Paul McCartney Recorded a Song Multiple Times to Annoy John Lennon, Said a Beatles Engineer

Paul McCartney infuriated John Lennon while working on 'The White Album.' An audio engineer thought he was doing it on purpose.

Recording The White Album brought the simmering problems between Paul McCartney and John Lennon to the surface. They bickered in the studio, made their dislike of each other’s songs clear, and even stormed out of recording sessions. Lennon made his hatred of McCartney’s song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” clear, mainly because McCartney was a perfectionist with it. An audio engineer working with the band wondered if McCartney purposely tried to irritate his bandmate.

According to engineer Geoff Emerick in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles, Lennon “openly and vocally detested” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” He rolled his eyes every time they rehearsed it, which was often. McCartney repeatedly made the band play the song in order to get it right. Each time, Lennon grew more frustrated.

Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com