Beatle People: Nicky Hopkins

Nicky Hopkins (born Nicholas Christian Hopkins (February 24, 1944 - September 6, 1994) was an English pianist and organist.

He recorded and performed on some of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the most important session musicians in rock history.

Biography

Hopkins was born in Harlesden, North London, England. He suffered from Crohn's disease from his youth. Poor health and ongoing surgery made it difficult for him to tour. This contributed heavily to his focus on working primarily as a studio player.

Hopkins started his musical career in the early 1960s as the pianist with Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages, which also included Ritchie Blackmore, founder of Deep Purple. He then joined The Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, one of the first British rhythm & blues bands, and played piano on their initial single, "Country Line Special."

He began his career as a session musician in London in the early Sixties and quickly became one of the most in-demand players on the thriving session scene there, contributing his fluid and dexterous boogie-woogie influenced piano style to many hit recordings. He worked extensively as a session pianist for leading UK independent producers Shel Talmy and Mickie Most and performed on albums and singles by The Kinks, Alun Davies and Jon Mark (later of the Mark-Almond Band), while Davies was touring with Cat Stevens, Donovan, and The Rolling Stones. His performances with The Rolling Stones were among his most memorable, notably on their Sixties albums Between the Buttons, Their Satanic Majesties Request, Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. Hopkins also played on Jamming With Edward, an unofficial Stones release that was recorded during the Let It Bleed sessions, while Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, of the Stones, with Hopkins and Ry Cooder, were waiting for Keith Richards at Keith's Paris flat. The "Edward" of the title was an alias of Nicky Hopkins, derived from his outstanding performance on "Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder", a song from Quicksilver Messenger Service's Shady Grove LP.

In 1965, he played piano on The Who's debut LP, My Generation. He recorded with most of the top British acts of the Sixties, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks, and on solo albums by John Lennon, Jeff Beck, and others. In 1967 he joined The Jeff Beck Group, formed by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, with vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ronnie Wood and drummer Micky Waller, playing on their influential LPs Truth and Beck-Ola. He also helped define the "San Francisco sound", playing on albums by Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Steve Miller Band. He briefly joined Quicksilver Messenger Service and performed with Jefferson Airplane at the Woodstock Festival. In 1968 he played piano with the Swedish psychedelic group The Tages on the single "Halcyon Days", produced in Abbey Road Studio. He also appeared for The Who on "Getting in Tune" and "The Song Is Over" from band's 1971 album Who's Next.

Hopkins was added to the Rolling Stones live line-up on the 1971 Good-Bye Britain tour, as well as the notorious 1972 North American Tour and the early 1973 Winter Tour of Australia and New Zealand. He is featured heavily on the classic 1972 Exile on Main St. album. He started to form his own band around this time but decided against it after the Stones tour. He had planned on using Prairie Prince on drums, and Pete Sears on bass. Hopkins failed to make the Stones' 1973 tour of Europe due to ill health and, aside from a guest appearance in 1978, did not play again with the Stones live on stage. He did manage to go on tour with the Jerry Garcia Band, from August 5 to December 31, 1975. He continued to record with the Stones until 1980, and on solo records of members of the Stones up to 1991.

Solo albums

In 1969, Hopkins was a member of the short-lived Sweet Thursday line-up, a quintet made up of Hopkins, Alun Davies, Jon Mark, Harvey Burns and Brian Odgers. The band completed their eponymous debut album, however the project was doomed from the start. Their record label, Fontana Records didn't promote the album, and declared bankruptcy before the members could tour.

He released his second solo album in 1973 entitled The Tin Man Was a Dreamer. Other musicians appearing on the album include George Harrison (credited as George O'Hara), Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, and Prairie Prince, who was later the drummer for the subversive punk band The Tubes. Re-released on Columbia in 2004, the album is a rare opportunity to hear Hopkins sing.

His third solo album, entitled No More Changes (Mercury SRM 11028), was released in 1975 Appearing on the album are Hopkins (lead vocals and all keyboards), David Tedstone (guitars), Michael Kennedy (guitars), Rick Willis (bass), and Eric Dillon (drums and percussion), with back-up vocals from Kathi MacDonals, Lea Santo-Robertie, Doug, Duffy and Dolly. Recorded in London and mixed and mastered in Los Angeles, this is probably Hopkins' best solo album.

A fourth album, Long Journey Home, remains unreleased. He also released three soundtrack albums in Japan between 1992 and 1993, The Fugitive, Patio, and Namiki Family (Toshiba EMI TOCT-6640, TOCT-6841, and TOCT-6914).

Hopkins lived in Mill Valley, California, for several years. During this time he worked with several local dealer bands and continued to record in San Francisco. At the Church Studio in San Anselmo, Marin County, a small jam band formed around Nicky: Bruce Walford, guitar, Larry Holman, drums,and Reb Blake, bass. Hopkins would play his songs and spin tales of his time in London's early rock scene and his father's piano playing in England during World War Two. Hopkins never allowed any of these sessions to be recorded, citing his complete disgust with the music business. One of his complaints throughout his career was that he did not receive royalties from any of his recording sessions, because of his status at the time as merely a "hired hand", as opposed to pop stars with agents. Only Quicksilver Messenger Service through its manager Ron Polti and its members gave Hopkins an ownership stake.

As a session player, Hopkins was renowned for his ability to give accomplished performances with little or no rehearsal, and for his quirky habit of reading comic books at recording sessions. The classic Kinks song "Session Man" from Face to Face is dedicated to (and features) Hopkins. The Kinks' Ray Davies wrote a memorial piece that appeared in the New York Times after Hopkins' death.

A member of the Church of Scientology, he was awarded the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) Freedom Medal in October 1989.

Hopkins died aged 50, in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from intestinal surgery. At the time of his death he was working on his autobiography with Ray Coleman. He was survived by his wife, Moira.

Selected performances

* The Who, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (1965), My Generation album (1965), "The Song Is Over" (1971), "Getting In Tune" (1971), "We're Not Gonna Take It [movie remix]" (1975), "They Are All in Love" (1975), "Slip Kid" (1975)
* The Kinks, The Kink Kontroversy (1965), Face to Face (1966), "Mr. Pleasant" (1967), "Village Green" (1968), "Berkeley Mews" (1968)
* Jeff Beck, "Blues De Luxe", "Morning Dew" (1967), Truth (1967), "Girl From Mill Valley", Beck-Ola (1969)
* Cat Stevens, "Matthew and Son" (1967), Matthew and Son (1967)
* Marc Bolan, "Jasper C. Debussy" (1966-7, released 1974)
* The Rolling Stones, "She's a Rainbow" (1967), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), "No Expectations" (1968), "Gimme Shelter" (1969), "Monkey Man" (1969), "Sway" (1970), "Tumbling Dice" (1972), "Torn and Frayed" (1972), Exile on Main St. album (1972), "Angie" (1973), "Time Waits for No One" (1974), "Fool to Cry" (1976), "Waiting on a Friend" (1981)
* Jackie Lomax, "Sour Milk Sea" (1968)
* Led Zeppelin, "Rock and Roll" (1969)
* The Beatles, "Revolution" (single version) (1968)
* The Move, "Hey Grandma", "Mist on a Monday Morning", "Wild Tiger Woman" (all 1968)
* Jamming With Edward [jam session with Ry Cooder and some members of the Rolling Stones] (recorded 1969, released 1972)
* Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Shady Grove", "Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder", "Spindrifter"
* Jefferson Airplane, "Volunteers" (1969), "Eskimo Blue Day" (1969), "Hey Fredrick" (1969)
* The Steve Miller Band "Kow Kow Calqulator", "Baby's House".
* John Lennon, "Jealous Guy" (1971), "Oh My Love" (1971), "Oh Yoko" (1971), "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (1971), Walls and Bridges album (1974)
* George Harrison, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" (1973)
* Joe Cocker, "You Are So Beautiful" (1974)
* L. Ron Hubbard, "The Mining Song" (1982), "The Banker" (1982)
* Dogs D'Amour, "Hurricane", "Trail of Tears", and "Princes Valium" from the Errol Flynn/King Of The Thieves album (1989)
* The Jayhawks, "Waiting for the Sun" and other tracks from the Hollywood Town Hall album (1992)

Wikipedia

John Lennon: 1975

By Pete Hamill / June 5, 1975

Do you think of New York as home now?

Yeah, this is the longest I've ever been away from England. I've almost lived here as long as I've lived in London. I was in London from, let's see, '64, '65, '66, '67, actually in London 'cause then it was your Beatlemania bit and we all ended up like a lot of rock & rollers end up, living an hour away from London in the country, the drivin'-in-from-the-big-estate bit. 'Cause you couldn't live in London, 'cause people just bugged the ass off you. So I've lived in New York longer than I actually lived in London.

In view of the immigration case, is one reason you've stayed here so long because if you left, they'd pull a Charlie Chaplin on you and not let you back in?

You bet. There's no way they would let me back. And . . . it's worth it to me. I can last out, without leaving here, another ten years, if that's the way they want to play it. I'll earn enough to keep paying them. I'm really getting blackmailed. I'm paying to stay. Paying takes, on one hand, about a half million dollars, and I've hardly worked very hard for that. I mean, that's with sittin' on me arse and I've paid a half million in taxes. So I'm paying them to attack me and keep me busy and harass me, on one hand, while on the other hand I've got to pay me own lawyers. Some people think I'm here just to make the American dollars. But I don't have to be here to make the dollars. I could earn American dollars just sittin' in a recording studio in Hong Kong. Wherever I am, the money follows me. It's gonna come out of America whether they like it or not.

Right. And the government doesn't choose that John Lennon makes money. The people who buy your music do that.

The implication that John Lennon wants to come to the land of milk and honey 'cause it's easier to pick up the money, so I can pick it up directly instead of waiting for it to arrive in England. Or Brazil. Or wherever I decide to do it. I resent the implication, especially as I'm payin' through the nose. I don't mind paying taxes, either, which is strange. I never did. I don't like 'em using it for bombs and that. But I don't think I could do a Joan Baez. I don't have that kind of gut. I did never complain in England either, because, well, it's buying people teeth . . . I'm sick of gettin' sick about taxes. Taxes is what seems to be it, and there's nothin' to be done about it unless you choose to make a crusade about it. And I'm sick of being in crusades because I always get nailed up before I'm even in the crusade. They get me in the queue while I'm readin' the pages about it: "Oh, there's a crusade on, I wonder should I . . ." I mean, I get caught before I've ever done anything about it.

You went through a period of really heavy involvement in radical causes. Lately you seem to have gone back to your art in a more direct way. What happened?

I'll tell you what happened literally. I got off the boat, only it was an airplane, and landed in New York, and the first people who got in touch with me was Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman. It's as simple as that. It's those two famous guys from America who's callin': "Hey, yeah, what's happenin', what's goin' on? . . ." And the next thing you know, I'm doin' John Sinclair benefits and one thing and another. I'm pretty movable, as an artist, you know. They almost greeted me off the plane and the next minute I'm involved, you know.

How did all of this affect your work?

It almost ruined it, in a way. It became journalism and not poetry. And I basically feel that I'm a poet. Even if it does go ba-deeble, eedle, eedle, it, da-deedle, deedle, it. I'm not a formalized poet, I have no education, so I have to write in the simplest forms usually. And I realized that over a period of time - and not just 'cause I met Jerry Rubin off the plane - but that was like a culmination. I realized that we were poets but we were really folk poets, and rock & roll was folk poetry - I've always felt that. Rock & roll was folk music. Then I began to take it seriously on another level, saying, "Well, I am reflecting what is going on, right?" And then I was making an effort to reflect what was going on. Well, it doesn't work like that. It doesn't work as pop music or what I want to do. It just doesn't make sense. You get into that bit where you can't talk about trees, 'cause, y'know, y'gotta talk about "Corruption on Fifty-fourth Street"! It's nothing to do with that. It's a bit larger than that. It's the usual lesson that I've learned in me little thirty-four years: As soon as you've clutched onto something, you think - you're always clutchin' at straws - this is what life is all about. I think artists are lucky because the straws are always blowin' out of their hands. But the unfortunate thing is that most people find the straw hat and hang on to it, like your best friend that got the job at the bank when he was fifteen and looked twenty-eight before he was twenty. "Oh, this is it! Now I know what I'm doing! Right? Down this road for the next hundred years" . . . and it ain't never that. Whether it's a religious hat or a political hat or a no-political hat: whatever hat is was, always looking for these straw hats. I think I found out it's a waste of time. There is no hat to wear. Just keep moving around and changing clothes is the best. That's all that goes on: change.
At one time I thought, well, I'm avoidin' that thing called the Age Thing, whether it hits you at twenty-one, when you take your first job - I always keep referrin' to that because it has nothing to do, virtually, with your physical age. I mean, we all know the guys who took the jobs when we left school, the straight jobs, they all look like old guys within six weeks. You'd meet them and they'd be lookin' like Well, I've Settled Down Now. So I never want to settle down, in that respect. I always want to be immature in that respect. But then I felt that if I keep bangin' my head on the wall it'll stop me from gettin' that kind of age in the head. By keeping creating, consciously or unconsciously, extraordinary situations which in the end you'd write about. But maybe it has nothin' to do with it. I'm still mullin' that over. Still mullin' over last year now. Maybe that was it. I was still trying to avoid somethin' but doin' it the wrong way 'round. Whether it's called age or whatever.

Is it called growing up?

I don't want to grow up but I'm sick of not growing up - that way. I'll find a different way of not growing up. There's a better way of doing it than torturing your body. And then your mind. The guilt! It's just so dumb. And it makes me furious to be dumb because I don't like dumb people. And there I am, doing the dumbest things . . . I seem to do the things that I despise the most, almost. All of that to - what? - avoid being normal.
I have this great fear of this normal thing. You know, the ones that passed their exams, the ones that went to their jobs, the ones that didn't become rock & rollers, the ones that settle for it, settled for it, settled for the deal! That's what I'm trying to avoid. But I'm sick of avoiding it with violence, you know? I've gotta do it some other way. I think I will. I think just the fact that I've realized it is a good step forward. Alive in '75 is my new motto. I've just made it up. That's the one. I've decided I want to live. I'd decided I wanted to live before, but I didn't know what it meant, really. It's taken however many years and I want to have a go at it.

"When I'm Sixty-Four" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Original Manuscript (1966)

When I get older losing my hair,
many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthdays greetings bottle of wine,
[...]

Middle.

You'll be older too,
And if you say the word, I could stay with you

I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, etc.....

Mid. Every summer we can rent a cottage
in the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
....grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely wasting away
give me your answer fill in a form
mine for evermore....
etc..

As Released by the Beatles (1967)

When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too
And if you say the word
I could stay with you.

I could be handy mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight
If it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save ((we shall scrimp and save))
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave.

Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view.
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away.

Give me your answer
Fill in a form
Mine for evermore.

A - will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?
Hoo!

Did the Beatles Cover "Mrs. Robinson"?

No - not even during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions, where the Beatles performed several off-the-cuff versions of contemporary songs (e.g. The Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream"). This question likely stems from people mistaking "Mrs. Robinson" for a Beatles song, when in fact it was written by Paul Simon and recorded by the duo Simon & Garfunkel. The only major connection of the Beatles to "Mrs. Robinson" is the fact that they lost two 1968 Grammy Awards to the song (they were nominated for "Hey Jude"). John Lennon appeared to have a less-than-flattering opinion of the group -- according to a studio engineer, when Simon visited Lennon in the studio for a jam session in 1974, Lennon stopped Simon from playing his guitar, saying he would signal for him to join in at the right moment. When this moment didn't come, Simon simply started playing, only to be stopped by Lennon. Annoyed after repetitions of this, Simon left the session. On his 1979 diary tape, Lennon refers to Simon as "the singing dwarf." The other Beatles treated Simon & Garfunkel more favorably. George Harrison played a duet with Simon on Saturday Night Live in 1976, and Paul McCartney has played a series of gigs with Simon over the past decade, including the Adopt-a-Minefield benefit in 2001.

"Martha My Dear" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1968)

Martha my dear, though I spend my days in conversation
Please - remember me, Martha my love
Don't forget me, Martha my dear.

Hold your head up you silly girl, look what you've done
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you - silly girl.

Take a good look around you
Take a good look you're bound to see
That you and me were meant to be for each other - silly girl.

Hold your hand out you silly girl, see what you've done
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you - silly girl.

Martha my dear, you have always been my inspiration
Please - be good to me, Martha my love
Don't forget me, Martha my dear.

"And I Love Her"

"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by The Beatles and is the fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night. It was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard (see 1964 in music).

The Beatles performed "And I Love Her" just once outside of Abbey Road Studios. On 14 July 1964 they played it for an edition of the BBC's Top Gear radio show, which was broadcast two days later.

Composition

This song was one of the first ballads with a title that starts in mid-sentence. Paul McCartney was pleased with himself that he came up with this clever idea.

A majority of this song switches back and forth between the key of E and its relative minor C#m. It also changes keys altogether just before the solo, to F. It ends, on the parallel major of the key of F's relative minor, D. This technique is known as tierce picarde and had been used in the past by some composers, including Bach.

The song was written mainly by McCartney, though John Lennon claimed in an interview with Playboy that his major contribution was the "middle eight" section ("A love like ours/Could never die/As long as I/Have you near me").

Beatles publisher Dick James lends support to this claim, saying that the middle eight was added during recording at the suggestion of producer George Martin. According to James, Lennon called for a break and "within half an hour [Lennon and McCartney] wrote...a very constructive middle to a very commercial song."

There are also many who believe that it would seem only logical to think that Lennon did, in fact, write the middle eight, considering the lyrics of that section do not "fit in with the rest of the song".

McCartney, on the other hand, maintains that "the middle eight is mine.... I wrote this on my own."



Releases

Different edits of this song have been released throughout the world; these differ in the number of times the closing guitar riff is repeated, and in McCartney's lead vocal being single or double-tracked in the main verses of the song. The version on the movie A Hard Day's Night is half a step lower than the album version.

Personnel

* Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar
* John Lennon – acoustic rhythm guitar
* George Harrison – acoustic lead guitar
* Ringo Starr – bongos, claves
* George Martin – producer

Covers

* As with many Beatles songs, this has been covered by many artists of varying style from RnB, Crooner, Pop and even Grunge. It was translated into a power ballad - of sorts - by Australia's John Farnham, on his Anthology #2: The Classic Hits album.

* On the American soundtrack album release of A Hard Day's Night, George Martin and his orchestra covered the song in a slower-tempo, easy listening-styled instrumental version lasting over a minute longer than The Beatles' vocal version on the same album.

* Roberto Carlos made a cover, (Eu) Te Amo, in Portuguese and later in Spanish.

* Jack Jones covered the song in 1965 for his album, "There's Love and There's Love and There's Love", arranged by Nelson Riddle.

* Esther Phillips reversed the gender of the song in 1965; her "And I Love Him" reached #54 that year on the Billboard charts.

* In 1965, Bob Marley & The Wailers covered the song on their album "The Wailing Wailers at Studio One".

* In 1970, Rita Lee covered the song on her album "Build Up".

* In 1972, Bobby Womack covered the song for his hit album "Understanding".

* In 1981, Sarah Vaughan covered the song for her album The Songs of the Beatles.

* In 1995, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles covered the song on "Motown Meets the Beatles".

* In 1995, Diana Krall covered the song on the compilation album "(I Got No Kick Against) Modern Jazz", subtitled "A GRP Artists' Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles".

* In 2006, Barry Manilow covered the song for his The Greatest Songs of the Sixties.

* in 2001, Cliff Richard covered the song on his album Wanted.

* In 2008, included in Kenny Lattimore's Timeless album.

* In 2009, Ryan Parks of Organic Keys covered the song for his recording project album.

* Also covered by The Wailers at Studio One in 1965.

* "And I Love Her" was slated to appear briefly in Across the Universe, with only its second refrain partially sung by Martin Luther McCoy, but it was removed during editing. It appears as a deleted scene on the DVD. It did, however, appear for a small section in the orchestral scoring of the movie.

* Richard Marx and Vince Gill covered the song as a duet for Marx's latest album titled Sundown.

Album: A Hard Day's Night
Released: July 20, 1964
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, February 25–27, 1964
Genre: Pop
Length: 2:31
Label: Parlophone (UK)
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

B-side: "If I Fell"
Released: July 20, 1964 (US)
Format: 7"
Label: Capitol 5235 (USA)

Wikipedia

"She Said She Said" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Original Manuscript (1966)

She said I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad
and it's makeing [sic] me feel like I've never been born.

I said who put all that crap in your head
I know what it is to be mad
and it's making me feel like my trousers are torn

no no no it's wrong no it's wrong.

She said I will look you up when [ ]
I said w



As Released by the Beatles (1966)

She said I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad
And she's making me feel like I've never been born.

I said who put all those things in your head
Things that make me feel that I'm mad
And you're making me feel like I've never been born.

She said you don't understand what I said.
I said no, no, no you're wrong.
When I was a boy everything was right, everything was right.

I said even though you know what you know
I know that I'm ready to leave,
'cos you're making me feel like I've never been born.

She said you don't understand what I said.
I said no, no, no you're wrong.
When I was a boy everything was right, everything was right.

I said even though you know what you know
I know that I'm ready to leave,
'cos you're making me feel like I've never been born.

She said (she said)
I know what it's like to be dead (I know what it's like to be dead)
I know what it is to be sad (I know what it is to be sad).
I know what it's like to be dead (I know what it's like to be dead).

"All You Need Is Love"

"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 400 million, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25, 1967. The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #362 in their 500 greatest songs of all time.

Release

Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities, Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" extended the message he first tried in "The Word", from The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything." Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" were propaganda songs, he answered, "Sure. So was 'All You Need Is Love'. I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."

The Beatles decided the song should be their next single the day before the Our World broadcast. Released in the UK on July 7, it went straight to No. 1 and remained there for three weeks. It was similarly successful in the US, reaching No. 1 for a week (appearing on the American LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in November).

It was the last song both recorded and released by the band before the death of Brian Epstein on August 27, 1967, little more than a month after the song was released.

The interviews on The Beatles Anthology documentary series reveal that Paul McCartney and George Harrison were unsure whether the song was written for Our World. However, George Martin and Ringo Starr assert it was. When asked, McCartney replied:

"I don't think it was written specially for it. But it was one of the songs we had. [...] It was certainly tailored to it once we had it. But I've got a feeling it was just one of John's songs that was coming there. We went down to Olympic Studios in Barnes and recorded it and then it became the song they said, 'Ah. This is the one we should use.' I don't actually think it was written for it."

Live broadcast

For the broadcast, the Beatles were (except for Ringo) seated on stools, accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by friends and acquaintances seated on the floor, who sang with the refrain during the fade-out, including Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, and Kim McLagan. Lennon, affecting indifference, was said to be nervous about the broadcast, given the potential size of the international TV audience. Dissatisfied with his singing, he re-recorded the solo verses for use on the single. It took 58 takes for the song to be completed.

Structure

Because of the worldwide broadcast, the song was given an international feel, opening with the French anthem "La Marseillaise", and including excerpts of other pieces during the long fade-out, including "2-part Invention #8 in F" by Johann Sebastian Bach (transposed to G and played on 2 piccolo trumpets), "Greensleeves" (played by the strings), Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" (played on a saxophone), one of the Beatles' seminal hits (particularly in Great Britain and the United States), "She Loves You" (Although it is still unknown whether Lennon or McCartney ad libbed this), and Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March" lilting off at the end. Many sources, including Beatles' producer George Martin, have misremembered or misidentified the Bach quote as being from the "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2". Lennon can also be heard scatting what sounds like the title of "Yesterday", though others maintain he is saying "Yes, you can."

The structure of the song is complex. The main body (the verse) is in a 7/4 time signature with two measures of 7/4, one of 8/4, then back to 7/4 with the intro background vocals repeatedly singing "Love, love, love", over the top of which enter Lennon's lyrics:

“There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy”

By contrast, the chorus is simple: "All you need is love", in 4/4 time repeated against the horn response but, each chorus has only seven measures as opposed to the usual eight, and the seventh is 6/4, then back to the verse in 7/4.

Lennon had previously experimented with mixed time signatures. The song "We Can Work It Out" from 1965 has a 16 measure bridge composed by Lennon in which he juxtaposes 4 measures each of 4/4 and 3/4.

"All You Need Is Love" remains one of only two songs (along with Pink Floyd's "Money" from 1973) written in 7/4 time to reach the top 20 in the United States.

The track was remixed by George Martin and his son, Giles Martin, for the Beatles' soundtrack for the Cirque du Soleil show Love.

In the film Yellow Submarine (1968), the second verse as well as the instrumental are deleted. Also, the last choruses are switched, the "all together now", and "everybody" coming first before the last group of choruses.

Personnel

* John Lennon: lead and background vocals, harpsichord and banjo.
* Paul McCartney: bass, double bass and background vocals.
* George Harrison: lead guitar, violin and background vocals.
* Ringo Starr: drums and percussion.
* George Martin: piano, orchestration and production.
* Session musicians played strings, brass, woodwind and accordion as conducted by Mike Vickers.
* Friends and studio people made hand claps and sang background vocals.

Cover versions

Group or artist’s name	Release date	Album title	Additional information
Ferrante & Teicher	1993-01-29	The Greatest Love Songs of All
Lynden David Hall	2003-11-11	Love Actually
John Bayless	1994-02-15	Bach Meets the Beatles
Echo & the Bunnymen	1988	New Live and Rare	This version is also included on Crystal Days 1979-1999
Tom Jones	1993-01	Single
Eddie Chacon	1987	12" single	Columbia 4406930
Anything Box	1991-05	Worth
The 5th Dimension	1971-10	The 5th Dimension/Live!
The Undead	1998-07	Till Death

Live cover performances

* Elvis Costello sang it with the aid of just one guitar at the Wembley leg of Live Aid. The British crowd (who sang along with practically every artist that day) sang the accompanying horn parts.
* Echo & the Bunnymen's live cover can be found as a bonus track on the 2003 re-release of their 1985 album Ocean Rain.
* Noel Gallagher, chief songwriter and guitarist of the britpop band Oasis, has performed the song live.
* German pianist and orchestra-leader Paul Kuhn recorded this song on a 1977 LP, The Big Band Beatles by Paul Kuhn & The SFB Big Band (Electrola 1C 066-32152).
* Dave Matthews has incorporated lyrics to "All You Need Is Love" and "Can't Buy Me Love" in the outro to live performances of "Christmas Song"
* U2 has done snippets of this song in many of their original songs in their live performances. Also, during the Elevation Tour in 2001, "All You Need Is Love" served as the introductory song being played over the loudspeakers of the concert venue before the members of U2 enter the stage and begin the performance.
* Cheap Trick Performed it with Billy Corgan at The Hollywood Ball for the 41st anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band's release.

Parodies

* Einstürzende Neubauten's song "Headcleaner" (Tabula Rasa) contains the lyrics for "All You Need Is Love", except they are in a skewed tense.

Where the original goes:
“ There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy. All you need is Love. ”

In Neubauten's version the line goes:
“ Cause nothing has been done that can't be done
Nothing has been sang that can't be sung
And nothing has been set, so forget how to play the game
It's easy. All you need is Lust ”

The line 'All you need is love' is also replaced with 'All you need is headcleaner'.

* In the film All You Need Is Cash, the Rutles parodied "All You Need Is Love" as "Love Life". The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" replaces "La Marseillaise" at the beginning, and "Love is the meaning of life. Life is the meaning of love" is the refrain at the end while their song "Hold My Hand" replaces "She Loves You" as the self-parody.
* Bob Rivers did a parody called "All You Need Is Elves".
* Fans of Liverpool Football Club can be heard singing the words "All you need is Rush" at matches, a reference to former striker Ian Rush.
* Beatallica, a "bash-up" band of the Beatles and Metallica, incorporated elements of the song into their 2008 single All You Need Is Blood which was recorded in 13 different languages by the band. A 14th (Japanese) version was released in Japan on October 8, 2008.
* In the Pinky and the Brain episode "All You Need is Narf", a brief parody featuring a band called The Feebles (an obvious spoof of the Beatles) is sung called "All You Eat is Lunch". The title is also a takeoff of the song. Many other Beatles parodies are featured in the episode as well, including parodies of "I Am the Walrus", John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", Yoko Ono, and the relationship between Lennon and Ono.

Appearances & references in other media

* Larry Norman referred to the song in "Readers Digest" [from the album Only Visiting This Planet (1972)] where he sang, "The Beatles sang 'All You Need Is Love' and then they broke up."
* The song was used to herald the entrance of Queen Elizabeth II into the Millennium Dome during the United Kingdom's millennial celebrations on 31 December 1999, having been voted the nation's favorite song. For that reason it was sung by choirs across the country during the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II celebrations on 2 June 2002, beginning in Slough and being picked up in many other cities. The first notes of the song were drawn from the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen", instead of the usual "La Marseillaise".
* The song, in a more edited form, was one of the songs from Yellow Submarine, during which John spoke: "Go Glove....Lovely Glove!"
* Lennon suggested the song as a good title for Tony Palmer's 15-hour documentary, All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music; the series was broadcast worldwide between 1976–1980 and released on DVD in 2008.
* The song was used in the series finale of the science fiction television series The Prisoner.
* A part of the song is used in the movie Moulin Rouge!.
* In an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray Barone recites the song's chorus when trying to unite his and Amy's family.
* In the film Independence Day (1996), Judd Hirsch's character quotes "All You Need Is Love" and then goes on to reference the tragedy of Lennon's death.
* The Royal Logistic Corps band played an instrumental version of it at the beginning of International Non-Violence Day in Birmingham, UK.
* It is used as the final song in the musical film Across the Universe (based on the songs of The Beatles). Within the narrative, Jude sings it on top of the building of Sadie's record company, Strawberry Jamz, in the hope that Lucy will hear him.
* In That '70s Show, Red, after catching his son, Eric, and his friends smoking marijuana, blames on The Beatles for their usage, which he states, "Who told you how to do this? Was it those damn Beatles? 'All you need is love'. All you need is a job and a haircut."

B-side: "Baby You're a Rich Man"
Released: 7 July 1967
Format: 7"
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 25 June 1967
Genre: Pop/Rock
Length: 3:47
Label: Parlophone R5620 (UK), Capitol 5964 (US)
Writer(s): Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia

John Lennon's Record Collection: Larry Williams - She Said "Yeah"

"Magical Mystery Tour" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1967)

Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour
Step right this way.

Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour.
Roll up (and that's an invitation)
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up (to make a reservation)
Roll up for the Mystery Tour.
The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away
(Waiting to take you away).

Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour.
Roll up (we've got everything you need)
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up (satisfaction guaranteed)
Roll up for the Mystery Tour.
The Magical Mystery Tour is hoping to take you away
(Hoping to take you away)

The mystery trip.

Aah!
The Magical Mystery Tour.

Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up (and that's an invitation)
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up (to make a reservation)
Roll up for the Mystery Tour.
The Magical Mystery Tour is coming to take you away
(Coming/Hoping to take you away)
The Magical Mystery Tour is dying to take you away
(Dying to take you away)
Take you today.

"Home (When Shadows Fall)"

This song, written by Harry Clarkson, Jeff Clarkson and Peter Van Steeden, was performed live by the Beatles from 1957 to 1960. The song was originally performed by Louis Armstrong, as well as Nat King Cole, and was later covered in 1964 by Sam Cooke.

Beatles Covers: Bob Kuban & The In-Men - Drive My Car

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Original Manuscript (1967)

We're Sgt. Pepper lonely hearts club band
We hope you have enjoyed the show
Sgt. Pepper lonely hearts
We're sorry but it's time to go
Sgt. Pepper's lonely
Sgt. Pepper's lonely

We hope you have enjoyed the show
Sorry but it's time to go
We'd like to thank you once again

Sgt. Pepper's lonely

As Released by the Beatles (1967)

One, two (bye), three, four.

Wuh!

We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you have enjoyed the show.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We're sorry but it's time to go.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We'd like to thank you once again
Sgt. Pepper's one and only Lonely Hearts Club Band
It's getting very near the end.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Wuh!

"All Together Now"

"All Together Now" is a song by The Beatles. The songwriting credit is Lennon/McCartney. The song was recorded during the band's Sgt. Pepper period, but remained unreleased until the track was included on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack by Apple Records.

Origins

Lennon and McCartney had no qualms about writing children's songs, and "All Together Now" typifies the kind of song sung in the school playground by girls in games with a skipping rope. The lyrics of the song are very simple, and similar to "Yellow Submarine" in that regard.

The song appears in an animated sequence in the film Yellow Submarine, and is also introduced by The Beatles themselves in a postscript to the film.

Recording

The song was performed in a skiffle style with acoustic guitar with bass and a bass drum. Banjo, harmonica and finger cymbals were added to the instrumental mix. McCartney sang the lead vocal while Lennon and George Harrison sang backing vocals and a chorus consisting of whoever appears in the studio. As with the song "Yellow Submarine," Harrison provides no guitar to the track, instead adding harmonica. Lennon, unusually, plays banjo. The song ends with an old fashioned hand-pumped car horn.

The track was recorded on 12 May 1967 at Abbey Road Studios and mixed the same day, but was not released until 13 January 1969, when it appeared on the soundtrack album. George Martin was absent from this session, leaving Geoff Emerick in charge of the control room.The song took less than six hours to record and was recorded in nine takes, with the ninth one being the "best."

Personnel

Paul McCartney: Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

John Lennon: Ukulele, Harmonica, Double-Tracked Lead Vocals, Chorus Vocals.

George Harrison: Bass Guitar, Harmonica, Chorus Vocals.

Ringo Starr: Drums, Percussion, Chorus Vocals.

Cultural legacy

Football fans in the UK have sung the song during football matches. Verizon Wireless used the song in commercials in 2002.

The title All Together Now was also used for a discography of Beatle-related records written by Harry Castleman and Walter Podrazik, and published by Pierian Press in 1975.

The song is the final track in the 1995 Muppet album, Kermit Unpigged, where Kermit the Frog finally manages to get his friends together to sing the song.

The documentary DVD of the Cirque du Soleil show Love is titled All Together Now.

Album: Yellow Submarine (1969), Yellow Submarine Songtrack (1999)
Released: 13 January 1969 (US), 17 January 1969 (UK)
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 12 May 1967
Genre: Skiffle
Length: 2:10
Label: Apple Records
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia

How Many Studio Albums Did the Beatles Make?

The correct answer to this, taking into account U.K. LPs from the Beatles era (1962-1970), would be twelve. U.S. LPs in this case would not count per se, as the Beatles did not compile them (Capitol Records did) and often they had a difficult time recalling their contents when playing songs to American audiences ("It's on Beatles VI...I think"). These twelve LPs include:

• Please Please Me (22 March 1963)
• With The Beatles (22 November 1963)
• A Hard Day's Night (10 July 1964)
• Beatles for Sale (4 December 1964)
• Help! (6 August 1965)
• Rubber Soul (3 December 1965)
• Revolver (5 August 1966)
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1 June 1967)
• The Beatles (22 November 1968)
• Yellow Submarine (17 January 1969)
• Abbey Road (26 September 1969)
• Let It Be (8 May 1970)

For the CD era, EMI decided to complete the Beatles' collection by issuing the above titles plus Magical Mystery Tour, Past Masters Volume 1 and Past Masters Volume 2. Magical Mystery Tour was originally a 1967 LP released in the U.S. only (until Parlophone issued it in 1976; the Beatles originally issued the film's soundtrack as a double EP). Past Masters is simply an EMI compilation set designed to capture singles, EPs and rarities not included on the albums listed above.

"Lovely Rita" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1967)

Aah!

Lovely Rita meter maid
Lovely Rita meter maid (aah)
Lovely Rita (oh) meter maid
Nothing can come between us
When it gets dark I tow your heart away.

Standing by a parking meter
When I caught a glimpse of Rita
Filling in a ticket in her little white book.

In a cap she looked much older
And the bag across her shoulder
Made her look a little like a military man.

Lovely Rita meter maid
May I inquire discreetly ((lovely Rita))
When are you free ((lovely Rita))
To take some tea with me? ((maid))
Aah!
Rita!
Ooo - ooo.

Took her out and tried to win her
Had a laugh and over dinner
Told her I would really like to see her again.

Got the bill and Rita paid it
Took her home I nearly made it
Sitting on a sofa with a sister or two.

Oh, lovely Rita meter maid
Where would I be without you?
Give us a wink and make me think of you.

Lovely Rita ((lovely meter maid))
Lovely ((Rita, Rita, Rita)) Rita meter maid
Lovely Rita ((oh lovely Rita meter, meter maid)) meter maid
Lovely Rita ((da da da da da da)) meter maid
Da da da da da da da da - da
Da da da - da - da - da - da - wuh - oh
Ah - ah - ah (oh) - ah - ah - ah - ah - ah - ah - ah
Baby!

Beatle People: Grapefruit

Grapefruit was a London-based British band of the late 1960s. Their brand of music was a typical late Sixties blend of pop and rock, which they often fused with psychedelic effects such as phasers and vocoders, or classical arrangements.

Biography

They were formed in 1967 as a result of John Perry meeting Terry Doran at Apple Publishing and Terry inputting Scottish-born singer and Bass guitarist George Alexander (born Alexander Young), a member of the talented Young family that also spawned his brothers George, the rhythm guitarist and founding member of The Easybeats and also Malcolm and Angus Young, both founding members of the Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. Alexander Young had chosen to remain in Britain when the rest of the Youngs emigrated to Australia. Alexander had played with The Bobby Patrick Six, with whom he toured Germany in the mid-1960s.

Together with three former members of 'Tony Rivers & The Castaways' (namely John Perry, Geoff Swettenham and Pete Swettenham), George Alexander formed 'The Grapefruit' (the band discarded the initial 'The' soon afterwards). Terry Doran, a friend of John Lennon, became their manager, seeing some commercial potential in them. Doran arranged for the band's music publishing rights (as songwriters) to be assigned to the publishing wing of The Beatles' new company Apple and they were the signed to Apple. However the first signed band to Apple Publishing was Liverpool group Focal Point, who were signed by Doran in September 1967. Grapefruit's record career was launched in the spring of 1968, albeit not on the Beatles' own Apple label, which opened for business a few months later. They were signed to a US label Equinox, run by Terry Melcher. This was distributed in the UK by Decca Records. However, The Beatles continued to take some interest in Grapefruit, with John Lennon introducing the band to the media and inviting John Perry to join in on the recording of the hit single "Hey Jude."

Grapefruit's recording career spanned only two years, from late 1967 to the end of 1969. They released two albums (Around Grapefruit in 1968, Deep Water in 1969) and several singles, none of which made a significant impact on the charts. Their best-known track is probably the Terry Melcher-produced "Dear Delilah", which was released in early 1968, but failed to enter the UK Top 20. Toward the end of their career, Grapefruit shifted from melodic pop to a more rough, blues-influenced style of music.

Grapefruit broke up in late 1969, with Alexander remaining the most visible. Alexander joined forces with his brother George Young and his songwriting partner Harry Vanda from The Easybeats and in 1970 they recorded for the Young Blood label as Paintbox and Tramp. He also participated in sessions for Vanda and Young's Marcus Hook Roll Band.

John Lennon & Paul McCartney were co-producers on a song called "Lullabye for a Lazy Day," a song that was initially called "Circus Sgt. Pepper."

Members

* George Alexander (b. Alexander Young, December 28, 1946, Cranhill, East End, Glasgow) - bass guitar and vocals
* John Perry (b. July 16, 1949, London) - vocals and guitar
* Geoff Swettenham (b. March 8, 1948, London) - drums
* Pete Swettenham (b. April 24, 1949, London) - guitar

Wikipedia

John Lennon: 1975

By Pete Hamill / June 5, 1975

Richard Perry has described you as a superb producer but maybe in too much of a hurry.

That's true [laughs].

But supposedly, when making the Beatles records, you were painstaking and slow.

No, I was never painstaking and slow. I produced "I Am the Walrus" at the same speed I produced "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night." I would be painstaking on some things, as I am now. If there's a quality that occasionally gets in the way of my talent, it's that I get bored quick unless it's done quick. But "I Am the Walrus" sounds like a wonderful production. "Strawberry Fields" sounds like a big production. But I do them as quick as I possibly can, without losing (a) the feel and (b) where I'm going. The longest track I personally spent time on was "Revolution 9," which was an abstract track where I used a lot of tape loops and things like that. I still did it in one session. But I accept that criticism and I have it of myself. But I don't want to make myself so painstaking that it's boring. But I should [pause] maybe t'ink a little more. Maybe. But on the other hand I think my criticism of somebody like Richard Perry would be that he's great but he's too painstaking. It gets too slick and somewhere in between that is where I'd like to go. I keep finding out all the time - what I'm missing that I want to get out of it.

Is there anybody that you'd like to produce? For example, Dylan?

Dylan would be interesting because I think he made a great album in Blood on the Tracks but I'm still not keen on the backings. I think I could produce him great. And Presley. I'd like to resurrect Elvis. But I'd be so scared of him I don't know whether I could do it. But I'd like to do it. Dylan, I could do, but Presley would make me nervous. But Dylan or Presley, somebody up there . . . I know what I'd do with Presley. Make a rock & roll album. Dylan doesn't need material. I'd just make him some good backings. So if you're reading this, Bob, you know . . .

Elton John has revived "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." How do you feel about him as an artist?

Elton sort of popped in on the session for Walls and Bridges and sort of zapped in and played the piano and ended up singing "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" with me. Which was a great shot in the arm. I'd done three quarters of it, "Now what do we do?" Should we put a camel on it or a xylophone? That sort of thing. And he came in and said, "Hey, ah'll play some piano!" Then I heard he was doing "Lucy" and I heard from a friend - 'cause he was shy - would I be there when he cut "Lucy"? Maybe not play on it but just be there? So I went along. And I sang in the chorus and contributed the reggae in the middle. And then, again through a mutual friend, he asked if it got to be Number One, would I appear onstage with him, and I said sure, not thinkin' in a million years it was gonna get to Number One. Al Coury or no Al Coury, the promotion man at Capitol. And there I was. Onstage.

I read somewhere that you were very moved by the whole thing.

I was moved by it, but everybody else was in tears. I felt guilty 'cause I wasn't in tears. I just went up and did a few numbers. But the emotional thing was me and Elton together. Elton had been working in Dick James's office when we used to send our demos in and there's a long sort of relationship musically with Elton that people don't really know about. He has this sort of Beatle thing from way back. He'd take the demos home and play them and . . . well, it meant a lot to me and it mean a hell of a lot to Elton, and he was in tears. It was a great high night, a really high night . . . Yoko and I met backstage. And somebody said, "Well, there's two people in love." That was before we got back together. But that's probably when we felt something. It was very weird. She came backstage and I didn't know she was there, 'cause if I'd known she was there I'd've been too nervous to go on, you know, I would have been terrified. She was backstage afterward, and there was just that moment when we saw each other and like, it's like in the movies, you know, when time stands still? And there was silence, everything went silent, y'know, and we were just sort of lookin' at each other and . . . oh, hello. I knew she'd sent Elton and I a flower each, and we were wearin' them onstage, but I didn't know she was there and then everybody was around us and flash flash flash. But there was that moment of silence. And somebody observed it and told me later on, after we were back together again, and said, "A friend of mine saw you backstage and thought if ever there was two in love, it's those two." And I thought, well, it's weird somebody noticed it . . . So it was a great night . . . .

There seems to be a lot of generosity among the artists now.

It was around before. It's harder when you're on the make, to be generous, 'cause you're all competing. But once you're sort of up there, wherever it is . . . The rock papers love to write about the jet-setting rock stars and they dig it and we dig it in a way. The fact is that, yeah, I see Mick, I see Paul, I see Elton, they're all my contemporaries and I've known the other Beatles, of course, for years, and Mick for ten years, and we've been hangin' around since Rock Dreams. And suddenly it's written up as they're-here-they're-there-they're-everywhere bit, and it looks like we're trying to form a club. But we always were a club. We always knew each other. It just so happens that it looks more dramatic in the paper.

How do you relate to what we might call the rock stars of the Seventies? Do you think of yourself as an uncle figure, a father figure, an old gunfighter?

It depends who they are. If it's Mick or the Old Guard, as I call them, yeah, they're the Old Guard. Elton, David are the newies. I don't feel like an old uncle, dear, 'cause I'm not that much older than half of 'em, heh heh. But . . . yeah, I'm interested in the new people. I'm interested in new people in America but I get a kick out of the new Britons. I remember hearing Elton John's "Your Song," heard it in America - it was one of Elton's first big hits - and remember thinking, "Great, that's the first new thing that's happened since we happened." It was a step forward. There was something about his vocals that was an improvement on all of the English vocals until then. I was pleased with it. And I was pleased with Bowie's thing and I hadn't even heard him. I just got this feeling from the image and the projections that were coming out of England of him, well, you could feel it.

Pattie Boyd Pictures

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Original Manuscript (1967)

It was 20 years ago today,
When Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
+ He showed them how to please a crowd
The man's a leader that has made them proud
So may I introduce to you, the act you've known
for all these years. Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club
band. APPLAUSE BAND

CHORUS
Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band
We hope you will enjoy the show
Sgt. Pepper's . . . . . . .
Sit back and let the evening go . . . . . .
Sgt. P's lonely, Sgt. P's lonely Sgt. P's lonely hearts club band

As Released by the Beatles (1967)

It was twenty years ago today
That Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.

So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you will enjoy the show
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sit back and let the evening go.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

It's wonderful to be here
It's certainly a thrill
You're such a lovely audience
We'd like to take you home with us
We'd love to take you home.

I don't really want to stop the show
But I thought you might like to know
That the singer's gonna sing a song
And he wants you all to sing along.

So let me introduce to you
The one and only Billy Shears
And Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Billy Shears!

"All Things Must Pass"

"All Things Must Pass" is a song written by George Harrison.

During The Beatles' Get Back sessions in January 1969, this was one of many songs the group rehearsed to be part of their new album. As the sessions progressed, the song was pushed to the side. After the project was abandoned, Harrison recorded a solo demo of the song on multi-track tape on February 25, 1969. The song was never formally recorded by The Beatles by the time of their break-up, although considering the subject matter of the song, it may have been suitable for their final release Let It Be in 1970.

Harrison recorded the definitive version on his landmark All Things Must Pass album later that year.

The song underwent a number of small changes from when it was first written in late 1968. The line "a mind can blow those clouds away" was originally written as the more literal "a wind can blow those clouds away," but bootlegs from the January 1969 Beatles sessions reveal John Lennon suggesting the change to "mind" to include a bit of "psychedelia" in the song. Perspective on one line was slightly changed from "It's not always been this grey" (with The Beatles) on the demo to "It's not always gonna be this grey" (on his own) on the final recording.

Billy Preston, who played keyboard during Get Back/Let It Be sessions and later performed with The Beatles at the Rooftop Concert, recorded his version of the song (as well as Harrison's "My Sweet Lord") on the album Encouraging Words before it surfaced on Harrison's triple album.

The title and lyrics of the song probably come from the last words of Buddha: "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence." This is often shortened to "All things must pass away."

Paul McCartney sang this song at the Concert for George memorial for Harrison on November 29, 2002.

Album: All Things Must Pass
Published: Harrisongs Ltd.
Released: November 27, 1970
Genre: Rock music
Length: 3:47
Label: Apple Records
Writer: George Harrison
Producer: George Harrison, Phil Spector

Wikipedia