Locations: EMI Studios; Olympic Studios, London
February 25, 1969: George arrived at EMI early and alone to record an eight-track demo of "Something," "Old Brown Shoe," and "All Things Must Pass." "Something" was the last of the three recorded and it was completed in one take, which can be heard on Anthology 3 (complete with an extra, unused verse).
April 16, 1969: Thirteen takes of the basic track were recorded with George on guitar, Paul on bass, Ringo on drums, and George Martin on piano. John was there but did not participate in the session.
May 2, 1969: The song was remade. Thirty-six takes of the basic track were made, on which George played guitar through a Leslie speaker, Paul played bass, Ringo played drums, John played guitar, and Billy Preston played piano. Take 36 was considered the best.
May 5, 1969: Overdubbing of a new bass line by Paul and new Leslied guitar part by George.
July 11, 1969: A new lead vocal was overdubbed. A rough stereo remix and then a reduction mix were made.
July 16, 1969: George's lead vocal, Paul's backing vocal, and handclaps were overdubbed. Another reduction mix was made.
August 4, 1969: Stereo remix. The group decided the song needed an orchestral score, and an acetate was given to George Martin.
August 15, 1969: All the orchestral overdubs for the Abbey Road album were recorded. George taped a new lead solo for the song's middle eight.
August 19, 1969: Stereo remixing.
Musicians and Instruments
George Harrison - lead guitar, organ, lead vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, handclaps, backing vocal
John Lennon - lead guitar
Ringo Starr - drums, handclaps, backing vocal
Billy Preston - piano
Session musicians - violins, violas, cellos, string bass
George: "'Something' was written on the piano while we were making The White Album. I had a break while Paul was doing some overdubbing, so I went into an empty studio and began to write. That's really all there is to it, except the middle took some time to sort out. It didn't go on The White Album because we'd already finished all the tracks. I gave it to Joe Cocker a year before I did it."
Interesting Facts
- "Something" had a third verse that was not used. There is a version of the song on Anthology 3 that has them, but in case you don't have the CD, here they are:
You know I love that woman of mine
And I need her all of the time
And you know what I'm telling you
That woman, that woman don't make me blue.
- Frank Sinatra used to refer to "Something" as his favorite Lennon/McCartney song, but it was actually George's first Beatles single and first number one.
- George's favorite cover version of the song was James Brown's. In I Me Mine, George wrote, ""That was excellent. When I wrote it, in my mind I heard Ray Charles singing it, and he did do it some years later. I like Smokey Robinson's version too."
- In the late '80s, a cover version of "Something" was used in a TV commercial for the Chrysler LeBaron coupe. In the February 1988 issue of Musician, Paul commented, "The other day I saw 'Something' in a car ad, and I thought, 'Ew, yuck! That's in bad taste'."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
Dates: July 9, 1969; July 10, 1969; July 11, 1969; August 6, 1969
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - piano, guitar, Moog synthesizer, lead vocal, backing vocal
George Harrison - lead guitar, backing vocal
Ringo Starr - drums, backing vocal
Mal Evans - anvil
George Martin - organ
George: "The song is one of Paul's. It's a fun song, but it's kind of sick because Maxwell keeps on killing everyone."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
Dates: January 27, 1969; April 20, 1969; April 26, 1969; July 17, 1969; July 18, 1969; July 22, 1969; July 23, 1969; August 8, 1969; August 11, 1969
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - bass, guitar, lead vocal, backing vocal
John Lennon - piano, backing vocal
George Harrison - guitar, backing vocal
Ringo Starr - drums
John: "A great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could've done it better; it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so, what the hell, he's going to sing it. If he'd had any sense, he should have let me sing it."
(Starkey)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
Dates: April 26, 1969; April 29, 1969; July 17, 1969; July 18, 1969
Musicians and Instruments
Ringo Starr - drums, lead vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, piano, backing vocal
John Lennon - guitar
George Harrison - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocal
Ringo: "[A ship captain] told me all about octopuses - how they go 'round the sea bed and pick up stones and shiny objects and build gardens."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Locations: EMI Studios; Trident Studios, London
January 29, 1969: (Abbey Road) During the Get Back sessions, the Beatles rehearsed the song with the tape running.
February 22, 1969: (Trident Studios; Abbey Road was being remodeled to add new equipment) Thirty-five takes of the basic track, as well as John's guide vocal, were recorded. They experimented on one take with Paul singing the lead vocal.
February 23, 1969: Mixing and editing of three different takes of the song recorded so far.
April 18, 1969: Back at Abbey Road Studios, guitars were overdubbed. A reduction mixdown was done, followed by more overdubs, and then a rough stereo remix.
April 20, 1969: A Hammond organ was overdubbed, along with conga drums brought in by roadie Mal Evans.
August 8, 1969: John's Moog synthesizer and Ringo's drums were overdubbed. Meanwhile, Paul was in the other studio adding overdubs to "Oh! Darling."
August 11, 1969: Overdub and re-recording of John, Paul, and George repeatedly singing the "she's so heavy" line.
August 20, 1969: This was the last time all four Beatles were in the studio together. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was the final song to be mixed for Abbey Road.
Musicians and Instruments
John Lennon - lead guitar, organ, Moog synthesizer, white-noise maker, lead vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, harmony vocal
George Harrison - rhythm guitar, Moog synthesizer, white-noise maker
Ringo Starr - drums
John: "That's me, about Yoko."
Interesting Facts
- This is the second longest Beatles song, at 7 minutes and 44 seconds. "Revolution 9," on The White Album, at 8:12, is the longest.
(Harrison)
First release: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 7, 1969: John was not at this session, because he was recovering from a recent car accident. Thirteen takes were recorded, the last considered the best. George played acoustic guitar and sang a guide vocal, Paul played bass, and Ringo played drums. When Take 1 broke down, George said, "One of my best beginnings, that!" The last hour of the session was spent re-recording the acoustic guitar and adding the new performance as an overdub.
July 8, 1969: George's new lead vocal was overdubbed, erasing his guide vocal. They also recorded overdubs of backing vocals by George and Paul. A reduction mix was made, and then a rough mono remix.
July 16, 1969: Handclaps and harmonium overdubs.
August 4, 1969: A rough remix was made, and George took it away with him to think of what else the song needed.
August 6, 1969: George overdubbed a guitar part while Paul was recording the Moog synthesizer piece for "Maxwell's Silver Hammer."
August 11, 1969: George overdubbed more guitars.
August 15, 1969: Orchestral overdubs were added.
August 19, 1969: A Moog synthesizer was overdubbed. Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
George Harrison - acoustic guitar, Moog synthesizer, lead vocal, handclaps
John Lennon - acoustic guitar, harmony vocal, handclaps
Paul McCartney - bass, harmony vocal, handclaps
Ringo Starr - drums, handclaps
Session musicians - violas, cellos, string bass, clarinets, flutes, piccolos
George: "It seems as if winter in England goes on forever; by the time spring comes, you really deserve it. One day I decided, 'I'm going to sag off Apple,' and I went over to Eric's [Clapton] house. The relief of not having to go and see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I was walking around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote 'Here Comes the Sun'."
Interesting Facts
- At 2:22 in the song, George sings, "It seels like years since it's been clear." It seems like he wasn't sure if he wanted to sing "feels" or "seems," and he mixed the two words up, and nobody caught it and it made it onto the final track.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
August 1, 1969: Twenty-three takes of the basic track were recorded, with George Martin on harpsichord, John on electric guitar, Paul on bass, and Ringo tapping the high hat.
August 4, 1969: Two vocal tracks for "Because" were overdubbed.
August 12, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John Lennon - lead guitar, harpsichord, lead vocal, harmony vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, lead vocal, harmony vocal
George Harrison - Moog synthesizer, lead vocal, harmony vocal
John: "I was lying on the sofa in our house, listening to Yoko play Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on piano. I said, 'Can you play those chords backward?' She did, and I wrote 'Because' around them. The lyrics are clear: no bullshit, no imagery, no obscure references."
Other Information
- John wrote the lyrics for those on the back of a business letter to the Beatles from John Eastman.
- This was Paul's and George's favorite song on the Abbey Road album.
- Paul suspected Yoko had helped write "Because." He said, "It's rather her kind of writing. Wind, sky, and earth are recurring; it's straight out of Grapefruit."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Locations: EMI Studios; Olympic Studios, London
May 6, 1969: Thirty-six takes of the basic track were recorded. The basic track consisted of Paul's piano and guide vocal, Ringo's drums, John's electric guitar, and George's electric guitar put through the Leslie. Rough stereo mix.
July 1, 1969: Overdubbing of Paul's lead vocal. Paul was the only Beatle in attendance at this session.
July 11, 1969: Bass was overdubbed.
July 15, 1969: Vocals and chimes for the end of the song were overdubbed. Six stereo remixes were then made.
July 30, 1969: Vocals were overdubbed.
July 31, 1969: Bass and piano tracks were overdubbed.
August 13, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - bass, piano, lead vocal, backing vocal
John Lennon - lead guitar, backing vocal
George Harrison - rhythm guitar
Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969 on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 24, 1969: "Sun King" was recorded with "Mean Mr. Mustard." Thirty-five takes were recorded of the basic track, which consisted of bass, drums, electric and rhythm guitars, and John's guide vocal.
July 25, 1969: Vocals, piano, and organ were overdubbed onto Take 35 of "Sun King."
July 29, 1969: Vocal, piano, organ, and percussion overdubs.
Musicians and Instruments
John Lennon - lead guitar, maracas, vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, harmonium
George Harrison - lead guitar
Ringo Starr - drums, bongos
George Martin - organ
Interesting Facts
- John said that "Sun King" came to him in a dream.
- Sun King was the nickname of France's King Louis XIV. Louis adopted the sun as his emblem.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 24, 1969: "Mean Mr. Mustard" was recorded together with "Sun King" as one song. Thirty-five takes were recorded of the basic track.
July 25, 1969: Vocals, piano, and organ were overdubbed onto Take 35 of "Mean Mr. Mustard."
July 29, 1969: "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Sun King" were now known by their individual song names. Overdubbing of vocals, piano, organ, and percussion.
Musicians and Instruments
John Lennon - piano, lead vocal
Paul McCartney - fuzz bass, harmony vocal
George Harrison - lead guitar
Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
John: "I'd read somewhere in the newspaper about this mean guy who hid five-pound notes, not up his nose, but somewhere else. No, it had nothing to do with cocaine."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 25, 1969: Thirty-nine takes of "Polythene Pam" and "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" were recorded together as one song. "Polythene Pam" began with John sharply jabbing a twelve-string acoustic guitar. The basic track consisted of Paul on bass, Ringo on drums, George on lead guitar, and John and acoustic guitar. Lead vocal, bass, and drums were overdubbed onto Take 39 later in the session.
July 28, 1969: Overdubbing of another lead vocal, guitars, tambourine, percussion, and piano onto "Polythene Pam." Reduction mix.
July 30, 1969: Overdubbing of vocals, percussion, and guitar onto "Polythene Pam."
August 14, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John Lennon - lead guitar, vocal
Paul McCartney - bass, lead guitar, harmony vocal
George Harrison - rhythm guitar, tambourine
Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
Interesting Facts
- John wrote this while studying transcendental meditation in India in 1968.
- This song was partially based on a Beatles fan from the Cavern Club days. She used to tie polythene into knots and eat it. Her name was Pat Hodgett, and she was known as "Polythene Pat."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
January 22, 1969: This song was rehearsed during the Let It Be sessions. The version sounds similar to the LP version, but it's a little slower tempoed. It can be heard on Anthology 3.
July 25, 1969: Thirty-nine takes were recorded. At this point the song ended with Paul's vocal line "on the phone to me, oh yeah." The basic track had Paul on bass, Ringo on drums, George on lead guitar, and John on acoustic guitar. Later in the session, lead vocal, bass, and drums were overdubbed onto Take 39.
July 28, 1969: Overdubbing of another lead vocal, acoustic and electric guitars, tambourine, percussion, and electric and ordinary piano. Then a reduction mix was made.
July 30, 1969: Overdubbing of vocals, percussion, and guitar.
August 14, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - lead guitar, lead vocal, backing vocal
John Lennon - acoustic guitar, backing vocal
George Harrison - bass, tambourine
Ringo Starr - drums, maracas
John: "[Paul] wrote that when we were in New York announcing Apple and we first met Linda. Maybe she's the one that came in the window."
Interesting Facts
- The original title of this was "Bathroom Window."
- A bootleg of this song exists where John sings lead.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 2, 1969: Fifteen takes were recorded, with Paul on piano and singing a guide vocal, Ringo on drums, and George on bass.
July 3, 1969: Takes 13 and 15 of the previous day's recording of "Carry That Weight" and "Golden Slumbers" were edited together and then overdubbed with Paul's rhythm guitar and two lead vocals.
July 4, 1969: Overdubs (the logs don't tell what exactly was overdubbed).
July 30, 1969: Vocals were overdubbed.
July 31, 1969: Drums, timpani, and a vocal were overdubbed.
August 15, 1969: Orchestral overdubs.
August 18, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - piano, vocal
George Harrison - bass
Ringo Starr - drums
Session musicians - violins, violas, cellos, string bass, trumpets, horns, trombones
Interesting Facts
- The original poem by Thomas Dekker that inspired this song had the lines: "Golden slumbers kiss your eyes/Smiles awake you when you rise/Sleep pretty wantons do not cry/And I will sing a lullaby/Rock them, rock them, lullaby."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 2, 1969: Fifteen takes were recorded.
July 3, 1969: Takes 13 and 15 of this song and "Golden Slumbers" were edited together and then overdubbed with Paul's rhythm guitar and two lead vocals. Then the Beatles, in unison, sang the "carry that weight" chorus.
July 4, 1969: Overdubbing.
July 30, 1969: Vocals were overdubbed.
July 31, 1969: Overdubbing of drums, timpani, and vocal.
August 15, 1969: Orchestral overdubs.
August 18, 1969: Stereo mixing.
August 19, 1969: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - piano, chorus vocal, lead vocal
John Lennon - bass, chorus vocal
George Harrison - lead guitar, chorus vocal
Ringo Starr - drums, chorus vocal
Session musicians - violins, violas, horns, trumpets, trombones, string bass
Interesting Facts
- Paul said that he was under a lot of stress when he wrote this song.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 23, 1969: Seven takes were recorded. Ringo's drum solo changed with each take, the last one being sixteen seconds long. Take 7 was considered the best, and the solo was spread over two available tracks.
August 7, 1969: Overdubbing of vocals and electric guitar.
August 8, 1969: Overdubbing of drums and bass.
August 15, 1969: Orchestral overdubs.
August 18, 1969: Overdubbing of a brief piano track by Paul.
August 21, 1969: A stereo mix was made.
August 25, 1969: Editing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - bass, piano, lead guitar, lead vocal, backing vocal
John Lennon - lead guitar, backing vocal
George Harrison - lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocal
Ringo Starr - drums
Session musicians - violins, violas, cellos, string bass, horns, trumpets, trombones
Interesting Facts
- The working title of the song was "Ending."
- Ringo hated drum solos, and it took some persuading to get him to do one in "The End." He said, "Solos have never interested me. That drum solo is still the only one I've done. There's the guitar section where the three of them take in the solos and then they thought, 'We'll have a drum solo as well.' I was opposed to it: 'I don't want to do no bloody solo!' George Martin convinced me."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: September 26, 1969, on the UK LP Abbey Road
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
July 2, 1969: Three takes were recorded.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul McCartney - acoustic guitar, vocal
Interesting Facts
- Paul wrote this in Scotland.
- Paul wanted to have "Her Majesty" cut from the album. John Kurlander, an engineer, remembered, "We did all the remixes and crossfades to overlap the songs. Paul was there, and we heard it together for the first time. He said, 'I don't like "Her Majesty," throw it away,' so I cut it out, but I accidentally left in the last note. He said, 'It's only a rough mix, it's doesn't matter.' In other words, don't bother about making a clean edit because it's only a rough mix. I said to Paul, 'What shall I do with it?' 'Throw it away,' he replied. I've been told never to throw anything away, so after he left I picked it up off the floor, put about 20 seconds of leader tape before it, and stuck it onto the end of the edit tape. The next day, down at Apple, Malcolm Davies cut a playback lacquer of the whole sequence, and, even though I'd written on the box that 'Her Majesty' was unwanted, he too thought, 'Well,
mustn't throw anything away; I'll put it on at the end.' I'm only assuming this, but when Paul got that lacquer he must have liked hearing 'Her Majesty' tacked on the end. The Beatles always picked up on accidental things. It came as a nice little surprise there at the end, and he didn't mind. We never remixed 'Her Majesty' again. That was the mix which ended up on the finished LP."
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