Part of
"The Beatles" (aka the White Album) sessions
May 30 - Oct 18, 1968 • Songs recorded during this session appear on The Beatles (Mono)
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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the The Beatles (Mono) LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1968
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
For many years it was believed that this was the recording session in which Eric Clapton overdubbed his lead guitar solo onto “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (as stated in “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn). In “The Beatles” Super Deluxe edition book (2018), this was explained that Clapton played with The Beatles on most of the takes recorded the previous day, when George Harrison decided a remake of the song was needed.
On this day, in a session which lasted from 7 pm to 2 am, The Beatles added overdubs onto take 25, and completed the track. George Harrison double-tracked his vocals and played a few very high-pitched organ notes. Paul McCartney added a distorted bass guitar part. Ringo Starr overdubbed tambourine and maracas. John Lennon added a bass part.
Mono and stereo mixes were made on October 7, but these were improved upon on October 14.
There was no producer in the room for this session, as George Martin was absent and had gone on holiday. The next Monday, his assistant, Chris Thomas, would be back from his own holiday and learn that he would produce the Beatles during all the September sessions!
Last updated on September 5, 2021
Staff
Musicians on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
- Paul McCartney:
- Bass
- Ringo Starr:
- Tambourine, Maracas
- John Lennon:
- Bass
- George Harrison:
- Organ, Lead vocal
Production staff
- Ken Scott:
- Engineer
- John Smith:
- Second Engineer
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!
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 like to think, in all modesty, that the Paul McCartney Project is the best online ressource for everything Paul McCartney, The Beatles Bible is for sure the definitive online site focused on the Beatles. There are obviously some overlap in terms of content between the two sites, but also some major differences in terms of approach.
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