"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
Article Aug 04, 1968 • "Yellow Submarine" general release in the UK
Session Aug 06, 1968 • Mixing "Hey Jude"
Session Aug 07, 1968 • Recording "Not Guilty"
Article Aug 08, 1968 • Paul McCartney paints "Hey Jude / Revolution" on the Apple Boutique windows
Article Aug 08, 1968 • Mick Jagger hears "Hey Jude" for the first time
Next session Aug 08, 1968 • Mixing "Hey Jude", recording "Not Guilty"
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Anthology 3" Official album.
On this day, The Beatles were back at Abbey Road, after four days spent working on “Hey Jude” at Trident Studios. A copy of the previous day’s rough mono mix was made, this was the first transfer of the recordings to Abbey Road.
The Beatles then started working on George Harrison’s “Not Guilty“. In total, they would record more than 100 takes of the song over three days (but only 21 were complete takes). Despite all those efforts, “Not Guilty” didn’t make it on the release of “The Beatles”, and remained unreleased until its inclusion on Anthology 3 in 1996.
This is one of two August recordings you WON’T hear on the new album because they were dropped at the last minute in favour of more recent numbers. Written and sung by George. Interesting note – he used Lucy for the first time on this session. Lucy is the fantastic solid red Gibson guitar which was given to George at the beginning of August by Eric Clapton.
Mal Evans – From the Beatles Monthly Book, N°64, November 1968
On this day, they recorded 46 takes, featuring George Harrison on electric guitar, John Lennon on electric piano, Paul McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on drums. The first 18 takes were for the introduction only. Only takes 26, 30, 32, 36 and 41 were complete.
There were 46 takes in the first session, but many were false starts, breakdowns or rehearsals of different sections of the song. What was called ‘the waltz bit’, when the rhythm switches briefly from 4/4 to 3/4 needed careful working out. ‘Without the waltz, it’s easier,’ George noted. ‘Yeah, I always find that,’ John replied. Around five in the morning, after take 41 of the instrumental backing track, John remarked, ‘I don’t mind if we keep doing it, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere.’ Soon afterwards, they stopped.
The Beatles continued working on “Not Guilty” on the following day.
The session which started at 8:45 pm ended at 5:30 am. Paul McCartney and his American girlfriend Francie Schwartz decided to do a controversial marketing operation for the upcoming release of the “Hey Jude / Revolution” single, before heading home.
Tape copying • Tape copying of remix mono 1
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 1
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 2
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 3
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 4
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 5
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 6
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 7
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 8
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 9
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 10
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 11
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 12
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 13
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 14
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 15
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 16
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 17
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 18
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 19
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 20
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 21
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 22
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 23
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 24
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 25
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 26
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 27
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 28
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 29
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 30
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 31
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 32
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 33
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 34
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 35
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 36
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 37
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 38
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 39
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 40
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 41
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 42
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 43
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 44
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 45
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 46
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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