others, to incorporate the other Beatles into the idea stage. George
Harrison made this leap successfully with such tracks as "I want to tell
you", "TAXMAN", and the psychedelic "Love you to". Ringo was featured in
the humorous "Yellow Submarine" As the group matured, their creativity
began to rely more on the effects and manipulations that they were able to
produce in the studio. The Beatles agreed to end their touring career after
an American tour of large halls that they failed to fill. It was around
this time, that John Lennon began to search for himself. He began using any
means that he thought might help him connect. This era was marked by the
Beatles visits to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and the beginning of heavy
drug use 3. As Lennon began to use LSD in greater and greater quanti-ties4,
the other Beatles began to have more and more influence in the production
of the albums. Lennon began to become almost reclusive, and often delayed
recording sessions. By the time that they were recording Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, Lennon would simply propose songs and
themes, and McCartney was left to execute the plans and tie together whims.
They began to make demands of the crew: Beatles songs were quite simple in
the early days, you couldn't play around with them too much. But by 1967 we
were building sound pictures and my [George Martin] role had changed-it
was to interpret the pictures and determine how best to get them down on
tape. Paul was fine-he could express what he wanted, the sounds he we noted
to have. But John...would make whooshing sounds and try to describe what
only he could only hear in his head, saying he wanted a song to 'sound like
an orange'.5 As soon as the Sgt. Pepper album was underway, Paul McCartney
came up with the idea of actually creating a band and performing the songs
as that band. They took the Idea from there and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band came into existence, never to see the outside of studio 2
at Abbey Road. They spent nearly a year recording various tracks for the
album and John's state of mind was steadily declining. In 1969 when they
issued Abbey Road it was no longer difficult to distinguish between the
writings of Paul and John . John was producing works like "I want you
(she's so heavy)" which had the lyrics:
I want you so bad it's driving me mad
She's so heavy6
And the more musical and thoughtful work of McCartney, such as "Golden
Slumbers" which was almost a lullaby:
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby7
The writing of the material on The Beatles8 seemed more balanced as Lennon
began writing more cogent songs, and collaborating on a song-by-song basis
with McCartney. Their songs varied from a slow ballad in McCartney's
"Blackbird" to the bizarre and intriguing "Revolution #9) by Lennon. Yet
McCartney was needed to control Lennon when he recorded the original
version of "Sexie Sadie" with the verse:
You little twat
Who the fuck do you think you are
Who the fuck do you think you are
Oh, you cunt
Fortunately McCartney prevented the track from proceeding any farther than
rehearsal. He ended up suggesting that the song take a more sympathetic
note and, eventually, Lennon agreed. During this time, one almost constant
presence in the recording studio was Yoko Ono, John's wife. This was
against an unspoken code amongst the Beatles not to allow wives and
girlfriends into the studio. Yoko had a large affect on John, almost
completely altering his style, and inspiring such songs as "I want her
(she's so heavy)" and "Revelation #9". Many of the other songs that Yoko
and John created were rejected by the group, but her presence changed
John's behaviour and performance. The Beatles final album together was Let
It Be released in 1970. The album was not in any way spectacular and
exhibited many of the traits that are associated with the Beatles writing.
The title track, "Let It Be" is one of the most famous tracks recorded by
the group. The music on the album was a last chance effort to keep the
group together, and although the album was well received, it was not what
the group had in mind. The Beatles did not make another recording after
that date, though there were rumours of the group reforming until the
shooting of Lennon in 1980.
One of the most obvious indicators of the heavy hand that was often
kept on Lennon is the progress of his band which he formed after the
breakup of the Beatles. The Plastic Ono Band was an only moderately
successful group that took the popular psychedelic a few steps to far and
lost most of its popularity. Lennon attempted to enter theatre, but it was
quickly obvious that he was no actor. He lived a bizarre and drug ridden
life secluded in his apartment with his wife Yoko Ono and his son. Both he
and his wife were reported to have serious heroin addictions and were often
said to be high in the presence of visitors.
After the breakup, McCartney launched a moderately success-full solo
career. He has released many recordings both in the United States and
abroad. His most recent accomplishment was the "Liverpool Oratorio" which
is no small feat considering that McCartney never learned to read music.
The song writing styles, the studio records, and the individual careers all
show that there was a very large influence in the group, and in the music,
by Paul McCartney. Equal to Lennon in the beginning, but surpassing him at
the conclusion of the relationship. Two key factors that probably caused
this are his affection and infatuation with Yoko Ono, and the heavy use of
hallucinogenic drugs. On some occasions, both of those factors may have
given Lennon inspiration for his music, but they greatly reduced his
control and influence in the band.
