Recording and mixing "Let It Be", "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)"

Glyn Johns had chosen Take 27A of Paul McCartney’s “Let It Be“, recorded on January 31, 1969, for inclusion on the “Get Back” LP. However, George Harrison wasn’t happy about his guitar solo on this take. So on this day, The Beatles entered EMI Studio to record a guitar overdub played by George, sacrificing the “no overdubs” concept of the “Get Back” project.

This new solo guitar featured on Glyn John’s unreleased “Get Back” LP, as well as on the version of “Let It Be” released as a single. It was not used on the version of “Let It Be“, released on the “Let It Be” album in 1970.

When the work on “Let It Be” was over, John Lennon and Paul returned to “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)“, a track they had started in May 1967 and last touched on June 9, 1967. During this session, they added bizarre vocals and sound effects to the track (including the sound of their assistant Mal Evans running a spade through a heap of gravel).

John and Paul weren’t always getting on that well at this time. But for that song they went onto the studio floor and sang together around one microphone. Even at that time I was thinking, ‘What are they doing with this old four-track tape, recording these funny bits onto this quaint song?’ But it was a fun track to do.

Nick Webb – Second engineer – From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn

John and Paul dubbed on all manner of loony sound effects and sang and harrumphed in their full repertoire of comic Goon-like voices.

Geoff Emerick – Quoted in beatlesebooks.com

In my view you’d have to be stupid to say they’re not good…even silly little things – ‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).’ Silly little song. Took years to record, piercing it together, finally thinking we’d better finish it up. Didn’t it come out on the B-side of ‘Let It Be? Great, what a place for it.

Paul McCartney – Interview for The Times Of London, December 1985

Eventually we pulled it all together, and I sang (sings in jazzy style) ‘you know my name…’ and we just did a skit, Mal and his gravel. I can still see Mal digging the gravel. And it was just so hilarious to put the record together.

Paul McCartney – 1987 interview – Quoted in beatlesebooks.com

There was another song I wrote around Pepper time that’s still in the can, called ‘You Know My Name and Cut [sic] the Number.’ That’s the only words to it. It just goes on all the way like that, and we did all these mad backings. But I never did finish it. And I must.

John Lennon – From 1969 interview for New Musical Express – Quoted in “Solid State” by Kenneth Womack

This session that started at 7:15 pm ended at 2 am with the creation of three mono mixes of “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)“.

Session activities

1. Let It Be

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Recording • SI onto take 27

2. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Recording • SI onto take 30

3. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 30

4. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 2 from take 30

5. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 3 from take 30

Staff

Musicians on "Let It Be"

Production staff

Going further

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.