“Help!" (Lennon – July 19, 1965)
Help! – Side 1, track 1 (2:18)
YouTube (Reelin' in the Years)
From Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, About.com, and Google –
"Help!" is a song by the Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
"Help!" is a song by the Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
"Help!" was written by John Lennon, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. During an interview with Playboy in 1980, Lennon recounted: "The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help".
History –
A very personal song for John, or so he claimed years later: "When 'Help!' came out in 1965, I was actually crying out for help. I didn't realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I was really crying out for help. It was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: He...I...is very fat, very insecure, and he’s completely lost himself."
Perhaps subconsciously tuning in to the deeper meaning of what is, on the surface, a plea to a lover, John lobbied to get this song recorded slowly. But as the next single, it was decided to play it fast. Paul McCartney, as well as other artists, have played this song slowly live.
The original US album version of this song came with orchestral, non-Beatles soundtrack music from the Help! film in lieu of some of the UK album's songs, resulting in a version of the song "Help!" featuring a James Bond-type music parody as a short intro (15 seconds). When the greatest hits Beatles 1962-1966 album came out in 1973, that intro was left on; it has been edited out of subsequent albums. Some fans, however, prefer the song with the intro, and several American radio stations have played it that way.
Composition –
The documentary series The Beatles Anthology revealed that Lennon wrote the lyrics of the song to express his stress after the Beatles' quick rise to success. "I was fat and depressed and I was crying out for 'Help'," Lennon told Playboy. Writer Ian MacDonald describes the song as the "first crack in the protective shell" Lennon had built around his emotions during the Beatles' rise to fame, and an important milestone in his songwriting style.
In the 1970 Rolling Stone "Lennon Remembers" interviews, Lennon said it was one of his favorites among the Beatles songs he wrote, but he wished they had recorded it at a slower tempo. In these interviews, Lennon said he felt that "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were his most honest, genuine Beatles songs and not just songs "written to order". According to Lennon's cousin and boyhood friend Stanley Parkes, however, "Help!" was written after Lennon "came in from the studio one night. 'God,' he said, 'they've changed the title of the film: it's going to be called 'Help!' now. So I've had to write a new song with the title called 'Help!'."
According to McCartney, he was called in "to complete it" in a two-hour joint writing session on 4 April 1965 at Lennon's house in Weybridge, claiming to have helped on the "counter-melody".
In the 1970 Rolling Stone "Lennon Remembers" interviews, Lennon said it was one of his favorites among the Beatles songs he wrote, but he wished they had recorded it at a slower tempo. In these interviews, Lennon said he felt that "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were his most honest, genuine Beatles songs and not just songs "written to order". According to Lennon's cousin and boyhood friend Stanley Parkes, however, "Help!" was written after Lennon "came in from the studio one night. 'God,' he said, 'they've changed the title of the film: it's going to be called 'Help!' now. So I've had to write a new song with the title called 'Help!'."
According to McCartney, he was called in "to complete it" in a two-hour joint writing session on 4 April 1965 at Lennon's house in Weybridge, claiming to have helped on the "counter-melody".
Recording –
The Beatles recorded "Help!" in 12 takes on 13 April 1965 using four-track equipment. The first nine takes concentrated on the instrumental backing. The descending lead guitar riff that precedes each verse proved to be difficult, so by take 4 it was decided to postpone it for an overdub. To guide the later overdub by Harrison, Lennon thumped the beat on his acoustic guitar body, which can be heard in the final stereo mix. Lead and backing vocals were recorded twice onto take 9, along with a tambourine. A reduction mix was applied to the two vocal tracks, taking three attempts (takes 10 to 12), freeing up a track for the lead guitar overdub. This was the group's first use of two 4-track machines for "bouncing".
The vocals were re-recorded for the film during a session on 24 May 1965 at CTS Studios, a facility specializing in post-synchronization. In addition to attempting a better vocal performance, the session might have been done to eliminate the tambourine (which had been on the same track as the vocals) since no tambourine appeared in the film sequence. With the new vocals, a mono mix was created at CTS Studios which was used for the film soundtrack. Mixes for record releases were prepared on 18 June. For the mono version, Martin decided to use a mix of the opening chorus of take 12 edited to the remainder of the CTS film mix. Because all instruments were combined on a single track for the CTS session, it could not be used for a stereo mix, so the stereo mix was made from take 12.
The vocals were re-recorded for the film during a session on 24 May 1965 at CTS Studios, a facility specializing in post-synchronization. In addition to attempting a better vocal performance, the session might have been done to eliminate the tambourine (which had been on the same track as the vocals) since no tambourine appeared in the film sequence. With the new vocals, a mono mix was created at CTS Studios which was used for the film soundtrack. Mixes for record releases were prepared on 18 June. For the mono version, Martin decided to use a mix of the opening chorus of take 12 edited to the remainder of the CTS film mix. Because all instruments were combined on a single track for the CTS session, it could not be used for a stereo mix, so the stereo mix was made from take 12.
Takes: 12
Personnel –
John Lennon – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar (Framus 12-string acoustic "Hootenanny")
Paul McCartney – Backing vocals, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison – Backing vocals, lead guitar (Gretsch 6119 "Tennessean")
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig), tambourine
Paul McCartney – Backing vocals, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison – Backing vocals, lead guitar (Gretsch 6119 "Tennessean")
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig), tambourine
The movie –
"Help!" was written to be the title track to the Fab Four's second movie — a madcap action comedy originally conceived for Peter Sellers. But the note of desperation in the song was real. "I meant it," Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970 (particularly lines like "And now my life has changed in oh-so-many ways/My independence seems to vanish in the haze"). "The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension."
By 1965, Lennon was exhausted from the Beatles' nonstop touring, recording and filming schedule. Off the road, Lennon felt trapped at his estate outside London with his wife, Cynthia, and young son, Julian. "Cynthia wanted to settle John down, pipe and slippers," said McCartney. "The minute she said that to me, I thought, 'Kiss of death.' I know my mate, and that is not what he wants." Lennon also was feeling "paranoid," according to Harrison, about how he looked. "It was my Fat Elvis period," Lennon said. "I was eating and drinking like a pig. I was depressed, and I was crying out for help."
McCartney, in contrast, was taking full advantage of Swinging London, dating Jane Asher — a beautiful young actress from a prominent family who introduced him to high society — and seeing other girls on the side. John "was well jealous of [me] because he couldn't do that," said McCartney years later. "There were cracks appearing [in Lennon's life with Cynthia], but he could only paste them over by staying at home and getting wrecked."
Lennon wrote most of "Help!" by himself at his estate and then summoned McCartney to help him complete it, which they did in a couple of hours at one of their regular songwriting sessions in Lennon's upstairs music room. Lennon originally wrote "Help!" as a mid-tempo ballad, but the Beatles decided to amp up the arrangement in the studio, with Harrison's surf-guitar licks, Starr's thundering tom-toms and the reverse call-and-response vocals that would become the song's trademark. "I don't like the recording that much," Lennon confessed. "We did it too fast trying to be commercial."
Making movies wasn't as fun as it used to be either. "The movie was out of our control," Lennon told Playboy. "With A Hard Day's Night, we had a lot of input, and it was semi-realistic. But with Help! [director] Dick Lester didn't tell us what it was all about."
The Beatles all admitted that it probably wasn't the director's fault that the band had so little input. "A hell of a lot of pot was being smoked while we were making the film," Starr said. "If you look at pictures of us, you can see a lot of red-eyed shots; they were red from the dope we were smoking."
"We were smoking marijuana for breakfast during that period," Lennon said. "Nobody could communicate with us. It was all glazed eyes and giggling all the time. In our own world."
By 1965, Lennon was exhausted from the Beatles' nonstop touring, recording and filming schedule. Off the road, Lennon felt trapped at his estate outside London with his wife, Cynthia, and young son, Julian. "Cynthia wanted to settle John down, pipe and slippers," said McCartney. "The minute she said that to me, I thought, 'Kiss of death.' I know my mate, and that is not what he wants." Lennon also was feeling "paranoid," according to Harrison, about how he looked. "It was my Fat Elvis period," Lennon said. "I was eating and drinking like a pig. I was depressed, and I was crying out for help."
McCartney, in contrast, was taking full advantage of Swinging London, dating Jane Asher — a beautiful young actress from a prominent family who introduced him to high society — and seeing other girls on the side. John "was well jealous of [me] because he couldn't do that," said McCartney years later. "There were cracks appearing [in Lennon's life with Cynthia], but he could only paste them over by staying at home and getting wrecked."
Lennon wrote most of "Help!" by himself at his estate and then summoned McCartney to help him complete it, which they did in a couple of hours at one of their regular songwriting sessions in Lennon's upstairs music room. Lennon originally wrote "Help!" as a mid-tempo ballad, but the Beatles decided to amp up the arrangement in the studio, with Harrison's surf-guitar licks, Starr's thundering tom-toms and the reverse call-and-response vocals that would become the song's trademark. "I don't like the recording that much," Lennon confessed. "We did it too fast trying to be commercial."
Making movies wasn't as fun as it used to be either. "The movie was out of our control," Lennon told Playboy. "With A Hard Day's Night, we had a lot of input, and it was semi-realistic. But with Help! [director] Dick Lester didn't tell us what it was all about."
The Beatles all admitted that it probably wasn't the director's fault that the band had so little input. "A hell of a lot of pot was being smoked while we were making the film," Starr said. "If you look at pictures of us, you can see a lot of red-eyed shots; they were red from the dope we were smoking."
"We were smoking marijuana for breakfast during that period," Lennon said. "Nobody could communicate with us. It was all glazed eyes and giggling all the time. In our own world."
Trivia –
When played backwards, the line "I know that I just need you like I've never done before" comes out sounding something like "Now he uses marijuana." Although not intended as such by the band, the audio anomaly is intriguing to fans who note that the band began using marijuana habitually during the recording of this film.
An episode of the ABC sitcom Full House from features two main characters locked in a recording studio and yelling for help, yet one other character assumes they're just recording a cover of the song.
Today in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles Album) March 26 –
1963 – Concert at the Granada, Mansfield (Chris Montez and Tommy Roe tour).
1964 – Shooting of the final concert scenes for A Hard Day's Night, at the Scala Theatre, London.
1965 – Dick James and Epstein conclude a deal with music publisher Aaron Schroeder to publish in Britain all the songs in Schroeder's catalog through Jaep Music.
1966 – Nowhere Man number 3, 1st week (Billboard).
1967 – Vic Lewis concludes negotiations for NEMS Enterprises to present the Monkees in concert in Britain.
1968 – Paul returns to London.
1969 – Abbey Road, Studio unknown. Time unknown. Mono mixing: "Get Back" (remixes 1-4). Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Jeff Jarratt; 2nd Engineer: not assigned.
– Remix of "Get Back" for the single.
– Remix of "Get Back" for the single.
1970 – Abbey Road, Room 4. Time unknown. Stereo mixing: "The Long And Winding Road" (remix 1): "Let It Be" (remixes 1-4, from take 30); "Get Back" (remixes 1-5); "Maggie Mae" (remixes 1, 2). Editing: "Let It Be" (of stereo remixes 1-4, called remix stereo 1); "Get Back" (of stereo remixes 3, 5, called remix stereo 3). Producer: Phil Spector; Engineer: Peter Bown; 2nd Engineer: Roger Ferris.
– Mix of "The Long And Winding Road" for the orchestra.
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