HELLO, GOODBYE ― THE BEATLES
Genre ― Pop
History –
Under the working title "Hello, Hello", the Beatles recorded the backing track on 2 October 1967, and added vocals and a guitar overdub on the 19th. After further overdubs of bass guitar and viola, recording was completed on the 2nd November, and mixing on the 6th. "Hello Goodbye" is in the key of C Major and in 4/4 time
The song features a coda which came spontaneously in the studio. Of this, McCartney said "I remember the end bit where there's the pause and it goes 'Heba, heba hello'. We had those words and we had this whole thing recorded but it didn't sound quite right, and I remember asking Geoff Emerick if we could really whack up the echo on the tom-toms. And we put this echo full up on the tom-toms and it just came alive."
"Hello, Goodbye" was released as a single on 24 November 1967. In the US, the song was also included on the Magical Mystery Tour album released three days later, but the song was not made available in the UK on an album (or in stereo) until the release of the 1973 compilation album 1967-1970.
The song features a coda which came spontaneously in the studio. Of this, McCartney said "I remember the end bit where there's the pause and it goes 'Heba, heba hello'. We had those words and we had this whole thing recorded but it didn't sound quite right, and I remember asking Geoff Emerick if we could really whack up the echo on the tom-toms. And we put this echo full up on the tom-toms and it just came alive."
"Hello, Goodbye" was released as a single on 24 November 1967. In the US, the song was also included on the Magical Mystery Tour album released three days later, but the song was not made available in the UK on an album (or in stereo) until the release of the 1973 compilation album 1967-1970.
The fake, dead-stop ending and sudden, surprising restart -- a first for a Beatles single -- was referred to by the band as the "Maori Finale," due to the tribal nature of the coda. In the promotional video, however, "Hawaiian" dancers (actually London girls in costume!) suggest a different island theme. John always claimed that this ending, made up in the studio on the spot, was the only part of the song he liked.
With the release of the song, McCartney gave an explanation of its meaning in an interview with Disc: "The answer to everything is simple. It's a song about everything and nothing. If you have black you have to have white. That's the amazing thing about life."
Three promotional films were made for the song; directed by McCartney, they were filmed on the 10th November at the Saville Theater in London. The films were not aired by the BBC due to the Musicians Union’s strict rules on miming; with no such restriction in the US, one of the films was screened on the Ed Sullivan Show on the 26th November.
In the US, Capitol Records omitted the comma in the song’s title in the packaging of the single (as did some of EMI’s partners in other countries), and also the Magical Mystery Tour LP (which was subsequently adopted for the CD release of this album).
"Hello Goodbye" was one of the Bealtes' 18 worst songs, according to John Lennon. "John was furious that this song was chosen to be an A-side over his more experimental “I Am the Walrus.” “It wasn’t a great piece,” he said of the McCartney tune. “The best bit was the end, which we all ad-libbed in the studio, where I played piano.” ― From BuzzFeed.
Recording –
Takes: 21
Personnel
John Lennon – Harmony vocals, rhythm guitar (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster), organ (Hammond B-3)
Paul McCartney – Lead vocals, bass guitar (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S), piano (Alfred E. Knight), bongos, conga
George Harrison – Harmony vocals, lead guitar (1966 Epiphone E230TD(V) Casino), handclaps
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig), maracas, tambourine
Kenneth Essex– Viola
Leo Birnbaum – Viola
Leo Birnbaum – Viola
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