Recording "Day Tripper", "If I Needed Someone"

This was the third day of work on The Beatles’ new album “Rubber Soul.” On this day, they worked on two tracks: “Day Tripper,” primarily written by John Lennon and intended for release as a single on the same day as “Rubber Soul,” and “If I Needed Someone,” written by George Harrison.

The backing track featured John and George on electric guitars, Paul on bass, and Ringo on drums. The guitars were recorded on track two of the four-track tape, while the bass and drums were placed on track one.

Three takes of the backing track were recorded. Take 2 was a false start, and Take 3 was deemed the best. Recording the basic track occupied the first session of the day, from 2:30 to 7 pm.

During the second session, from 7 pm to midnight, overdubs were added to Take 3: John and Paul’s lead vocals, together with George’s backing vocals, were recorded onto track three. On track four, Paul, John and George added additional backing vocals, while John contributed a solo lead guitar part and Ringo added tambourine.

At this stage, the recording was complete. The mono mix was prepared on October 25, followed by the stereo mix on October 26.

Towards the end of the session, The Beatles began work on George’s “If I Needed Someone.” They recorded one single take of the backing track, with George and John on electric guitars, Paul on bass, and Ringo on drums.

Take 1 received some overdubs on October 18.

Session activities

1. Day Tripper

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Recording • Take 1

   AlbumReleased on bootleg Rubber Soul - Studio Sessions - Back To Basics

2. Day Tripper

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Recording • Take 2

   AlbumReleased on bootleg Rubber Soul - Studio Sessions - Back To Basics

3. Day Tripper

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Recording • Take 3

   AlbumReleased on bootleg Rubber Soul - Studio Sessions - Back To Basics

4. Day Tripper

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Recording • SI onto take 3

5. If I Needed Someone

   Written by George Harrison

   Recording • Take 1

Staff

Musicians on "Day Tripper"

Musicians on "If I Needed Someone"

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!

Buy 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.

Buy on Amazon