Tuesday, September 24, 1968
Recording "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"
For The Beatles
Last updated on August 25, 2021
Tuesday, September 24, 1968
For The Beatles
Last updated on August 25, 2021
"The Beatles" (aka the White Album) sessions
May 30 - Oct 18, 1968 • Songs recorded during this session appear on The Beatles (Mono)
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Sep 20, 1968 • Recording "Piggies"
Session Sep 23, 1968 • Recording "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"
Session Sep 24, 1968 • Recording "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"
Session Sep 25, 1968 • Recording and mixing "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"
Article Sep 26, 1968 • Apple books the Royal Albert Hall for a potential Beatles live performance
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "The Beatles (Mono)" LP.
On this day, The Beatles continued working on John Lennon’s “Happiness Is A Warm Gun“. They had recorded 45 takes of it on the previous day, and recorded another 25 (numbered from 46 to 70) during this 7 pm to 2 am session. As George Martin was on holidays for most of September 1968, Chris Thomas produced this session.
They played the same instruments as on the previous session. Paul McCartney was on bass, Ringo Starr on drums, George Harrison on lead guitar and John Lennon played guitar and sang a guide vocal.
As explained in “The Beatles” Super Deluxe edition book (2018):
John was worried about his picking finger: ‘Now I’m playing on a blister. When it bursts, I won’t be able to play anymore,’ he warned after take 65. ‘Please God, may my blister last so I may pick abundance with,’ he prays after take 67. In the end, it was decided to opt for the pragmatic solution of editing two four-track tapes together to create a performance that pleased everyone. Take 53 was used up to 1’34”, then the final section from take 65 continued to the end.
The editing of takes 53 and 65 was done on the following day.
Recording • Take 46
Recording • Take 47
Recording • Take 48
Recording • Take 49
Recording • Take 50
Recording • Take 51
Recording • Take 52
Recording • Take 53
Recording • Take 54
Recording • Take 55
Recording • Take 56
Recording • Take 57
Recording • Take 58
Recording • Take 59
Recording • Take 60
Recording • Take 61
Recording • Take 62
Recording • Take 63
Recording • Take 64
Recording • Take 65
Recording • Take 66
Recording • Take 67
Recording • Take 68
Recording • Take 69
Recording • Take 70
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 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.
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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