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Monday, July 22, 1968

Recording "Don't Pass Me By", "Good Night"

For The Beatles

Last updated on October 23, 2024

On this day, The Beatles were in Studio One at Abbey Road, recording orchestral parts for Ringo Starr’s “Don’t Pass Me By” and John Lennon’s “Good Night.” The session ran from 7 pm to 1:40 am.


Don’t Pass Me By” had been recorded in early June. In the meantime, George Martin composed an orchestral introduction for the track. Although four takes were recorded by a 26-piece orchestra on this day, they were ultimately not used. This piece was titled “A Beginning” when it was first released on the “Anthology 3” album in 1996. It was also included in the 50th-anniversary edition of the White Album in 2018, labeled as take 4.

Designed as an introduction to Ringo’s composition Don’t Pass Me By, this George Martin orchestral arrangement – soaring flutes, harps, violins, violas, cellos, clarinets, bass and other instruments – has remained unissued until now. This piece was recorded during the session that fashioned the orchestral overdub for Good Night, the closing track on The Beatles (better known as the White Album), and utilised the same musicians.

From the “Anthology 3” liner notes

Rather than using the orchestral score, a piano introduction performed by Ringo Starr was used on the final version. “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn notes that this piano piece was recorded on this day as well:

This day’s other recording was of a tinkling piano introduction to “Don’t Pass Me By”. Four such edit pieces were recorded, the best being the fourth. But at 45 seconds it was to be substantially edited down (to just eight seconds) on 11 October when it was joined to the remainder of the song and given new mono and stereo mixes.

From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988

Don’t Pass Me By” was mixed in mono and stereo on October 11.


The Beatles initially recorded a version of “Good Nighton June 28 and July 2. However, this version was rejected in favor of an orchestral arrangement by George Martin, which was recorded on that day.

John and Paul wrote this sad, wistful song for Ringo to sing. Mind you the words aren’t all that sad – just a very straightforward “goodnight, sleep tight” theme to them. 30-piece orchestra was brought in for the backing. Including even a harp! Also an eight-voice choir of four boys and four girls.

Mal Evans – From the Beatles Monthly Book, N°64, November 1968

Before the orchestra recording, Ringo rehearsed with George Martin on piano and George Harrison playing the shaker for timing. John listened from the control room. They recorded seven takes, numbered 16 to 22, but only part of take 21 and all of take 22 survived on tape (Take 22 was released on the White Album’s 50th anniversary re-release in 2018.)

The musicians who recorded “A Beginning” also played the score for “Good Night,” with Ringo singing his vocal part live. This is confirmed by George Martin’s inquiry, “Was Ringo in time with the orchestra?” after take 23. They completed 12 takes, numbered from 23 to 34, with take 34 being labeled as the best. This part of the session concluded at 10 pm.

The musicians then left Studio One and were succeeded by the Mike Sammes Singers, a choir described as “4 girls, 4 boys” on the EMI sheet. Four members of this ensemble had previously collaborated with The Beatles on “I Am The Walrus” in 1967. The recording session here was also conducted efficiently, concluding by 11:50 pm.

Ringo then re-recorded his lead vocals from 11:50 pm to 1:40 am.

This was clearly a lot of fun too, for outtakes kept for posterity on the “Beatles Chat” tape depict Ringo in fits of laughter between takes and telling jokes aplenty, and it also contains a few seconds of Ringo chatting with George Martin and Ken Scott.

From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988

The next day, six attempts at a mono mix were made, but the final mixes were made on October 11.


From beatles-chronology.ru


Session activities

  1. A Beginning

    Written by George Martin

    Recording • Take 1

  2. A Beginning

    Written by George Martin

    Recording • Take 2

  3. A Beginning

    Written by George Martin

    Recording • Take 3

  4. A Beginning

    Written by George Martin

    Recording • Take 4

    AlbumOfficially released on The Beatles (50th anniversary boxset)

  5. Don't Pass Me By

    Written by Ringo Starr

    Recording • Edit piece - Take 1

  6. Don't Pass Me By

    Written by Ringo Starr

    Recording • Edit piece - Take 2

  7. Don't Pass Me By

    Written by Ringo Starr

    Recording • Edit piece - Take 3

  8. Don't Pass Me By

    Written by Ringo Starr

    Recording • Edit piece - Take 4

  9. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 16

  10. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 17

  11. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 18

  12. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 19

  13. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 20

  14. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 21

  15. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 22

  16. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 23

  17. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 24

  18. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 25

  19. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 26

  20. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 27

  21. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 28

  22. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 29

  23. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 30

  24. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 31

  25. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 32

  26. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 33

  27. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Take 34

  28. Good Night

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • SI onto take 34


Staff

Musicians on "Don't Pass Me By"

Musicians on "Good Night"

Musicians on "A Beginning"

  • ? : twelve violins, three violas, three flutes, three cellos, harp, French horn, double bass, clarinet, vibraphone

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 4: The Beatles through Yellow Submarine (1968 - early 1969)

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.

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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