Recording "Dear Prudence"
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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the The Beatles (Mono) LP.
- Studio:
- Trident Studios, London, UK
Staff
Musicians
Production staff
- George Martin:
- Producer
- Barry Sheffield:
- Engineer
About
On this day, The Beatles started working on John Lennon’s “Dear Prudence” at Trident Studios. They were still a trio, as Ringo Starr had temporarily left the group on August 22. The Beatles had previously worked at Trident, on July 31, 1968, to record “Hey Jude” and take benefit of its eight-track machine.
The session started at 5 pm and lasted till 7 am. Using eight-track recording equipment – which gave them more options than the four-track equipment they usually worked with at Abbey Road – the band was able to re-record their parts as they developed the song and perfect what was registered as Take 1:
The eight-track facility meant that it could be recorded track by track, each one perfected over a number of times while simultaneously wiping previous attempts. This method of working makes the ‘take one’ statistic look distinctly silly for, although it was just one ‘take,’ it was innumerable recordings.
From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn
What is thought to have been recorded on this day is a basic track of John’s finger-picked electric guitar, George Harrison’s distorted lead guitar part, and Paul McCartney on drums.
They continued working on “Dear Prudence” at Trident, the day after, on August 29, 1968.
Last updated on September 3, 2021