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Monday, April 17, 1967

Mixing "Getting Better", "She's Leaving Home", "When I'm Sixty-Four", "Lovely Rita"

For The Beatles

Last updated on February 10, 2024


Master session

Location

  • Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Timeline

AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)" LP

Some of the songs from this session also appear on:

On this day, from 7 pm to 10:30 pm, four tracks from the upcoming “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album were mixed in stereo.


The mono mix of “Getting Better” was done on March 23, 1967. On this day, the track was mixed in stereo. Only one attempt (labelled Remix Stereo 1) was needed to create the stereo release version of the song.


The mono mix of “She’s Leaving Home” was done on March 20, 1967, using frequency control to fasten the speed of the recording and raise the pitch by a semitone, and Automatic Double Tracking (ADT) was used on the harp introduction. The mono mix was also subject to some editing to remove two cello passages, at the 1’17” and 2’30” marks.

On this day, six attempts at creating the stereo mix, labelled Remix Stereo 1 to 6, were required. For those stereo mixes, ADT was again used on the harp introduction, but frequency control was not used, meaning the stereo mix is slower than the mono mix. RS6 was considered the best and was subject to the same editing as the mono mix.


The mono mix of “When I’m Sixty-Four” was done on December 30, 1966. On this day, only one attempt was needed to create the final stereo mix. Like the mono mix, the stereo mix makes use of frequency control to raise the key by a semitone.


The mono mix of “Lovely Rita” was done on March 21, 1967. On this day, Remix Stereo 1 and Remix Stereo 2 were made from Take 11. RS2 was considered the best and served as the stereo release version of the song.


All the mixes I did with the Beatles were mono. When I came to do the stereo mixes, there were no Beatles present. In 1967, very few people had stereo equipment. Almost everyone listened on mono; it was accepted as the standard. Stereo was strictly for the hi-fi freaks!

George Martin – From “With A Little Help From My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper“, 1995

Beatles next LP – still no details

NO decision has been made on the material which will make up the next Beatles LP, says press officer Tony Barrow.

Various tracks have been recorded for the album, including the title track “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” which will be included. “But there is no guarantee that the other numbers named will be on the LP,” said Barrow.

From Melody Maker – April 15, 1967
From Melody Maker – April 15, 1967

From Meet the Beatles for Real: Outside of the Saville Theater – April 16, 1967 – Photos taken by Lizzie Bravo 
From Meet the Beatles for Real: Outside of the Saville Theater – April 16, 1967 – Photos taken by Lizzie Bravo 

Session activities

  1. Getting Better

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 15

    AlbumOfficially released on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Stereo)

  2. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 9

  3. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 9

  4. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 9

  5. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 4 from take 9

  6. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 9

  7. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 9

  8. When I'm Sixty-Four

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 4

    AlbumOfficially released on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Stereo)

  9. Lovely Rita

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 11

  10. Lovely Rita

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 11

    AlbumOfficially released on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Stereo)

  11. She's Leaving Home

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Editing • Editing of remix stereo 6

    AlbumOfficially released on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Stereo)


Staff

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!

Shop on Amazon

The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)

The third book of this critically - acclaimed series, nominated for the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)" captures the band's most innovative era in its entirety. 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.

Shop on Amazon

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.

Read more on The Beatles Bible

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