The Beatles' Abbey Road on Vinyl
History & Production of Vinyl Records
Contemporary music technology found its origins in the vinyl record, a medium for music almost completely obscure today. Although still relevant in certain sub-cultural contexts today, the large discs which had laid the foundation for commercial music distribution have since been replaced by compact discs (CDs) and digital files (mp3s). Credit for the first ever sound player is given to the Banū Mūsā brothers of Baghdad, Iraq, in the 9th Century. They produced the earliest known mechanical musical instrument", an organ powered by water which automatically played interchangeable cylinders "with raised pins on the surface."[1] Over hundreds over years, other mechanical instruments would pave the way and eventually allow for music producing and recording devices.
March 25, 1857 marked the patent of the first ever sound recording device by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville of France, the phonautograph. The device visually captured sound waves onto a cylinder.[2] Although it did not play or reproduce the recorded sounds, the phonautograph provided the critical framework for later inventions that could, such as Thomas Edison's phonograph.
The invention of the phonograph in 1877 by Thomas Edison and its eventual ability to reproduce recorded sound waves from circular flat discs established the market for music production and distribution to the public. Edison's phonograph could reproduce sound, such as spoken words, that were recorded on a tinfoil cylinder.[3] The production of the earliest records involved sound waves being grooved through the movement of a stylus, tracing a spiral onto a zinc disc. The disc itself was coated with beeswax and benzine solution. Then the disc was placed into a chromic acid bath, etching the grooves where the coating had been removed by the stylus and allowing the recording to be replayed.
Later, record producers would begin to use vinyl as a surface rather than previously used zinc and shellac surfaces as it produced lower surface noise levels and increased durability. A number of factors contributed to the persistance of using vinyl for record production. The extremely limited supply of shellac during and after World War II meant those records sent to US troops during the war were pressed in vinyl rather than shellac.
[1]Fowler, Charles B. (October 1967), "The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments", Music Educators Journal 54 (2): 45–49, doi:10.2307/3391092
[2] Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 08, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/529667/Edouard-Leon-Scott-de-Martinville
[3] http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_phongrph_1.html
Apple Records Inc.
Apple Corps Ltd was founded by the Beatles in 1968. The name is a pun on "apple core" and has for a logo a green granny smith apple. Over the years, Appple Corps has been involved in the music buisiness through several subsidiaries including Apple Electronics, Apples Films, Apple Publishing, Apple Records and Zapple Records, Apple Retail and Apple Studio. From 1970-2007 the CEO of Apple Corps was, Neil Aspirall but today is headed by Jeff Jones. When the Beatles broke up in 1975, it was decided to keep running Apple Corps and Apple Records. It was originally created by The Beatles at the suggestion of their accountants that they tie up some of their revenus in buisiness ventures rather than surrendering it to taxes. What began as Beatles Ltd in 1967 evolved into Apple Corps 1968. Today the company is still active and remains under the control of Paul, Ringo and the estates of John and George.
Apple Corps has also been involved in an ongoing legal battle with Apple Inc, the maker of the iPod. In 1978 Apple Corps sued then Apple Computer for trademark infringement and was awarded $80,000 and a clause which ensure Apple Computer would not involve itself in the music industry. They sued again in 1989 and were rewarded a further monetary award in 1991. Finally in September 2003 Apple Corps sued Apple Computer for the introduction of the iPod and the iTunes Music Store as a direct failure to meet the aforementioned agreement. Apple Corps lost and in February 2007 a private agreement was reached whereby Apple Inc was given the rights to the name Apple in addition to the logo and Apple Corps was given the right to retain some of these trademarks. Ironically the youth of today are more likely to listen to Abbey Road on their iPod than on a record, tape or CD.
Brown, Peter & Gaines, Steven, "The Love you Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles". New York: McGraw-Hill 2003.
"Apple Corps." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Apr. 2010 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1266711/Apple-Corps>.
The Making and Recording of Abbey Road
Personnel Musicians: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, George Martin, members of the London Symphony Orchestra (uncredited), Mal Evans (roadie who plays anvil on Maxwell's Silver Hammer) Producer: George Martin Engineers Glyn Johns, Phil McDonald, Geoff Emerick
In the spring of 1969, the Beatles decided to make a record. For the previous three records, the Beatles had departed from their cooperative production techniques, most notably the Beatles (known as the White Album); in which most of the record was produced with each member of the band inhabiting his own studio. The band, after promising to work cooperatively as they had done before, once again called on producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick to record their next record.[1]
When recording commenced, the team heard news that John Lennon and Yoko Ono had been in a car crash and wouldn’t arrive for at least a week. McCartney, Harrison and Starr began tracking regardless working on McCartney and Harrison songs. When Lennon arrived weeks later, to the bemusement of everyone, Lennon had a bed moved into the studio for Ono to rest and recover on while they were recording and requested a microphone to be hung over the bed so Ono could be heard whenever she had something to say.[2]
Aside from this and the occasional disagreement, which usually led to a band member leaving the studio for the day as opposed to starting a fight, the recordings at EMI studios in the summer of 1969 were quite peaceful in comparison to past experiences with the Beatles. The engineer Geoff Emerick reported that everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells to avoid confrontation.[3]
In terms of history, Abbey Road includes 2 tracks that are notable. John Lennon while protesting peace at the famous bed-in in Toronto months before, had been asked by Timothy Leary to write a song entitled Come Together for Leary’s gubernatorial election campaign. Leary, the acid activist, was later imprisoned and Lennon, believing his song to not be very suitable for an election campaign anyway decided to use his song on the album that would become Abbey Road.[4] On the second side of the record McCartney wrote "You Never Give Me Your Money" as a response to the legal battles the band had been going through with their record label and each other at the time concerning song writing royalties. Nobody in the band felt they were being paid the money they deserved.
[1] Emerick, Geoff and Howard Massey, Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles. New York: Gotham Books, 2006. p 271.
[2] Emerick, Geoff and Howard Massey, Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles. New York: Gotham Books, 2006. p 274.
[3] Emerick, Geoff and Howard Massey, Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles. New York: Gotham Books, 2006. p 276.
[4] Macdonald, Ian, Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. London: Pimlico, 2005. p 179
Abbey Road Cover Shot
As Paul recalled, "it was a very hot day." All of the Beatles, except George, had worn suits for the occasion, which they regretted in a matter of minutes, courtesy of the brutal overhead sun and the soaring humidity. Iain Macmillan, the photographer, intent on grabbing the shot as quickly as possible, lined them up in the most eye-pleasing order: John, "all leonine" in a resplendent white suit and tennis shoes at the head of the pack; Ringo, dressed funereally, in black tails, just behind him; Paul, wearing navy blue and an open-necked oxford shirt trailing in third place; and George, looking very much like a prisoner from a work-release program in a blue jean outfit, bringing up the rear. John, impatient as ever, urged the process forward. "Come on, hurry up now, keep in step," he muttered, thinking, "Let's get out of here. We're meant to be recording, not posing for Beatle pictures." But there were obstacles, most notably a yellow Volkswagena Beetle, of all thingsparked at the curb in the middle of the shot. "It had been left there by someone on holiday," Macmillan recalled. "A policeman tried to move it away for us, but he couldn't." The VW would stay, along with three other bystanders who had drifted into the scene.
Finally, with all the distractions and everyone's patience growing thin, they lined up for a final take, as Macmillan climbed a ladder in the middle of the street. At the last minute, Paul kicked off his sandals and rejoined the procession. "Barefoot, nice warm day, I didn't feel like wearing shoes," he remembered. Accordingly, he lit a cigarette and carried it at his side.
The ordeal was over after six quick shots, but the scene that morning would linger for posterity. Aside from being perhaps the most famous cover shot ever taken, it inspired a bizarre episodeanother bizarre episode in the extraordinary Beatles saga.
Album Artwork as a Cultural Symbol
Abbey Road contains arguably one of the most recognizable album covers or photographs in history. The photo that was taken by Iain Macmillan on a cross walk right outside Abbey Road recording studios, shows the 4 Beatles crossing the street in a single file procession. While the photo session was hastily rushed along by the urgency of the Beatles and their need to be back in the studio, the creative outcome can be seen in the countless parodies and imitation images that have been created since. Many artists and figures from the Simpsons, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys and characters of Sesame Street have made reference to the Abbey Road album cover by imitating the image. One can see over 100 parodies of the famous album cover artwork at this link [1]
The Paul is Dead Myth
In the United States a couple of college students aided by a radio dj spread myth that Paul McCartney had died.[1] Their theory, they claimed, was supported by many of the 'clues' contained in the Abbey Road album cover.[2] The 4 members walking the cross walk were believed to signify a funeral march led by John Lennon, dressed in white and assuming the role of the clergyman. Ringo Starr immediately behind Lennon was dressed in black and signified the undertaker. Paul McCartney wears a blue suit and walks barefoot and is seen as the casualty. George Harrison who walks at the back of the line is seen as the grave digger because he is wearing all denim.
Within the Abbey Road cover many other clues about Paul's death have been concocted. Paul, for instance, along with being bare foot, has his eyes closed, is smoking with his weak hand (because of Paul Playing the bass left handed it was a well known fact that Paul was left handed), and walks out of stride with the rest of the Beatles. Another far fetched clue resides on the license plate of the Volkswagen beetle on the left hand of the photo that reads 'LMW 28IF". The plate was believed to signify 'Linda McCartney Widowed, 28 (years old) if alive'. The rumour spread to such a level that in November of that same year, 1969, Life Magazine issued a response to the rumours publishing a magazine with Paul and his family on the cover with the headline "Paul Is Still With Us".[3]
[1] The Beatles, The Beatles Anthology. Hong Kong: Apple Corps Limited, 2000. p 343.
When one thinks of the history of 1964-67, “the Beatles are an integral part of the story; they provide the sound track for the era and the inspiration for millions of followers. One gets the sense that if the Beatles had never come to America, made A Hard Day's Night, or released Sgt. Pepper, history would have been very different.”1 From late 1967 to 1970, however, in the era of the Weathermen, assassinations, and polarization, the Beatles saw their impact on their times diminish. If the group had never gone to India, formed Apple, or released Abbey Road during those years, little of significance in the outside world would have changed.2 In fact, with their sensibilities more in sync with the troubled times, this was the one period in which the Stones produced music which has lasted as well-if not better-than that of the Beatles.
Even authorities in the Soviet Union joined in the criticism. A newspaper published by the ministry of culture charged the Beatles with going respectable, while holding up Bob Dylan as a figure who had remained authentic. Ironically, this absence of direct political content in their music-which seemed rather quaint in the late sixties-allowed the Beatles to stand the test of time. Few of their songs explicitly referenced the events of the day, giving them a timelessness that eluded their contemporaries.
The growing conservative backlash on both sides of the Atlantic (the Tories would win back power in the UK in the spring of 1970) also affected the Beatles and made it harder for them to function-though John and Yoko undoubtedly stoked the reaction against themselves by playing the role of provocateurs. Both John and George were arrested at different times for possession of marijuana. "For one of the Beatles to get busted was very serious because they were more or less used to being untouchable," said Derek Taylor. "Now things were going wrong." Because he was afraid Yoko might be deported if convicted, John pleaded guilty to a possession of marijuana charge against him; charges against her were dropped. That conviction, in turn, sparked years of visa problems for him.3
As others later pointed out, Abbey Road was recorded in a shorter time period than any Beatles album since 1965; featured the Beatles harmonizing more than at any time since Sgt. Pepper, and marked the return of George Martin in a major role, which helped give the album its shape. It relied heavily on an innovative device-the Moog synthesizer. In the estimation of many, the record's two best songs came from George Harrison: "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun," the latter notable for the way its promise of a new dawn after a lonely winter caught the wearied sensibility of the counterculture.
When Abbey Road was released on September 26, 1969, it touched off a feeding frenzy unusual even for Beatles albums. While the record itself received only lukewarm praiseNewsweek, for example, called it "a pleasant but unadventurous collection of basically low-voltage numbers," while the New York Times considered it "sincere" but "rather dull" fans swept up copies at a rate that surpassed all precedent.5 In Britain, advance orders topped out at 190,000 copies, breaking all previous records for an LP, while in the States the album went gold even before its release. There was no indication that the fans were losing interest; if anything, the Beatles' popularity seemed to be exploring new heights. Their fame had begun to feed on itself. Having survived a tumultuous seven years that won them legendary status, they stood poised to cross into a new decade riding an improbable wave of success.
Spitz, Bob. “The Beatles Biography” Little, Brown and Company Time Warner Book Group 2005
Stark, Steven D. “Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World.”