Thursday, August 14, 1969
Mixing the "Abbey Road" medley
For The Beatles
Last updated on April 26, 2025
Thursday, August 14, 1969
For The Beatles
Last updated on April 26, 2025
Feb 22 - Aug 25, 1969 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Abbey Road
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road • London • UK
Session Aug 12, 1969 • Mixing "Oh! Darling", "Because", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
Session Aug 13, 1969 • Mixing "You Never Give Me Your Money"
Session Aug 14, 1969 • Mixing the "Abbey Road" medley
Session Aug 17, 1969 • Recording "Que Sera Sera", "Fields of St. Etienne" #1
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Abbey Road" LP
A first attempt at mixing the “Abbey Road” medley (referred to at this stage as “The Long One” or “Huge Melody“) had been made on July 30, 1969. Since then, all the songs forming the medley had received various overdubs. On this day, during a twelve-hour session from 2:30 pm to 2:30 am, these songs were mixed, edited and crossfaded.
The first task of the day was to create stereo mixes for “Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard” (two songs recorded as one continuous track). Five mixes of Take 35 were made (numbered RS20 to RS24), all with ADT (artificial double-tracking) applied to the vocals. RS22 was considered the best and became the stereo release version.
Time was then spent mixing “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” (which is not part of the medley). An edit piece from Take 27 was mixed (labelled Remix Stereo 37) and incorporated into Remix Stereo 34, which had been made on August 12.
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” was now completed, although an edit made on August 25 would remove the song’s instrumental introduction.
Thirteen mixes of Take 40 of “Polythene Pam / She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” (again, two songs recorded as one track) were then made, numbered RS20 to RS32. John Lennon’s vocals on “Polythene Pam” were treated with ADT. Remix Stereo 32 was considered the best and served as the stereo release of the song.
The crossfade between “You Never Give Me Your Money” and “Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard” was also attempted eleven times during this session, using tape loops assembled by Paul McCartney on August 5. This crossfade would be perfected on August 21.
Finally, “Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard” was joined to “Polythene Pam / She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” “by means of a hard edit, without the merest hint of a gap between the two,” as noted by Mark Lewisohn in “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions.”
BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Kenny Everett was present for this mixing session, and interviewed John Lennon during a break in the session.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 20 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 21 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 22 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 23 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 24 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 20 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 21 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 22 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 23 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 24 from take 35
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Edit piece remix 37, from take 27
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 20 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 21 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 22 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 23 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 24 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 25 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 26 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 27 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 28 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 29 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 30 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 31 from take 40
Recording • Stereo mixing - Remix 32 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 20 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 21 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 22 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 23 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 24 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 25 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 26 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 27 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 28 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 29 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 30 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 31 from take 40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 32 from take 40
Mixing • Stereo crossfade of "You Never Give Me Your Money" into "Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard" (Remixes 1-11, from sound effects take 5 of "You Never Give Me Your Money")
Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 34 and 37
Editing • Editing of "Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard" (remix stereo 22) and "Polythene Pam / She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" (remix stereo 32)
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 Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 5: Let It Be through Abbey Road (1969 - 1970)
The fifth and final book of this critically acclaimed series, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 5: Let It Be through Abbey Road (1969 - 1970)" follows The Beatles as they "get back to where they once belonged...". Not once, but twice. With "Let It Be", they attempted to recapture the spontaneity of their early years and recordings, while "Abbey Road" was a different kind of return - to the complexity, finish and polish that they had applied to their work beginning with "Revolver" and through to "The Beatles".
Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the Beatles
Acclaimed Beatles historian Kenneth Womack offers the most definitive account yet of the writing, recording, mixing, and reception of Abbey Road. In February 1969, the Beatles began working on what became their final album together. Abbey Road introduced a number of new techniques and technologies to the Beatles' sound, and included "Come Together," "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun," which all emerged as classics.
If we modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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