Part of
"The Beatles" (aka the White Album) sessions
May 30 - Oct 18, 1968 • Songs recorded during this session appear on The Beatles (Mono)
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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the The Beatles (Mono) LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1968
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
On this day (from 4pm to 8am), The Beatles continued working on “Long, Long, Long” (which recording started the day before) and recorded two new songs from John Lennon, “I’m So Tired” and “The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill“.
Overdubs were added to “Long Long Long” take 67. George Harrison added a second vocal and a lead acoustic guitar part. Paul McCartney added bass guitar and backing vocals. A piano overdubs played by Chris Thomas would be added the day after, to complete the recording.
The Beatles then started working and completed “I’m So Tired” during that session. They recorded 14 takes, with John on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, George on rhythm guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo Starr on drums. As they were satisfied with Take 14, the overdubbing process started.
OK, we’ll do it again. Try and leave those spaces, Paul, ’cause it’s all, at remix you’ll have to pull it all out.
John Lennon – Before take 14 – Quoted in beatlesebooks.com
John added an organ part, Paul played an electric piano, Ringo added more drums. John, Paul and George sang harmonies, which would not appear on the final version be mixed on October 15.
A version with all those overdubs was released on the 2018 re-release of the White Album:
“Sessions track 15 is the master with some elements that were left out of the final mixes made a week later. For example, John, Paul and George sang harmonies on track five […] Another omitted part, described as ‘far-off’ electric guitar on the tape box, is heard in this mix. This was recorded on track seven, which also has organ and extra drums. Electric piano, guitar and more drums are present on track six”
From “The Beatles” Super Deluxe edition book (2018)
A mix of takes 3, 6 and 9 that “embrace all the best moments” was released on Anthology 3
Into the fifth month of the recording the White Album, two more John Lennon songs – I’m So Tired and The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill – were added to the collection during a through-the-night Abbey Road session that ended at 8am. Now using eight-track recording machines on a regular basis for the first time, I’m So Tired was taped live, the master (Take 14) including minimal overdubbing. John would often perform a vocal with every take, and all the outtakes of I’m So Tired have one – presented here is an amalgam of takes 3, 6 and 9 that embrace all the best moments.
Twelve hours had passed since the beginning of this session, and The Beatles switched to “The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill” and recorded only 3 takes, with John on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Yoko Ono on backing vocals and lead vocals (on the line “Not when he looked so fierce“), Paul on bass, George on acoustic guitar, and Ringo on drums and backing vocals.
Take 2 was released on the White Album’s 50th anniversary release in 2018. Take 3 was considered as the master, and they added overdubs on it. Paul added two bass parts, John sang a second vocal, Ringo played tambourine and Chris Thomas overdubbed a Mellotron part.
I’ve been very fortunate in having ridiculous fantasies come true. For instance, playing with The Beatles on “Bungalow Bill” with George Martin up there producing. Incredible!
Chris Thomas – From “The Beatles” Super Deluxe edition book (2018)
By the end of the session, the song reached its final form and would be mixed in mono & stereo the day after.
Last updated on September 19, 2021
Songs recorded
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Recording • Take 7
Album Officially released on The Beatles (50th anniversary boxset)
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Recording • Take 14
Album Officially released on The Beatles (50th anniversary boxset)
16.
17.
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Recording • Take 2
Album Officially released on The Beatles (50th anniversary boxset)
18.
Staff
Musicians on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"
- Paul McCartney:
- Backing vocals, Bass
- Ringo Starr:
- Backing vocals, Tambourine, Drums
- John Lennon:
- Organ, Acoustic guitar, Vocals
- George Harrison:
- Backing vocals, Acoustic guitar
- Yoko Ono:
- Vocals, Backing vocals
- Chris Thomas:
- Mellotron
- Maureen Starkey:
- Backing vocals
Musicians on "I'm So Tired"
- Paul McCartney:
- Electric piano, Bass, Harmony vocals, Backing vocals
- Ringo Starr:
- Drums
- John Lennon:
- Harmony vocals, Vocals, Organ, Lead guitar
- George Harrison:
- Harmony vocals, Lead guitar
Musicians on "Long, Long, Long"
- Paul McCartney:
- Backing vocals, Bass
- George Harrison:
- Vocals, Acoustic guitar
Production staff
Going further
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions • Mark Lewisohn
The definitive guide for every Beatles recording sessions from 1962 to 1970.
We owe a lot to Mark Lewisohn for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - the number of takes for each song, who contributed what, a description of the context and how each session went, various photographies... And an introductory interview with Paul McCartney!
The fourth book of this critically acclaimed series, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 4: The Beatles through Yellow Submarine (1968 - early 1969)" captures The Beatles as they take the lessons of Sgt. Pepper forward with an ambitious double-album that is equally innovative and progressive. From the first take to the final remix, discover the making of the greatest recordings of all time. Through extensive, fully-documented research, these books fill an important gap left by all other Beatles books published to date and provide a unique view into the recordings of the world's most successful pop music act.
If we like to think, in all modesty, that the Paul McCartney Project is the best online ressource for everything Paul McCartney, The Beatles Bible is for sure the definitive online site focused on the Beatles. There are obviously some overlap in terms of content between the two sites, but also some major differences in terms of approach.
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