Week 1: Early days and success in the U.K.

Transcription

1 John Covach, Ph.D. professor of music theory and director of the Institute for Popular Music, University of Rochester Recommended reading: Beatlesongs Week 1: Early days and success in the U.K. Organizing the biography and music * John Lennon ( ) * Paul McCartney (b. 1942) * George Harrison ( ) * Ringo Starr (b. 1940, aka Richard Starkey) Consider when they were born and what was going on musically/culturally in the U.K. when they were teens or young musicians can pick up on some of the influences. Also, how young they were when they hit big in the U.S. only 20 23! Other important names * Pete Best original drummer (Ringo joined just before first recordings released) * Stuart Sutcliffe original bassist, and by accounts not a very good one; an art school friend of John s who was sort of his partner in crime * Astrid Kirchherr Hamburg photographer who is largely responsible for Beatles early look; ultimately married Sutcliffe (Wikipedia says they were only engaged.) * George Martin producer played crucial role in helping shape their sound; was there from the beginning to the end, with exception of one album. many years older, so a senior figure. * Brian Epstein their first manager played big role in bringing music to public, refining their image, breakthrough in U.K./U.S. * Allen Klein manager starting in late 60s after Epstein s death; some controversy over Paul not wanting him to be the manager, possibly leading to band s breakup * Mal Evans roadie from the beginning * Neil Aspinall roadie from the beginning; went on to run Apple Records and handle some of their business affairs * Dick James responsible for early publishing deal Places and companies * Liverpool Northern outpost; port city; prosperous but not glamorous * London capital; focus of music industry * Hamburg, Germany where Beatles really learned their craft through long hours in the clubs * Parlophone George Martin s label; released all of Beatles music in U.K. * EMI Parent company of Parlophone * Capitol Records U.S. subsidiary of EMI; released most of Beatles albums here * Vee Jay and Swan independent labels that released some of the very early recordings in U.S. under license

2 Organizing the albums * British and American releases are different! For course purposes, sticking w/u.k. releases/dates Original albums had ~14 tracks; Capitol might slice a couple tunes off for singles, and later release them in compilations 11 EMI albums, plus 1 EP (Magical Mystery Tour) and Yellow Submarine Also of note: Singles that do not appear on EMI albums: Past Masters Vol. 1 and 2 Other recordings: Live at the BBC, Anthology 1,2 & 3, bootlegs Musical composition We ll be tracking which songs are John s, Paul s and George s, following the three paths. (Few Lennon McCartney compositions are collaborations often one would help fill in a section) Also studying how they re using recording studio: starting as audio snapshot of live performances, eventually using it in more interesting ways Instrumentation grows more diverse over time Lyrics increasing seriousness Musical ambition: pushing the envelope, doing something new Before Beatlemania - Pre : British scene highly indebted to U.S. popular music Successful artists either did covers of songs that the American version hadn t crossed the Atlantic yet, or imitations of those kinds of U.S. songs/artists. Skiffle big through end of 50s * Lonnie Donegan at center of movement: folk songs but more upbeat Rock Island Line (1955 6) U.K. equivalent of Elvis? Elvis imitators * Tommy Steele Rock With the Caveman, Singing the Blues original British Elvis Martin had shot at signing Steele and passed * #1 U.K. version: Cliff Richard Move It (1958), Living Doll (1959), Travellin Light (1959) one of reasons Beatles were reluctant to go to U.S. was that EMI had tried and failed to sell Cliff Richards there * Billy Fury from Liverpool; Halfway to Paradise (1961; Carole King Gerry Goffin written song originally done by Tony Orlando & Dawn) Early 60s return to softer, more mainstream style (in U.S. too)

3 Larry Parnes manager of a number of Elvis esque singers whom he made stage names: Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Vince Eager, Johnny Gentle, Duffy Power, Lance Fortune, Joe Brown (who declined the stage name Elmer Twitch) in many ways, Parnes was a model for Brian Epstein In Liverpool, Beatles beginning to form into a group John, Paul and George knew each other as kids (ca. 1957) played for Allan Williams at The Jacaranda club after Pete Best joined, they also played The Casbah, run by his mother, Mona * Harold Phillips ( Lord Woodbine ) played with Royal Caribbean Steel Band. He & Allan Williams had scouted out Hamburg for Phillips band on a weekend trip Earliest recording: That ll Be the Day June 12, 1958, Phillips Sound Recording Service Timeline July 1957: Paul meets John at church festival, joins The Quarrymen August 1958: George joins January 1960: Stuart Sutcliffe joins August 1960: Pete Best joins Early band names: The Quarrymen, Johnny and the Moondogs, The Beetals, The Silver Beetles Hamburg and Liverpool Think of as their professional training Liverpool had a rich and active but mostly amateur music scene (people had day jobs). Pop in West Germany * Schlager, American style rock n roll: Freddy Quinn, Tommy Kent, Ted Herold (Germany s Elvis) * Bert Kaempfert: trumpet player, German equiv. of Herb Alpert Wonderland by Night (1961) responsible for Beatles doing 1st recording with Tony Sheridan * Bruno Koschmider: owned The Indra (1st Hamburg club they played), Kaiserkeller, Bambi Kino (movie theater where Beatles stayed in room just behind the screen) St. Pauli District, Reeperbahn. Allan Williams and Lord Woodbine met him on their expedition; they offered to play him a tape of Liverpool bands but tape was erased. Koschmider, meanwhile, goes to London in search of Williams, winds up at the Two Eyes (coffee bar where many stars discovered), meets Tony Sheridan (who formerly worked w/larry Parnes) Sheridan winds up in Hamburg, becomes big man on the scene. Hamburg at this time was sort of Europe s Sin City drugs, legalized prostitution, clubs open all hours. Williams eventually connects with Koschmider and sends over Beatles and other Liverpool acts to Hamburg.

4 * Tony Sheridan: Very important influence, albeit an overlooked one. Accomplished guitarist; George said to seek him out to learn from him. Beatles were often his backing band, and that s how they wound up on recording of My Bonnie, (on Anthology) the thread that began story of Brian Epstein & Beatles rise to fame in 63 Beatles Hamburg stints * August November 1960 (Indra, Kaiserkeller) George was underage at the time (17), which led to his being thrown out of the country at end of engagement * April July 1961 (Top Ten) * August 1961 Recorded My Bonnie w/tony Sheridan as The Beat Brothers Not recorded as Tony Sheridan and the Beatles because in Hamburg dialect, Beatles sounds like Peetles penises. * April May 1962 (Star Club the big club in town) * November 1962 (Star Club, 14 dates) at this point they were actually getting kind of successful * December 1962 (Star Club, 13 dates) * Live at the BBC includes covers that never appeared on albums, mostly using the arrangements they d used previously. Gives us an idea of what they sounded like in those days. Their cover versions really duplicated the record did not get creative and make it their own. If you looked up That s All Right, Mama, you might be convinced it s an actual Elvis outtake (down to Paul s singing in his style) Through doing all these covers, they assimilated a lot of characteristics of American pop that end up in their early music. Hamburg gigs were merciless 6 sets a night, sometimes interspersed with another group. They started using amphetamines as uppers to keep them going. If you re a young musician in that situation, you either quit or get good. The Beatles got really good made an impression when they returned to Liverpool. Liverpool and the Cavern Club Beatles were not the first successful artists from Liverpool: Frankie Vaughan, Lita Rosa, Michael Holliday, Billy Fury, Johnny Gentle. Notably, Beatles did not try to hide their Northernness or act like they were from London may be a large part of why Liverpool label really sticks to them. Also may explain why some perceived the Mersey beat as a regional thing. Timeline: * February 1961: Beatles debut at Cavern Club * November 1961: Brian Epstein sees them for first time at Cavern Club * January 1962: Decca audition; Epstein signs the band * March 1962: First BBC appearance

5 * April 1962: Stu Sutcliffe dies of brain hemorrhage; he d stayed behind on one of their Hamburg trips w/astrid Kirchherr * May 1962: Epstein meets George Martin beginning of Beatles moving out of Liverpool, toward London Brian Epstein (he pronounced it ep-steen, but gave up on correcting people) years older than them, but a friendlier, less distant relationship than theirs with G. Martin. born into relatively well off family that owned furniture stores around Liverpool flunked/had trouble at school; family wanted him to go into their business but he wanted to go into dress design. Spent some time at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts Got into pop music in early 1960s opened North End Music Store (NEMS) record dept. at family furniture store. Also wrote columns for Mersey Beat magazine (est. July 1961 by Bill Harry, art school friend of John s) Beatles were telling people they d recorded this record with Tony Sheridan ( My Bonnie ), so people came to NEMS requesting it he couldn t find it because it was released only in Germany. Bought more than people thought he should but sold out immediately. So he went to Cavern Club to see them, began campaign to get them to make him their manager. The first recordings for Parlophone George Martin Served as pilot in Royal Navy at end of WWII (which ended before he went on any missions) Entered Guildhall School of Music and Drama late start in music Started work for EMI s Parlophone label in 1950s; took over when Oscar Preuss retired in Other EMI labels at the time: Columbia (Norrie Paramor, Norman Newell); HMV (Walter Ridley) Recorded comedy albums for Peter Ustinov, Peter Sellers, The Goon Show, Spike Milligan The Vipers Skiffle Group had a couple hits: The Cumberland Gap and Don t You Rock Me, Daddy O (both 1956) Dick Rowe Reputedly the man who passed on the Beatles after their Decca audition on New Year s Day 1962 guitar groups are on the way out. He was not actually the guy at that Decca session. signed Tommy Steele & Brian Poole and the Tremoloes Norrie Paramor highly successful w/cliff Richard; G. Martin worried he wasn t being taken seriously because most of his success had been from comedy albums and thus was looking to pop music EMI was pitched the Beatles before Decca and had turned them down but Martin had been on vacation at the time, so Epstein approached him later.

6 Timeline: * June 1962: First EMI session (audition) publishing was what caught Martin/Dick James attention, whereas Decca audition was all covers * August 1962: Pete Best is out; Ringo is in * Sept. 4, 1962: Love Me Do Ringo on drums (Martin not impressed) * Sept. 11, 1962: Love Me Do pro studio drummer Andy White on drums; Ringo on tambourine this was the single version * Oct. 5, 1962: Love Me Do released went to #17 * Nov. 26, 1962: Please Please Me recorded Sped it up, tightened vocals from the way they first played it for Martin (who said Fellas, you ve got your first #1 single. He was right.) They had recorded How Do You Do It (by pro songwriter Mitch Murray; on Anthology) but considered the song too light for them. Song was given to Gerry and the Pacemakers (also on Parlophone & managed by Epstein) went to #1. * Jan. 1963: Please Please Me released first really big hit for group * Feb. 1963: Please Please Me recorded in a single day; released that March Twist and Shout was saved for the end to preserve John s vocal cords Please Please Me LP released March 1963 Released in U.S. by Vee Jay as Introducing... the Beatles January 1964 (rushed out based on success of I Want to Hold Your Hand ) amounts to all of album Please Please Me, minus title track and Ask Me Why (14 tracks deemed too much) Capitol (EMI s U.S. subsidiary) didn t want to release early records in U.S. so Martin had other labels release those through 1963 (mostly Vee Jay, 1 single on Swan) 6 of 14 tracks are covers * Anna Arthur Alexander (John sings) * Chains The Cookies (George sings) * Boys The Shirelles (Ringo sings) * Baby It s You The Shirelles (John sings) * A Taste of Honey Bobby Scott (Paul sings) * Twist and Shout Isley Brothers (John sings) Many were originally done by girl groups note that after they were spiffed up by Epstein, stage performances were set up similar to girl groups lead singer at one mike, background vocalists at another. But it s the number of originals on their very first album that was so unusual. * I Saw Her Standing There (mostly Paul) * Misery (mostly John)

7 * Ask Me Why (mostly John) * Please Please Me (John) * Love Me Do (mostly Paul) * P.S. I Love You (mostly Paul) * Do You Want to Know a Secret (John written for George to sing lead) * There s a Place (John) Usually, but not always, songwriter sings lead unless it was written for another band member. Musical features Songs are short, arranged, polished Vocals up front; any solo is short is provided for contrast Emphasis on harmony singing John Paul 2 part harmony, influenced by Everly Bros. Extensive use of AABA form revealing debt to Tin Pan Alley suggests they studied the construction of American pop songs they covered Simple instrumentation audio snapshot of group live, w/no excessive dubbing or unusual instrumentation Song Close-Up AABA form (verse, verse, bridge, verse) central part of many pop songs Traditionally each section is 8 measures in length 32 bar form Often some part s gotta come back, otherwise song wouldn t be long enough. (partial reprise) Love Me Do (mostly Paul) #`17 hit Form: AABA w/partial reprise (intro + AABA BA + tag) * Harmonica Beatles had been really into Bruce Channel song Hey! Baby! (1962, feat. Delbert McClinton on harmonica) * Country influence * Two part vocals, then Paul sings solo (John had to drop out on the word do to start the harmonica solo) * Lots of refrain Please Please Me (mostly John) Form: AABA (intro + AABA + tag no reprise) * John s use of Please and Please by Bing Crosby (1932) reflects interest in tricky things going on in lyrics, wordplay * More harmonica * Two part vocal (see Everly Brothers Cathy s Clown ) * More typical use of refrain * Adventurous chords at the end Tony Sheridan influence?

8 I Saw Her Standing There (mostly Paul) Form: AABA w/partial reprise (intro + AABA ABA + tag) * Paul doing Little Richard * Two part harmony on refrain, in bridge * George guitar solo rock n roll/spy type guitar * Entire song is very guitar driven, reminiscent of Chuck Berry * Hand claps (come back in I Want to Hold Your Hand ) The Beatles and U.K. pop, 1963 The year their success exceeded everyone s expectations. Also, for most of this year, no one in U.S. was aware of them. Important performances * April 1963 tour w/tommy Roe * May 1963 tour w/roy Orbison developed friendship; George & Roy later in Traveling Wilburys * November 1963 first official headlining tour * April 1963 first BBC TV appearance; regular BBC Radio show Pop Goes the Beatles * October 1963 Sunday Night at the London Palladium (big variety show mark of arrival) * November 1963 Royal Command Performance John scared the crap out of Epstein by saying he was going to make an announcement (who knows what he d say?) At beginning of Twist and Shout, John asked for participation: those in cheap seats can clap their hands, everyone else (ie royalty, aristocracy) just rattle your jewelry just cheeky enough to be funny w/o being offensive. Ed Sullivan Show performance not till February Changes in U.K. pop scene * Flood of groups doing beat music. London music execs looking to Liverpool, Manchester, etc. for Northern sound * before boom, U.K. artists were viewed as second rate compared to American pop * Similar bands: Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer, The Hollies, The Animals * Up till then, charts had comparable numbers of U.K. and U.S. artists but the U.K. artists were largely imitating American style. * New artists seen as markedly British homegrown (despite influences) and overtaking U.S. artists in the charts morale builder for these groups Beatles first five U.K. hits * Love Me Do w/ P.S. I Love You (October 1962) #17 * Please Please Me w/ Ask Me Why (January 1963) #1 or #2 dep on chart * From Me to You w/ Thank You Girl (April 1963) #1 * She Loves You w/ I ll Get You (August 1963) #1

9 * I Want to Hold Your Hand w/ This Boy (November 1963) #1 first U.S. release on Capitol, in January 1964 With the Beatles Recorded July October 1963 (off and on; Epstein had them doing tons of gigs at time Released November 1963 reportedly 2nd album ever to sell 1 million in U.K. U.S. version: Meet the Beatles (Jan. 1964, Capitol) Covers (6) Motown dominates; includes lots of songs other Liverpool bands did: * Till There Was You (Paul sings) from The Music Man (1957) * Please Mr. Postman (John sings) Marvelettes * Roll Over Beethoven (George sings) Chuck Berry * You ve Really Got a Hold On Me (John sings) Smokey Robinson & Miracles * Devil in Her Heart (George sings) The Donrays (girl group) * Money (John sings) Barrett Strong Originals (8) * It Won t Be Long (John) * All I ve Got to Do (John) * All My Loving (Paul) * Don t Bother Me (George first original on an album) * Little Child (John & Paul) * Hold Me Tight (mostly Paul) * I Wanna Be Your Man (mostly Paul; Ringo sings) * Not a Second Time (John) Musical features - quite similar to Please Please Me * Songs are short, arranged & polished * Vocals up front; any solo short & provided for contrast * Emphasis on harmony singing * Extensive use of AABA form * Simple instrumentation; recording as audio snapshot * Some George Martin on piano for a time, he was only non Beatle to appear on their albums, often on keyboard. Song Close-Up Focus on big hits from last half of 1963 Still relatively formulaic establishing themselves as masters / craftsmen of this particular thing but still interesting She Loves You Form: Beatles contrasting verse chorus (chorus 1, verse, verse, chorus 2, verse, chorus 2 w/ tag)

10 * contrasting verse chorus: focus is more on the chorus than the verse * special kind of CVC kind of invented by Beatles this is first example * 2 different versions of chorus * G. Martin always told story that on Can t Buy Me Love, they were trying to write AABA and he told them That s not the bridge it s the chorus, put it at the beginning. Perhaps he misremembered this song is a better candidate for that. I Want to Hold Your Hand (John & Paul) Form: AABA w/partial reprise (intro + AABA BA) * 11 bar bridge (normally in multiples of 4 is it a stretched 8 bar, or shrunken 12 bar? Similar to Jerry Lee Lewis Great Balls of Fire ) * Bridge John & Paul sing first one in unison, second one in harmony Important points * Beatles very much the product of where/when they grew up: in 50s, in Liverpool, lots of popular music happening, opportunities to play & hear others * Honed their craft in Hamburg & Liverpool playing lots of gigs at all hours * Epstein cleaned up their image, made them more professional looking & less ragamuffin * G. Martin helps craft musical sound as producer Week 2: Success in America and the world Introduction This week s themes * Beatles success into early 1964; success in the U.S. and then globally * A Hard Day s Night album = epitomizes Beatles as craftsmen * Beatles for Sale transition album finds them beginning shift toward artist model * John and Paul as individual songwriters * Beatles as songwriters for others * Looking more at Brian Epstein s pop empire, George Martin as top pop producer The Beatles are coming! U.S. breakthrough * Capitol Records releases I Want to Hold Your Hand in late Dec with massive publicity campaign. * Topped the American charts by end of Jan * Fortuitously, Beatles had already booked Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964 (3 weeks in a row) Beatlemania and the British Invasion * Many U.K. singles/album tracks re released in U.S.: She Loves You (U.S. #1), Please Please Me (U.S. #3), I Saw Her Standing There (U.S. #14)

11 * Beatles songs held 12 spots on April 4, 1964, Billboard chart including the top 5. * Had top two albums in the country: Meet the Beatles (Capitol) and Introducing the Beatles (Vee Jay) Ed Sullivan, France and industry wisdom * Capitol s (and Beatles ) belief that a British artist wouldn t sell here was not unfounded. Few exceptions: Lonnie Doneghan s Rock Island Line (1956), Acker Bilk s Stranger on the Shore (1962), The Tornados (Billy Fury s backing band) with Telstar (1962) Cliff Richards: Had 27 U.K. hit singles from , but couldn t get significant U.S. hit as big as a pre Beatles British artist could be * At time Beatles learned they had a hit on Capitol, they were focused on building French and German following playing gigs in Paris and recording songs translated into German * Late Oct. Early Nov. Ed Sullivan or a rep was delayed at Heathrow as Beatles returned from show all flights grounded for safety of throngs of fans on the tarmac. This gave Epstein an inside track to get the group booked (an unprecedented 3 weeks as headliners). * Epstein reputedly did the entire trip at a loss, digging into family resources a good investment * Sales of the Beatles gear took off: George: Gretsch guitar John: Rickenbacker guitar Paul: Hofner bass Ringo: Ludwig drums Vox guitar amps The jingle jangle of George s Rickenbacker 12 string * Reputedly (according to George) there was a significant drop in NYC crime statistics during the time the first Ed Sullivan appearance aired. The Beatles in the movies: A Hard Day s Night * Filmed March April 1964; premiered in London on July 6, 1964 * Directed by Richard Lester, written by Alun Owen (he d traveled with Beatles to get a sense of their personalities) * Put together very quickly out of fears they were flavor of the week. * Beatles were getting so many invitations to play that they simply couldn t do them all. But they could make money from a movie playing around the world, all the time * Filmed in black and white to save money Idea of doing a movie or TV show to promote a band was not new Elvis (starting with Love Me Tender, late 1956) Alan Freed (rock DJ appeared in 5 movies, ) The Girl Can t Help It (1956, Little Richard & Jayne Mansfield, influential in U.K.) Ricky Nelson started music career on parents Ozzie and Harriet American Bandstand

12 Jack Good (TV producer in U.K.) Six Five Special ( ), Oh Boy! ( ), Boy Meets Girls ( ), Shindig! ( , ABC) Idea of Beatles being zany, fun loving, smart alecky, reacting to world around them became a style point Personal anecdote: Grandma took Covach to see it in theater as a suburban Detroit 5 year old. Teen girls started screaming the second the lights went down and stood up and screamed for most of the movie even though the band couldn t hear them! A Hard Day s Night, the album * Recorded Feb. June 1964; released July * All originals, no covers 10 by John, 3 by Paul * U.S. version: cut tunes in favor of George Martin s background music for future releases * Pervasive use of AABA form continues 8 of 13 songs Singles Can t Buy Me Love and A Hard Day s Night were #1 in U.S. and U.K. I ll Cry Instead (U.S. #25; B side I m Happy Just to Dance With You ) And I Love Her (U.S. #12; B side If I Fell ) John songs Paul songs * A Hard Day s Night (AABA) * I Should Have Known Better (AABA) * If I Fell (AABA) * I m Happy Just to Dance With You (AABA) * Tell Me Why (CVC w/bridge) * Any Time at All (CVC w/bridge) * I ll Cry Instead (AABA) * When I Get Home (CVC w/bridge) * You Can t Do That (AABA) * I ll Be Back (modified AABA intro + AAB AAC AABA + coda) * And I Love Her (AABA) * Can t Buy Me Love (Beatles CVC) * Things We Said Today (AABA) Novel musical features begin to emerge * Ambiguous tonality in If I Fell D flat or D major? Reflects indecision in lyrics * Key change for And I Love Her guitar solo * Motivic (as in a motif) use of bvii chord in A Hard Day s Night

13 Long Tall Sally EP * 4 song Extended Play single was 5th released by group * Released June 19, 1964 (UK only) just before Hard Day s Night album * One of only two EPs course will discuss (other is Magical Mystery Tour * I Call Your Name (the only original) * Long Tall Sally (Little Richard) * Slow Down (Larry Williams * Matchbox (Carl Perkins) Song Close-Up A Hard Day s Night (John) AABA w/partial reprise (intro + AABA + ABA + tag) * No refrain on verses * Motivic use of bvii chord ( flat seven ) at the beginning, within song & arpeggiated in tag hadn t been used a whole lot, but Beatles used it often. * Rickenbacker electric 12 string Used throughout album and song. George got one of the first ones Roger McGuinn of The Byrds said to have been inspired by movie A Hard Day s Night to get his own RIckenbacker distinctive jangly sound became a trademark of that band. Can t Buy Me Love (Paul) Beatles CVC (chorus 1, verse, verse, chorus 2, verse, verse, chorus 2, verse, chorus 1) * Note similarity to She Loves You Any Time at All (John) CVC w/bridge (intro + chorus, verse 1 chorus, verse 2 chorus, bridge, chorus + tag) * 12 string and electric piano on bridge Beatles for Sale, Fall 1964 How do you follow up success of A Hard Day s Night? Beatles for Sale not considered as good, which sparked rumors they d peaked (they got this kind of thing a lot) Singles * I Feel Fine (John; #1 U.S./U.K.)/ She s a Woman (Paul; #4 U.S.) both AABA w/some changes Released November 1964 I Feel Fine intro: guitar hook; early use of feedback (albeit accidental) * Eight Days a Week released as U.S. single Early 1965 The album Recorded August October 1964; released December 1964 #1 in U.K. and U.S.

14 Closest U.S. equivalent was Beatles 65 (8 BfS tracks + 3 from singles) Cover art: Do Beatles look tired? Fame weary? Title: Ironic? Cynical? Playful? Start of pushback against commercial machinery that made them famous? Idea of Beatles recalibrating style after achieving what they set out to do w/hard Day s Night 6 cover songs, 8 originals (4 by Paul, 3 by John, 1 written jointly) 5 of the 8 originals are AABA Country influence? Return of covers: may reflect return to their roots and/or limited time to write in breakneck schedule May be influenced by August 1964 meeting with Bob Dylan challenged them to write something more than teen love songs to be more artists rather than Brill Building songwriters The songs Covers * Rock and Roll Music (Chuck Berry, 1957) * Mr. Moonlight (Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, 1962) * Kansas City (Lieber & Stoller) / Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey (Little Richard) * Words of Love (Buddy Holly, 1957) * Honey Don t (Carl Perkins, 1956) * Everybody s Trying to Be My Baby (Carl Perkins, 1958) John songs When told to write more serious songs, most young songwriters head toward maybe not exactly a pity party, but unhappiness/disappointment/inner feelings/etc. * No Reply * I m a Loser * I Don t Want to Spoil the Party Paul songs Mostly sunny and upbeat; start to hear symphonic hints * I ll Follow the Sun * Eight Days a Week * Every Little Thing * What You re Doing Written jointly * Baby s in Black open to interpretation but could be about Astrid & Stu in Hamburg days Song Close-Up I m a Loser (John) Beatles CVC (chorus 1, verse chorus 2, verse chorus 2, interlude, verse chorus 2, interlude as coda) * John in more confessional mode precursor to Help! ; also relates to If I Fell

15 Eight Days a Week (Paul) AABA w/partial reprise (intro + AABA BA + coda; aaba phrase structure in A sections) * Fun phrase that doesn t really make much sense (a la hard day s night) * early signs of symphonic impulse builds up Brian Epstein and George Martin Brian Epstein Modeled himself on Larry Parnes not mentor so much as role model. The two had been in contact & it s possible Epstein worked for Parnes at one point very early on. Had his own roster of stars (and nonstars) Beatles as well as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer, The Big Three, The Paramounts, Sounds Incorporated, Paddy, Klaus & Gibson, Tommy Quickly, Cyrkle (U.S. group) and The Fourmost, to name a few. * Gerry and the Pacemakers How Do You Do It (song rejected by Beatles, produced by Martin) followed by another MItch Murray song, I Like It ; then Gerry s songs Ferry Cross the Mersey, It s Gonna Be Alright, Don t Let the Sun Catch You Crying * Groups released songs by John & Paul that Beatles never recorded, including Cilla Black Love of the Loved, It s for You Billy J. Kramer I ll Keep You Satisfied, Bad to Me The Fourmost Hello Little Girl, I m in Love Bought (or leased) the Saville Theater for Sunday night rock shows that drew celebrities Got involved with theater production James Baldwin s The Amen Corner and On the Level; New Arts Theater Club s A Smashing Day Became celeb in his own right with appearances on TV s Hullabaloo as British pop correspondent George Martin If he had a rival/role model, it d be Norrie Paramor Produced Beatles, Gerry & Pacemakers, Cilla Black, BIlly J. Kramer, The Fourmost Was having all these hits (Beatles and other groups) but didn t have a financial piece of the success. His reward was promotion to a different class of employee resulting in him losing money because he no longer got a Christmas bonus. (Such complaints of EMI at that time are not uncommon was widely characterized as very stingy, facilities not very good, tied up with formal protocol such as who gets to touch what machines.) August 1965 formed Associated Independent Reocrding (AIR) producers co op with John Burgess (worked w/norman Newell), Ron Richards (worked w/martin) Peter Sullivan (worked w/walter Ridley) left EMI and started renting themselves out to EMI for share of profit

16 Week 3: Pop maturity Overview of 1965: Beatlemania continues From last week HDN Album A Hard Day s Night (1964) signaled their arrival as pop craftsmen. End of 1964 recalibrating style, pushing boundaries, perhaps seeking not to repeat Beatles for Sale as precursor to what they re doing in : Beatles traveling much farther than they did in 1964 from craft model toward artist model (Course s choices of music highlighted will emphasize this, possibly at risk of making it seem like this is all that is happening.) What is the artist model? Lyrics become more serious They met Dylan in Aug. or Sept challenged them to move beyond boy meets girl, etc. Also introduced them to marijuana. Forms become more varied AABA form had been prevalent (Great American Songbook/Tin Pan Alley) New instruments come to be used (not just 2 guitars, bass, drums, vocals) Experimenting w/expanding their style Starting to look to styles beyond pop/rock of the day for example, classical, avant garde, referencing a French popular song Quick review of important events in 1965: * Continued to dominate U.S., U.K. charts press still reflected the suspicion that they were a flavor of the week that could fall off into obscurity at any time * John and George s first acid trip spring over 2 years before Summer of Love * John s 2nd book, A Spaniard in the Works, published in June (first was In His Own Write, pub d 1964) helped build his image as more the words guy, vs. Paul as music guy * Help! (album and movie) released in August * First Shea Stadium concert, in front of 55,000 fans August * Beatles meet Elvis August * Beatles receive MBEs October scandalous to some of the older generation, who sent their MBEs back * Rubber Soul comes out in December

17 The singles (At the time, albums remained kind of secondary to singles that flips around time of Sgt. Pepper) * Eight Days a Week (Paul, Beatles for Sale) February; went to No. 1 B side: I Don t Want to Spoil the Party (John) * Ticket to Ride (John, Help!) April; went to No. 1 B side: Yes It Is (John; a reworking of earlier song This Boy ) Both owe debt to early R&B, doo wop, black singing groups. * Help! (John, Help!) July, just before album and movie B side: I m Down (Paul) * Yesterday (Paul, Help!) September in U.S. only B side: Act Naturally * Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out December Double A side single around time of Rubber Soul Note that they ve got something every couple of months to keep them in the public eye ( off the charts, out of mind ) Help! the movie Filmed Feb. May 1965; their 2nd full length movie & 1st in color Working title Eight Arms to Hold You Directed by Hard Day s Night director Richard Lester; he s said to have drawn inspiration from the Marx Bros. Duck Soup and James Bond movies. Beatles are maybe not taking this as seriously or getting a little detached from commitment to project Paul sez they suggested filming locations purely out of personal interest let s go to the Bahamas! skiing in the Alps! Lester s patience really tested by Fab Four. Were introduced to marijuana when they met Dylan. They were not inclined to write, perform or record under the influence but they had a lot of down time. Evidently this happened A LOT during filming Both George & Ringo confirm they were pretty stoned most of the time Buckingham Palace scene a minute or two of straight dialogue, and it took them most of the day to film because they just couldn t stop giggling. This was a couple years before people really associated rock n roll with pot; by then, the Beatles had moved on to other things. Def. a correlation between their use of pot/acid/other drugs and it opening them up creatively, and a couple years ahead of time. Premiered August, was another blockbuster movie. John didn t really like the movie, thought Lester had lost sight of who the Beatles were like having clams in a movie about frogs.

18 From craftsmen to artists Authenticity in popular music an idea really established by Beatles & Dylan write your own songs, and they are really about who you are. a sense of sincerity, honesty, sharing, philosophical self wareness up to this point, music business had kept the songwriter and the performer and studio musicians separate When Monkees emerged in 1966, severely taken to task as inauthentic (even though Nesmith later had a hit w/another artist), even though they The L.A. scene in 60s Wrecking Crew same studio musicians played on a ton of records The Byrds first hit, Mr. Tambourine Man, was played almost entirely by studio musicians, except for Roger McGuinn Eric Clapton while with Yardbirds, he actually walked out of a session b/c they were using professional songwriter s song with studio musicians too pop Artist vs. craftsman Craftsman finds the best way to construct something and is happy to repeat it over and over again can promise and deliver an exact level of quality Artist always pushing forward, trying something new. Writing the same piece over and over seen as signaling lack of creativity & originality, sign of weakness Pushing the envelope, using other styles to create completely new things over a 3 year period Industry wisdom would have never released Sgt. Pepper completely different sound on each song. Yet Beatles still knew how to plug in that craft model when they needed a big hit single often go back to AABA songs from earlier in career. Help! the album Recorded mostly in Feb. and June; released in August Both U.K. and U.S. versions went to #1 U.S. version had far fewer songs, more incidental music Moves Beatles closer to artist aesthetic broader range of instruments, more developed lyrics More authenticity

19 Paul plays guitar on Another Girl, Ticket to Ride he only ever played bass because no one else wanted to do it. George discovers the sitar found in junk shop while filming Help movie, later took lessons w/ravi Shankar Cover image: Beatles are actually signaling Help us (LPUS) in semaphore, but the photo was flipped. John songs Help contrasting verse chorus You ve Got to Hide Your Love Away Dylanesque lyrics, contrasting verse chorus You re Going to Lose That Girl More Motown influence, contrasting verse chorus w/break Ticket to Ride AABA, guitar intro It s Only Love contrasting verse chorus Between these songs & singles/b sides of that time: 4 CVC, 3 AABA Paul songs The Night Before John on piano; AABA Another Girl AABA Tell Me What You See CVC, more poetic lyrics I ve Just Seen a Face Dylan influence; CVC Yesterday use of classical strings; AABA; more philosophical 2 CVC, 3 AABA, 1 simple verse Both show more balance of song types, more developed lyrics Transition from audio snapshot approach (essentially a live performance) to overdubbing (illusion of audio snapshot but same artist may be playing multiple instruments; illusion completely gone by Sgt. Pepper s) George songs We re seeing his songs finally find a place on albums. He s complained that he had to write his first songs in public, vs. Paul & John who had years to perfect theirs in private I Need You AABA, volume pedal guitar effects to achieve violin type swells (experimentation) You Like Me Too Much AABA, average lyrics Covers Act Naturally Ringo sings lead Orig. recorded by Buck Owens (Hee Haw host, part of 60s Bakersfield Sound ) Dizzy Miss Lizzy John sings Recorded by Larry Williams (1958 not a hit). From Beatles Cavern Club days Bad Boy John sings; recorded at same session but did not make it onto album Rec. by Larry Williams (1959)

20 Musical features Initially a U.S. only release on Beatles VI More serious minded, philosophical lyrics More prominent acoustic guitar folk, country influences AABA form this time is more balanced w/contrasting verse chorus Use of effects (volume pedal) Use of flutes, strings non rock instruments Song Close-Up Help! (John) Beatles contrasting verse chorus (contains 2 versions of chorus seemingly orig. in She Loves You ): chorus 1, verse, chorus 2, verse, chorus 2, verse, chorus 2 + tag Tonal ambiguity and lyrics begins w/descending thirds progression (like rolling downhill) it s not clear from outset which key it will be in analogue for what the song s about (sim. to intro of If I Fell wavers between two keys like the narrator wavers between 2 relationships) loss of the cockiness of youth, doubt creeping in Background vocals anticipate and echo John singing lead Acoustic guitar prominent, strong You ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (John) Contrasting verse chorus (intro, verse, verse, chorus, verse, verse, chorus, verse) It s presumed lyrics are addressing Brian Epstein being gay; it was illegal in UK at time Bob Dylan influence moving toward more philosophical lyrics Abbey Road s John Scott on alto and tenor flute overdubbed I ve Just Seen a Face (Paul) Contrasting verse chorus Doesn t seem to mean much by itself, but linked with other songs shows a progression. Chosen to lay groundwork for later song discussions Lots of acoustic guitar, Dylan influence beat makes it sound more country/folk Lyrics, metaphors = Vision, Vision, Thought Looks forward to I m Looking Through You Yesterday (Paul) AABA w/partial reprise (intro AABA BA + tag) Paul solo on acoustic guitar + use of chamber strings (at G. Martin s suggestion) Was almost released as a Paul solo record. More philosophical lyrics (breaks down in bridge, which gets more romantic) Looks forward to Michelle, Eleanor Rigby, She s Leaving Home

21 Rubber Soul Second half of 65: the singles Album * Double A side idea is that both could become hits (Dec. 1965) Day Tripper (John; AABA wordless bridge) We Can Work It Out (Paul w/some John in bridge) * Nowhere Man (Feb. 1966) broken AABA form (see: Michelle) * Recorded Oct. Nov. 1965; released December * Continues move toward artist and authenticity more serious lyrics, even more diverse instrumentation than Help! * Breakdown of AABA forms and turning to other formal types as craftsman model recedes refrains that turn into chorus, CVC, etc. * Album songs provide chance to experiment * Album starts to become an entity in itself more than a collection of non singles * John called Rubber Soul the pot album and Revolver the acid album John and George had tried acid the first time that year not intentionally: It was experimental drug at that time; they and wives were at party where someone slipped LSD into their coffee. John songs Norwegian Wood first use of sitar on Beatles track; ABA form; relates to You ve Got to Hide Your Love Away Nowhere Man broken AABA (AABA BA BA BA); critique of status quo a la Dylan or Ray Davies The Word contrasting verse chorus Girl AABA; vocal suggestiveness John s vocal intake of breath each time he sang girl as if inhaling a joint Ti ti ti ti background vocals that might be interpreted as an anatomical reference. Fab 4 loved to try to get away with things pushing back against machine that kept them afloat and no one noticed in this case In My Life AABB; verses that repeat; some authorship dispute; use of classical harpsichord; prefigures Strawberry Fields w/lyrics discussing their childhood Run for Your Life contrasting verse chorus; borrows line from Elvis Baby, Let s Play House ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man.") Paul songs Drive My Car contrasting verse chorus; lots of double entendres You Won t See Me AABA phrase structure in verses within AABA song form; relates to Eight Days a Week, Things We Said Today. Michelle Broken AABA; relates to Yesterday

22 I m Looking Through You AABA; relates to I ve Just Seen a Face John & Paul song: Wait combines V C and AABA; recorded during Help sessions George songs: Think For Yourself contrasting verse chorus; Paul on fuzz bass; angry, kind of preachy lyrics If I Needed Someone AABA; 12 string guitar is featured. Poss. first George song that might rival John & Paul John w/paul & Ringo: What Goes On contrasting verse chorus; more country from Ringo Song Close-up Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (John) ABA form w/full reprise (intro + ABA ABA + coda) the only tune like that Form, tonality/modality mixture (Mixolydian, Dorian, Ionian) Use of sitar Detailed but somewhat misogynist lyrics: Guy goes to her apartment thinking he s going to get laid, she goes to sleep instead, he wakes up to find himself alone and burns down her house. The Norwegian wood is pine, what girls of the era had in their apartments In My Life (John) Simple verse (intro + verse, verse, verse + tag) the harpsichord solo is actually a piano played at half speed an octave lower, then sped up References classical music Michelle (Paul) Broken AABA (intro + AABA BA BA + coda) Paul used to do tune at parties to do impression of French pop singer He got someone else to translate the English verse into French Harmony vocals in background play role of the accordion I m Looking Through You (Paul) AABA w/partial reprise (intro + AABA BA + coda) Acoustic guitar; related to I ve Just Seen a Face More (but not fully) systematic metaphors vision, sound, then thought If I Needed Someone (George) AABA w/full reprise (intro + AABA AABA + coda) still trying to master craft of writing a pop song electric 12 string guitar capo d at 7th fret chimey, jingly jangly sound

23 Week 4: Psychedelia The rigors of touring & freedom of the studio Key topics * Bigger than Jesus scandal summer of 1966 pushed by AM radio, esp. in the South, Bible Belt * Scare in the Philippines misunderstanding over Imelda Marcos event * Gap widens between recordings and live performances touring becomes more of a negative experience, and what they re doing in studio is becoming too difficult to replicate on stage. * August 1966 last moptop show in San Francisco not their last live performance ever, but signaled retirement from touring * Revolver released August 1966 * Sessions for new childhood album start in December (Sgt. Pepper s) Bigger than Jesus scandal late 65 early 66: John did How Does a Beatle Live? Sunday newspaper interview with a journalist they knew (Maureen Cleave) covering variety of topics lots of controversy in those days, notably involving religion, culture, pop music is evil, etc. So she asked John about it his response was along the lines that if there was a Beatles concert on one side of street and church service on the others, more people would be at the concert. John said he was trying to emphasize that pop music/pop culture were more important to young people than religion. Not a bragging thing. When story got loose in U.S. in summer 1966, it suddenly became A Thing that people willfully misread, or misused for their own purposes Made touring dangerous. Martin noted that in a number of situations it would ve been easy for someone to shoot them (plus, not all that long after JFK assassination) KKK threatened surprises at their shows. John had to publicly apologize at a press conference, broke down after cemented his dedication to do whatever he wanted with his art even (and especially) if others didn t like it. Began to recast the Beatles as a studio group vs. live band. 1966: The singles * Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out (December 1965) * Nowhere Man / What Goes On (February 1966) * Paperback Writer (mostly Paul) #1 in U.S./U.K. recorded April 1966 released June 1966 guitar intro related to Day Tripper, I Feel Fine, Ticket to Ride loosely about John (at one point singing Frere Jacques in background) * Rain (B side to Paperback Writer )

24 use of backward tape loops (first release to use them, though Tomorrow Never Knows was recorded a week earlier). contrasting verse chorus form promo video for the two songs: Beatles in garden miming to songs * Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby (August 1966) #2 U.S.,#1 U.K./#11 U.S., #1 U.K. Revolver: the album * Recorded April June 1966; pretty much finished by the time they went on summer tour * Released August 1966 * Cover drawing by Klaus Voorman a buddy from their Hamburg days. Voorman was part of an Epstein pop group, later played bass on various Beatle solo projects * Continues move toward artist model * Still influenced by American pop John songs * I m Only Sleeping : AABA w/refrain; seems to reflect drug lethargy backwards guitar * She Said She Said : AABA form Lyrics reputedly inspired by Peter Fonda remark about death and LSD he and John were tripping at a California party, and Fonda was telling him I know what it s like to be dead (after technically dying briefly in an accident) freaking John out * And Your Bird Can Sing : broken AABA use of harmony guitars (became popular in 70s w/dual guitar players) * Dr. Robert : AABA form w/fade on last verse; mostly John Not about any one person (an amalgam) but name probably refers to Robert Freymann N.Y. doctor with lots of celeb clients who gave vitamin shots that included amphetamines (so of course you feel really good) * Tomorrow Never Knows : simple verse was one of the first songs recorded, but appearance at end of album kind of indicates first move toward psychedelia. Tape loops, chance elements; found lyrics from Timothy Leary book The Psychedelic Experience his most progressive, ambitious piece so far Paul songs * Eleanor Rigby : Beatles CVC form; use of strings (related to Yesterday and Michelle ), three part lyric structure. Prob. Paul s most ambitious song to date. * Here, There, and Everywhere : AABA; inspired by Beach Boys God Only Knows * Yellow Submarine : CVC; attempt to write a children s song Paul said it was about that moment you re lying in bed, still semi conscious, all kinds of amazing things can happen in your imagination. * Good Day Sunshine : CVC; inspired by The Lovin Spoonful * For No One : broken AABA potential looping of song * Got to Get You Into My Life : CVC; influenced by Stax/Memphis soul, use of horns George songs * Taxman : simple verse with bridge; Coasters like rhymes, angry lyrics

25 * Love You To : simple verse first big George song to do Eastern sitar kind of thing * I Want to Tell You : AABA Musical features * Lyrics increasingly serious, philosophical, sometimes drug related * Forms are diverse, but AABA remains * Instrumentation employs classical references, tape effects, horns * Increasingly varied style Song Close-Up Rain (John; not on Revolver) Contrasting verse chorus (intro, verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, coda) Lyrics counter culture, anti conformity; continuation of Nowhere Man people should embrace the sun and rain rather than seeking shelter from it Droning harmonically not much harmonic movement. No sitar, but gives us Eastern raga effect Use of backward tape effects John s vocal played backward; emblem of psychedelia Tomorrow Never Knows (John) Simple verse (intro, verse x 3, double instrumental verse, verse x 4, tag Lyrics use of received material : paraphrase of part of Timothy Leary book on LSD mostly clinical book ended up in a section on what to whisper in the ear of someone who s tripping if they re paranoid, freaking out, etc. (Idea from Tibetan Book of the Dead) Harmony is two chords (drone), with distinctive Ringo drum pattern so droney that John/Paul feared G. Martin would reject it. Lead vocal effects (John demanded to sound like Dalai Lama or monks singing from a mountaintop), backward tape, tape loops, chance elements aleatoric music Ragged ending doesn t end the album as much as fall apart into various tracks. No fade out. Eleanor Rigby (Paul) CVC w/elements of Beatles CVC (chorus 1, verse, chorus 2, verse, chorus 2, chorus 1, verse, chorus 1 and 2) Use of strings (relates to Yesterday and She s Leaving Home Form revisits Beatles CVC Lyrics use 3 stage progression: telling a story Eleanor Rigby>Father McKenzie>both For No One (Paul) Broken AABA (AAB AAB AAB) Use of French horn Lyrics deal w/domestic alienation more sophisticated approach to relationships Broken AABA to create loop? try playing it on repeat on your ipod.