1969, April

Today, recording sessions started with a lead guitar overdub onto the best take of Let It Be from the session on January 31st. This solo was actually featured on the single release although an alternative one was used for the Let It Be album.

The new solo was performed by George Harrison and included Glyn Johns' two unreleased Get Back albums.

The Beatles then decided to look at an old recording of You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) which had been begun in May 1967, but had ceased the following month following the creation of a master edit of its various parts.

During this session, John Lennon and Paul McCartney gathered around a single microphone and added all the song's vocals onto two tracks. The vocals included Lennon's nightclub MC, McCartney's crooner Denis O'Bell, ska-styled staccato, Pythonesque falsetto, mumbling and other sounds.

More effects were added to track four, including audience ambience and applause, and the sound of Beatles assistant Mal Evans running a spade through a heap of gravel. Three mono mixes were made at the end of the session, which finished at 2am.

Octopus's Garden - Today the Beatles continued the recording of Ringo Starr's second-recorded composition.

The Beatles had recorded 32 takes of the backing track earlier in the month. Then Ringo Starr erased his guide vocals by recording two lead vocal tracks, including some harmonies in places. Also recorded was a piano part during the bridges, although it is unclear whether this was from this day or the 26th.

Four stereo mixes of Octopus's Garden were made at the end of the session. However, more overdubs were added in July 1969, rendering these unnecessary.

Nothing much happening today.

John Lennon in the recording studio (Studio Three, EMI Studios, London). He does a re-make of the John and Yoko heartbeats.

The Beatles began work on Octopus's Garden, Ringo Starr's second-recorded composition.

Paul McCartney made his first attempt to record a lead vocal for Oh! Darling. He then overdubbed his lead vocals onto take 26, plus a second take in a falsetto voice. He then recorded two harmony vocal takes, mainly in the final verse. McCartney would re-record his vocals a number of times on subsequent days before being satisfied.

For Octopus's Garden, McCartney played bass guitar, Starr drummed and sang a guide vocal, and John Lennon and George Harrison were on guitars. Harrison's guitar was put through a Leslie speaker. Thirty-two takes were recorded; the second was included on 1996's Anthology 3, along with Starr's comment "Well that was superb" which followed take 8.

-John Lennon and Yoko Ono's film "Rape" is shown at a television festival in Montreaux, Switzerland.

A promotional film for The Beatles' song Get Back is broadcast (in black and white) on UK television, on the program "Tops of the Pops."

The lawsuit between The Beatles and Triumph Investment Trust (owners of Nemperor Holdings / NEMS Enterprises) is settled out of court.

Meanwhile, Paul McCartney announces there is no truth to the rumors that he is dead.

The song was originally recorded to be included on the aborted album “Get Back”.

“Get Back” becomes The Beatles 16th UK No.1 in 1969

Originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to “The Beatles with Billy Preston, “Get Back” was the first and only single by The Beatles to credit another artist, Preston played the organ on the song and was by then one of the few people that were privileged to be called a “5th Beatle”. The song was initially thought to be included on their aborted 1969 album “Get Back” that would become “Let It Be” in 1970. The Beatles performed “Get Back” (along with other songs from the album) as part of the Beatles’ rooftop performance, which took place on the roof of Apple Studios in Savile Row, London on 30 January 1969, an edited version of which was included in the “Let It Be” film. During the famous rooftop appearance, “Get Back” was performed in full three times. Due to the increasing popularity of the Stereo formats over Mono, “Get Back” also became the first single release in true stereo in the US by the band. On April 23, 1969, “Get Back” was No.1 at the UK Singles charts, their 16th single to achieve the top position in their home country.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono in Studio Two, EMI Studios, London. The couple spends five hours in the studio today. First, John and Yoko record their heartbeats. They also record the track John and Yoko (John repeating "Yoko" and Yoko repeating "John" for 22 minutes), which will be included on their 3rd LP, The Wedding Album.

On another note, John Lennon formally changed his middle name from Winston to Ono, during a brief ceremony held on the roof of the Apple building at 3 Savile Row, London. The ceremony was carried out before Bueno de Mesquita, Commissioner of Oaths. Lennon had never liked his middle name, which had been given to him during a bout of wartime patriotism.

John - "Yoko changed her name for me. I've changed mine for her. One for both, both for each other. She has a ring. I have a ring. It gives us nine 'O's between us, which is good luck. Ten would not be good luck."

John Lennon and Yoko Ono form Bag Productions, a film production company, that would function separately from Apple for their personal projects. They appoint Anthony Fawcett as their assistant.

-The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio Three, EMI Studios, London). Recording organ and conga overdubs for I Want You (She's So Heavy). Then 26 takes of Oh! Darling, plus an organ overdub.

The April 19-25, 1969 issue of TV Guide featured a two-page article entitled “Four cats on a London roof” which got many American Beatles fans very excited.  The magazine made mention of a “TV documentary” that The Beatles had filmed, the contents of which was “to let the world – all over which The Beatles hope to sell the documentary in a few months – know just how The Beatles go about their work.”

The Beatles finished "Old Brown Shoe" today (George Harrison's song), then worked on the Abbey Road song I Want You (She's So Heavy).

Harrison worked alone on the song, recording a guitar solo onto track seven. The instrument was fed through a Leslie speaker. He then erased John Lennon's rhythm guitar by overdubbing a Hammond organ part.

The recording session was in Studio Three and quite long. Harrison and producer Chris Thomas then mixed Old Brown Shoe in stereo in 19 attempts, which were numbered 5-23, in the studio control room. They completed the work at 1am.

Studio Two had also been booked for work on I Want You (She's So Heavy). Harrison, Lennon, Thomas, balance engineer Jeff Jarratt and tape operator John Kurlander were present for the overdubbing of guitars, in a late session lasting from 1-4.30am.

Source: Jeff Jarratt - The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn

There was nothing newsworthy today to report.

After recording the "Ballad of John and Yoko" on April 14 1969, all four members of The Beatles met at Abbey Road to record its b-side, George Harrison's song Old Brown Shoe.

There were two separate sessions on this day. From 2.30-5pm Harrison recorded a solo demo of Old Brown Shoe in a single take.

This was the first Beatles recording session at Abbey Road to feature all four members since 8 October 1968, more than six months previously. They recorded the backing track for Old Brown Shoe in just four takes.

Track one contained Ringo Starr's drums, while the second and third featured Harrison's guide vocals and lead guitar. Paul McCartney's piano was recorded onto track four, and John Lennon added rhythm guitar onto track eight.

Lennon and McCartney then overdubbed backing vocals onto track five. Electric guitar and bass parts were added by McCartney and Harrison on six, both instruments doubling up the same riffs. Harrison's lead vocals were the last to be added, onto track eight, for which he positioned himself in a corner of the studio to give an intimate sound.

With work on Old Brown Shoe finished for the night, The Beatles began work on Harrison's most celebrated Beatles song, Something. This, too, had been demoed on 25 February, and had been played during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions on 28 and 29 January.

The Beatles taped 13 takes of the backing track for Something. McCartney's bass guitar was on track one, Starr's drums on two, Harrison's electric guitar was on the third, and George Martin's piano was on track four. The recording, however, was later abandoned in favour of a remake on 2 May 1969.

Before the session ended at 2.45am, three stereo mixes of Old Brown Shoe were made. None of them was used, and further overdubs were added on 18 April 1969.

Nothing much happening today

On this date, "The Ballad Of John And Yoko"  recounted the couple's wedding and honeymoon. Lennon wanted to make music an instant snapshot of a moment. The Ballad Of John And Yoko (They're Gonna Crucify Me) was recorded in 11 takes.

Five of the 11 takes broke down because McCartney added an extra snare drum hit prior to the line "Made a lightning trip to Vienna", and the second take ended after Lennon broke a guitar string. The master version was take 10.

The eight-track tape had Lennon's acoustic guitar on track two, McCartney's drums on three, and Lennon's vocals on four, all of which were recorded simultaneously. McCartney then overdubbed bass guitar onto the first track, after which Lennon added two electric guitar parts onto tracks five and six. The second of these also featured McCartney's piano.

McCartney recorded backing vocals onto track seven, and the pair added percussion onto eight. This featured Lennon hitting the back of his guitar, and McCartney shaking a pair of maracas.

The Ballad Of John And Yoko was The Beatles' first single to be released exclusively in stereo. Five remixes were made before work ended at 11pm. This turned out to be a very fast session.

It was a really good record too, helped by Paul's great drumming and the speed in which they did it all.

Source: The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisoh

The Ballad Of John And Yoko was recorded in a single day by just Lennon and Paul McCartney. On this day Lennon arrived at Paul McCartney's London home to work on his unfinished song. After quickly completing the writing, the pair immediately took it to Abbey Road to record. The recent Let It Be sessions had been full of friction - The Beatles steadily unravelling as a unit. The Ballad Of John And Yoko saw Lennon and McCartney collaborating as equals, showing a renewed enthusiasm for recording.

Lennon had said "It was very romantic. It's all in the song, The Ballad Of John And Yoko, if you want to know how it happened, it's in there. Gibraltar was like a little sunny dream. I couldn't find a white suit – I had sort if off-white corduroy trousers and a white jacket. Yoko had all white on."

The song was originally written in the days immediately following Lennon and Ono's wedding. Paul said "John was in an impatient mood so I was happy to help. It's quite a good song; it has always surprised me how with just the two of us on it, it ended up sounding like The Beatles."

Source: Rolling Stone, 1970

John Lennon and Yoko Ono go to the offices of Henry Ansbacher & Co. to put order to their accounts.

Nothing to report today on the Beatles

Nothing to report today on the Beatles

The Beatles took part in their penultimate photo session together.

It took place in two locations, with three photographers taking pictures of the group. The first location was at the Madingley Club on Willoughby Road in East Twickenham in London, followed by more shots taken at number 4 Ducks Walk where they boarded a boat on the River Thames.

The Beatles and the photographers took three vehicles to the location – John Lennon's Rolls-Royce, a white Mercedes and a Humber Snipe. The first photographs were taken with The Beatles leaning against the Rolls-Royce, with the Thames behind them.

A crowd soon gathered, and The Beatles obligingly signed autographs. Afterwards the group moved to the second location, where they were photographed climing into a rowing boat, the Fritz Otto Maria Anna. They rowed to a small island in the middle of the river, from which they waved to the camera on the river bank.

The Beatles are taking a break today.

Back in March, Mono mixes of Get Back had been made at Abbey Road. It was scheduled to be released as a single, however Paul McCartney decided it needed more work.

Olympic Sound Studios was booked for further remixing on this Monday which happened to be Easter and McCartney was the only member of The Beatles present.

The Tape Operator, Jerry Boys said "They'd already done a mono mix of Get Back and had acetates cut and didn't like it. We tried it again but it wasn't really happening any better and when we went to compare the two we hit a problem because Paul didn't have a tape of that first mix with him, just an acetate. He and Glyn were very concerned with what the new mix was going to sound like on a cheap record player. Purely by chance, I happened to have a cheap record player in the back of my car, which I'd brought along to Olympic to have someone repair. We had an acetate cut from the new mix and then, using my record player, we were able to decide which of the two mixes was better. So the very first playing of the Get Back single, which sold millions, was on my little player!"

Source: The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn

The day began with a fifth mono mix of Get Back, which was used for the single, followed by a first mono mix of Don't Let Me Down. Stereo mixes of both songs – one apiece – were then made, for release in North America.

Beatle George Harrison pictured at his home in Esher, Surrey, England

The Beatles are slowly drifting apart.

The Beatles - Doing their own thing today..........

John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear on Thames TV's "The Eamonn Andrews Show." The show is broadcast live from the Café Royal Restaurant. John and Yoko participate in an interview and general discussion. Other guests on the program are Jack Benny, Rolf Harris, Yehudi Menuhin, and Gaynor Jones.

The Beatles all doing their own thing today.

-John Lennon tells the English newspaper The Daily Express, "I'm down to my last £50,000."

John Lennon and Yoko Ono made an appearance on the Thames Television news show Today, hosted by Eamonn Andrews and broadcast live from 6.04-6.30pm from Studio Four in Television House, Kingsway, London.

During the light-hearted interview Lennon and Ono discussed their recent wedding, honeymoon and bed-in. Lennon told Andrews they were "willing to be the world's clowns" for peace, and conducted the interview from inside a white bag to prove it.

Andrews was invited to join the couple in a bag. A makeshift bed, with an 'Eamonn peace" sign above it, was also assembled in the studio, and the three were photographed lying on it.

Lennon and Ono also accepted an invitation to appeare on The Eamonn Andrews Show two days later.