Internally, the group knew it was really over on September 20, 1969, when John Lennon told his bandmates he was out. Ringo Starr was known to have walked away after it all became too much. Often, band members would clash about musical, creative and personal issues. ![]() As their notoriety grew, so did their egos and temperaments. George Harrison was not the only member of The Beatles to have walked away. The completed track has Eric Clapton on lead guitar, Paul McCartney on bass guitar and piano, Ringo Starr on drums, and George Harrison on vocals and guitar no John Lennon. John Lennon couldn’t make it to that particular session, so it turned out that Eric Clapton never actually recorded with the entire Beatles band. Nobody ever plays on The Beatles records.” Harrison answered, “Look, it’s my song, and I want you to play on it.” That night, Clapton laid down the guitar part and Harrison knew instantly that his friend had contributed just what the song needed. Come on and play on it.” Clapton responded, “Oh, no. On September 6, Harrison asked his friend Eric Clapton for a helping hand. Harrison couldn't get it right, but he knew a guitarist who could. ![]() The lyrics didn't leave a lot of room for compromise - this song needed a strong lead guitar with a weeping sound, or it wouldn't work at all. The band took a few stabs at "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," but Harrison wasn't happy with the results. In an attempt to satisfy a frustrated Lennon, Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick stretched their imaginations, splicing together two separate takes in a feat of surgical-sonic genius.During the summer of 1968, tensions were running high as The Beatles were attempting to record tracks for what would become known as the "White Album" (officially titled The Beatles). The Beatles had experimented with instrument swapping before, but never to such hypnotic effect: McCartney adds Mellotron and booming timpani Lennon supplements his inquisitive acoustic guitar progression with piano and bongos Ringo pounds home decorative drum fills and Harrison sneaks in descending lines with the swarmandal, an Indian harp, suggesting the passage from reality to fantasy. George Martin never cared for the Mellotron, the ghostly keyboard first used by the Beatles on 1967's "Strawberry Fields Forever ," describing the instrument's origins thusly: "…as if a Neanderthal piano had impregnated a primitive electronic keyboard." But that distinctive sound is the signature of "Strawberry Fields" - its drowsy opening flute fanfare beckons us into a childlike daydream, signifying the Beatles' transformation into a full-on psychedelic band. The drummer returned to the studio weeks later, finding his kit decorated with flowers. Ringo has always taken a lot of flak for being the Beatles' weakest link, but "Back in the U.S.S.R." proved just how important he was - ironically, through his absence. ![]() You can hear the band attempting to emulate Ringo's signature tumbling fills, but the same sophisticated spark just isn't there. Both Harrison and Lennon overdubbed additional bass to flesh out a composite track they also contributed extra drums, with McCartney's tense kit work mixed loudest amidst the "ooh-ohh" harmonies. But the recording of McCartney's Beach Boys homage "Back in the U.S.S.R." was especially complicated since Ringo Starr had temporarily quit the group, leaving the remaining trio to pick up the slack. ![]() The White Album sessions were tense and scattered overall: Yoko Ono's presence in the studio became a distraction for everyone not named John meanwhile, longtime engineer Geoff Emerick, frustrated by the band's squabbling, quit midway through.
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