Album This song officially appears on the Anthology 1 Official album.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1995
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
June 24th, 1961
Jam session with George Harrison and Ringo Starr
Jun 23, 1994
From Wikipedia:
Paul McCartney, in the “Anthology” book:“Ain’t She Sweet” is a song composed by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics) and published in 1927 by Edwin H. Morris & Co., Inc./Warner Bros., Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century, one of the hit songs that typified the Roaring Twenties. Like “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. […]
“Ain’t She Sweet” was also performed by the Beatles with John Lennon on lead vocals. It was recorded on June 23, 1961 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg, Germany with Pete Best on drums, and produced by Bert Kaempfert, released as a single in 1964, May 29 on Polydor NH 52-317 (UK)., and included on the Anthology 1 album in 1995. A different rendition, recorded during a jam session in 1969 with Ringo Starr on drums, was released on the Beatles’ Anthology 3 – it is the only song which appears on two of the Anthology records. A solo version of the song was also included in the John Lennon Anthology box set.
A lot of our tracks may not have been ‘cool’. I think if we’d just been cool, we wouldn’t have made it how we did… The fact that we weren’t ashamed of those [cabaret] leanings meant that the band could be a bit more varied. And there was a need for that, because we played cabaret a lot. Songs like Till There Was You and Ain’t She Sweet would be the late-night cabaret material. They showed that we weren’t just another rock ‘n’ roll group.
From Anthology 3 liner notes:
[…] Later in the day [July 24, 1969], during the recording of the Abbey Road song Sun King, the Beatles ambled into a lighthearted jam that encompassed three Gene Vincent songs – Be-Pop-A-Lula, Who Slapped John? and, most enticingly, Ain’t She Sweet, the standard from 1927 that Vincent had covered in 1956 and the Beatles themselves recorded in 1961 (issued on Anthology 1). Then they had performed an arrangement that vocalist John Lennon described as “a march”, but in this 1969 jam they duplicated the softened style of Vincent’s recording.
Oh ain't she sweet
Well see her walking down that street
Yes I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she sweet?
Oh ain't she nice
Well look her over once or twice
Yes I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she nice?
Just cast an eye
In her direction
Oh me oh my
Ain't that perfection?
Oh I repeat
Well don't you think that's kind of neat?
Yes I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she sweet?
Oh ain't she sweet
Well see her walking down that street
Well I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she sweet?
Oh ain't that nice
Well look it over once or twice
Yes I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she nice?
Just cast an eye
In her direction
Oh me oh my
Ain't that perfection?
Oh I repeat
Well don't you think that's kind of neat?
Yes I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she sweet?
Oh ain't she sweet
Well see her walking down that street
Well I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she sweet?
Well I ask you very confidentially
Ain't she sweet?
Official album • Released in 1995
2:13 • Outtake • A
Paul McCartney : Bass John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar Pete Best : Drums Bert Kaempfert : Producer Karl Hinze : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jun 24, 1961 • Studio Studio Rahlstedt, Wandsbek, Hamburg
Official album • Released in 1996
2:09 • Outtake • B • Stereo • Later in the day, during the recording of the Abbey Road song Sun King, the Beatles ambled into a lighthearted jam that encompassed three Gene Vincent songs - Be-Pop-A-Lula, Who Slapped John? and, most enticingly, Ain't She Sweet, the standard from 1927 that Vincent had covered in 1956 and the Beatles themselves recorded in 1961 (issued on Anthology 1). Then they had performed an arrangement that vocalist John Lennon described as "a march", but in this 1969 jam they duplicated the softened style of Vincent's recording.
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 24, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Streaming • Released in 2016
2:13 • Outtake • A2016
Paul McCartney : Bass John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar Pete Best : Drums Bert Kaempfert : Producer Karl Hinze : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jun 24, 1961 • Studio Studio Rahlstedt, Wandsbek, Hamburg
Official album • Released in 2016
2:09 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Later in the day, during the recording of the Abbey Road song Sun King, the Beatles ambled into a lighthearted jam that encompassed three Gene Vincent songs - Be-Pop-A-Lula, Who Slapped John? and, most enticingly, Ain't She Sweet, the standard from 1927 that Vincent had covered in 1956 and the Beatles themselves recorded in 1961 (issued on Anthology 1). Then they had performed an arrangement that vocalist John Lennon described as "a march", but in this 1969 jam they duplicated the softened style of Vincent's recording.
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 24, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Unofficial album
0:47 • Demo
Session Recording: Jun 23, 1994 • Studio Friar Park Studio, Henley-on-Thames, UK
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 2) 1990-2012
This new book by Luca Perasi traces Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1990 to 2012 in the form of 250 song entries, filled with details about the recordings, stories behind the sessions and musical analysis. His pop albums, his forays into classical and avant-garde music, his penchant for covering old standards: a complete book to discover how these languages cross-pollinate and influence each other.
The second volume in a series that has established itself as a unique guide to take the reader on a journey into the astonishing creativity of Paul McCartney.
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