Recording "For No One"

Monday, May 9, 1966 • For The Beatles

Part of


Recording "Revolver"

April 6 - June 22, 1966 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Revolver (UK Mono)

Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Revolver (UK Mono) LP.
Studio:
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Master release


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About

This was the nineteenth day of the recording sessions for the “Revolver” album. This was a short 3-hour long session, lasting from 7 pm to 11 pm, and spent recording a new track, Paul McCartney’s “For No One“.

Ten takes of the simple rhythm track were recorded on this day, with Paul on piano and Ringo Starr on drums (played very subtly mostly on the hi-hat). Take 10 was deemed the best and received a few overdubs (still by Paul and Ringo, as neither John Lennon nor George Harrison performed on “For No One“).

Paul added a clavichord part (an instrument “hired, at a cost of five guineas, from George Martin’s AIR company” according to Mark Lewisohn) and Ringo added maracas and cymbals.

On ‘For No One,’ the track was laid down on my own clavichord. I brought it in from my home, because I thought it had a nice sound. It was a very strange instrument to record, and Paul played it.

George Martin – From “The Beatles Anthology” book, 2000

Take 10, as it was at the end of this session, was released on the 2022 reissue of “Revolver”.

Further overdubs would be added on May 16, 1966, and the French horn solo would be overdubbed on May 19.

Last updated on October 19, 2022

Songs recorded


1.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 1


2.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 2


3.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 3


4.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 4


5.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 5


6.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 6


7.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 7


8.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 8


9.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 9


10.

For No One

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Recording • Take 10

Album Officially released on Revolver (Super Deluxe - 2022)

Staff

Musicians on "For No One"

Paul McCartney:
Piano, Clavichord
Ringo Starr:
Maracas, Drums

Production staff

George Martin:
Producer
Geoff Emerick:
Engineer
Phil McDonald:
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!

Shop on Amazon


The Beatles Recording Reference Manual - Volume 2 - Help! through Revolver (1965-1966)

The second book of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)-nominated series, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 2: Help! through Revolver (1965-1966)" follows the evolution of the band from the end of Beatlemania with "Help!" through the introspection of "Rubber Soul" up to the sonic revolution of "Revolver". 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 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.

Read more on The Beatles Bible

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