Geoff Emerick claims: A Day In The Life

I remember another statement made in Here There and Everywhere book.....

I always thought (for the past 30 years or so) that the Ahhhh in the middle of A Day In The Life was

ACankersore...

?????

John. Recently, I read that it was Paul and when I listen now, it sounds like Paul and I must have

tremain bessell...

Nope. From all recent indications I believe it was Paul.

tremain bessell...

True. Same to me.

tremain bessell...

Not to me anymore. Isolated on the 5.1 it's easier to hear that it could
really be Paul. It's a close call, but I believe it is Paul.

tom...

There are no reliable sources. Your ears are the best source.

jt10824...

With all due respect, Tom, that's a silly statement. Your ears can be
extremely misleading, especially when dealing with two people (Lennon
and McCartney) who are so good at imitating one another's voices. Not
to mention the addition of effects and other studio trickery.

tom...

Well, YOUR ears might be misleading;)

jt10824...

Yes, of course, my ears are wrong and yours are right. That's the
problem with self-proclaimed "experts", well-meaning or not: they
express their OPINION as FACT.

tom...

In this case, it's a fact that Paul sings it.....keep listenin' ;)

tom...

I'm not confused, but I apparently have better headphones than
you.....;)

tom...

No, and I wasn't there for "All My Loving" either, which is also Paul.

Danny Caccavo...

Ah.

So, this argument is based on the assumption that Paul brags about
everything he has ever done.

So if he doesn't mention that he did something, that means someone else
did it.

Hmmmm....
dc

And Ken Scott was there for the mix of Blackbird, and dubbed in the
sound FX .....so yes, Geoff is misrembering the sound of "live birds."
See? And he was THERE....;)

I think the best source are people who were actually there, people like
Emerick. They may not remember things with 100% accuracy all the time
(who does?) but there's a good chance they do, and, in conjunction with
common sense and your own critical listening, they will give you the
best clue. Emerick states with certainty that it was John, based on a
recollection he had of his assistant engineer Richard Lush taking the
initiative and having a conversation with Paul regarding the tight
drop-out point. Lush was also interviewed for Emerick's book, so one
has to assume that he corroborated the story before it was printed.
Plus, I haven't read anywhere else of anyone else who was actually at
the session stating it was Paul. Therefore, the only reasonable
conclusion (corroborated by my own ears, which tell me it's John
singing) is that it's John singing that part.

tom...

Emerick is especially forgetful, though of course well meaning. He has
certainly forgotten where "Blackbird" was recorded, hasn't he? ;) And
he was there...

jt10824...

Yes, he was there. And correct me if I am wrong, but you were not. So
if Geoff Emerick says he recorded Blackbird outside, with Paul perched
on a stool in a little alleyway just outside of the Abbey Road echo
chamber, I believe him. Care to offer any proof that Emerick is wrong,
other than Ken Scott accusing him of being wrong? (I would reminder
readers that, like you, Ken Scott wasn't there when Blackbird was
recorded, either.)

steve...

1) Isn't there a bit of video in "Anthology" of Paul recording it... in
the studio?

2) Hasn't Ms Schwartz posted severally here that she was sitting at his
feet (which were tapping) as he recorded it? Indeed, do I recall that
she's in the video mentioned above?

donz5...

Different session; what you're describing was filmed around July 13 for
an Apple promo. The LP version was recorded July 11.

Emerick, all of them...misremember on a regular basis. When the new
book "Recording The Beatles" comes out, you'll get as close to truth as
you ever will. Sometimes multiple people at the SAME session
contradicted each other when interviewed for Brian's book. Soon, no one
will remember anything. ;)

jt10824...

Why is this new book magically exempt from the "all of them...
misremember on a regular basis"??? Do the authors have some kind of
magical formula that allow them to decipher the truth when they weren't
there themselves???

And what do THEY do when "multiple people at the same session"

donz5...

Yeah -- I had mentioned how easy it is to tell between a "field"

fattuchus...

All You Need is Love was written by John. Perhaps Paul helped a little
bit, bit it was 90% + Lennon. Geoff Emerick even recalls how Brian
announced he had commited the Beatles to perform on that world telecast
and they did not have a song for the show, so John volunteered to write
something. A few days before the telecast was scheduled, Geoff recalls
that Paul turned to John and said something like "So, how is that song
coming?" And John said something like "What song?" John had forgotten
all about it! So he knocked something off in a brief time period.

recording and a "studio" recording -- the sonic distinctions are pretty
easy to spot, or at least they were in '68. Again, compare the '69
rooftop performance with any studio recordings; one's lost any control
over the environment when recording outside, and it can be heard.

Also, the June 11 "Blackbird" session included overdubbed vocals. Not
all that feasible if recorded on the roof.

It's the simplest details that reveal the truths.

fattuchus...

I am not a professional musician, so when you reference a G note it
makes no sense to me. I agree Paul had a higher voice, but John could
certainly hit the aaahhhs in ADITL. Are those any higher than when
John sings "She loves you" at the end of All You Need is Love? I don't
think so. Plus it is my understanding that the aaahhhss in ADITL is
sung a distance from the microphone . . . . they sound like they are
far away. So even if John had to strain a bit or raise his voice, if
he is 10 feet away from the mike and with all the sound effects and
"tricks" George Martin could do in the studio, why are you so sure it
could not be John?

tom...

First off, John WOULD have to strain to hit the phrase. He could
certainly hit it, but in that range it would certainly not sound
effortless like it does. Paul is on cruise control in that range, it's
nothing for him. The examples I cited are all in this range, and you
can hear the result of John in that range on those examples. It is not
where his voice sounds "effortless." The end of "All You Need Is Love"
is just shouting, it has nothing to do with a fluid phrase like the one
being sung here.

donz5...

On one of the broadcasts of the Lost Lennon Tapes, Mintz played a
snippet from the control room recordings secretly made during the DF
sessions, where John explained that he hadn't realized how difficult it
was for him to hit the high notes while he was recording "I Should Have
Known Better" back in 1964; so he decided there and then (i.e., in '64)
to write melodies in a range with which he was more comfortable.

ian...

PPM, FMTY, IWBL, IWTHYH and ISHNB all feature a Lennon falsetto B --
his next two singles "A Hard Day's Night" and "I Feel Fine" do not,
but following that he he generally sings a little higher, in A instead
of G, and has falsetto D and C# in "Ticket To Ride" and "Help!"
respectively.

And It's funny you brought up the end of "AYNIL" -- before the proper
recording overdub that was broadcast live, John is heard trying to sing
his "She Love You" phrase, and his voice breaks; he can't hit those
high notes.

But during the recording, he hit them. I suspect that the adrenelin of
the actual live performance recording (i.e., in front of actual people
in the studio) helped him over the top.

ian...

It can also be a time-of-day thing.

Lennon gets up to a full voice high A a couple of times on the WHITE
ALBUM in "I'm So Tired" and "Yer Blues". On WALLS AND BRIDGES he gets
up to a C# (in "What You Got") full voice (although I suspect he
screamed that part and had it cleaned up later).

I remember having that experience myself when a one-stop band I was in
back in 1984 was working out some songs in a rehearsal hall, and there
were high notes I just couldn't reach. But when we performed it live a
couple nights later, no sweat -- I could somehow hit those notes I was
unable to before. I figure it had to have been the adrenelin rush of
the moment.

abe slaney...

John was terrified at the 1972 MSG concert and the adrenaline didn't
help him with "Mother" or "Come Together" at all....dreadful!

Regarding ADITL, I always thought it was Lennon until the subject came
up here some years ago. I've re-listened, and re-listened, and I'm now
of the opinion that it is Paul. It's too "prettified", too much easy
ornamentation for Lennon. It's just that first "aaah" that really sounds
like John, and as Tom has pointed out, I think it's the slap-back that
gives it that effect.

ian...

There was this Bee Gees unplugged thing on TV a few years back where
they went through some of their catalogue chronologically. When they
got to the mid 70s Barry Gibb had psych himself up to sing his disco
castrati falsetto bits.

The part IS sung off mic (not 10 feet!) but all there is some tape slap
on it. No studio tricks other than that and some panning during the
mix. I mean, no studio trick can disguise whether you are straining or
not except perhaps doubling the part and hoping for the best when you
mix....

You can hear clearly that it's being sung without any of the strain
John would have had doing it....it would definitely have had an edge
and sounded pushed with John doing it. This part is being sung FULL
VOICE....it isn't falsetto (which John did great)....it's being sung
"out"....your example of the end of "AYNISL" is just what I
mean....does that sound effortless like this section of a DITL to you?

Listen to the second phrase in this "Ahh" section. So you have the
first four notes...(E,D, C, B) then the ascending line that comes
next...this line is so clearly Paul...it ends on an F# and John would
be really pushing that note...there's no hint of that here. The texture
of smoothness would be gone entirely if John were reaching up there.
Again, this is exactly why Paul is singing parts like this in other
songs, John always drops down ("If I Fell" "Party" "Baby's in Black"
etc, etc, ad infinitum). That's why it's so unusual in "Rain" that John
takes that high "G" in the chorus....but he is literally SCREAMING that
note on the word "RAIN" and "SHINE"....his voice is literally hoarse on
one of the "Shines" as I recall. Now listen to Paul sing the "I" in "I
...still....love her" in "Party"......no problemo. Mr. Rangeboy is
coasting in this, and in "ADITL."

Again, maybe they DID do a take with John doing it, and Geoff had to be
careful to punch out. He might be recalling it perfectly. But
somewhere, somehow down the line, Paul ended up singing the section.
Maybe the tape slap was left on to give the illusion of John doing the
part.They do seem to go out of there way to bury the part once the
brass comes in, so your best shot is before that happens....the first
two phrases...

donz5...

Based on the acetate of Paul's outtake of the "woke up..." section, I
suspect his "ahhhs" were punched in afterwards.

Count me as among the many who have assumed all these decades that it
was John. I'll have to listen to the Anthology DVD to recognize what
others are hearing.

tom...

Donz, the tape slap contributes to that I think...probably
unconsciously conjures up the verse and yes they can sound similar to
each other at times, but it's odd, I never, from day one of buying the
album, thought it was John. There are parts of it that are so clearly
Paul that I can't imagine anyone thinking it's not....now "Come
Together"...that's a whole different can of worms...;)

TH (who wants to hear your album)

donz5...

The heck with all that other trivia -- why didn't you say so? :)

Horrific .mp3 samples available on our CDBaby page:

No samples available on our Amazon page:

Have no idea what exactly is available on our iTunes page:

Or, you can hear selections in 5 parts on the Tony Mendez Show, part of
the Letterman site:

(1-5) Week of April 10-14, 2006: "Tony's Listening Party," Parts 1 to 5

So many options. :)

contradict each other??? Do they present all views and leave it to the
reader to decide, or do they arbitrarily make a decision for the reader
based on who THEY believe????

It's nonsense to state flatly that ANY one book will get closer to the
truth than any other. Personally, I put my money on books from people

tom...

With all due respect, that statement is ridiculous. Research improves
upon research all the time, and Brian has spent more time researching
this subject than anyone else has, that is simply a fact. Anyone in

fattuchus...

If it sounds like it may be Paul, then it must be John!

Example: I once listened to the end of All You Need is Love where the
singer goes "She loves you yeah yeah yeah, she loves you yeah yeah
yeah" and from listening to it, I was sure it was Paul. Then when I
saw the film, I saw it was John. I was totally fooled.

ontherocks...

I remember that was Mr. Derek's examples of how Paul sabotaged John's
songs...

donz5...

You're grasping at the thinnest straw I've read yet from you, Derek;
John was _chewing gum_ while he sang his lead vocal, for crying out
loud.

fattuchus...

But that is the secret of how and why John sang so well! :)

He often chewed gum when he sang. Doens't everybody? :)

poisoned rose...

I found this a little alienating, in Hendrix's case. I believe you
can even *hear* him chewing gum during "If 6 Was 9"...kind of a
distasteful element of an otherwise fantastic track.

dlarsson...

He was chewing gum because he was nervous (television broadcast).

That's got nothing to do him approving of McCartney singing
"love is aaaaaalllllll .. woooooooooo hooooooooo" ( etc. )

in an OUT-OF-TUNE way-!!

Bill Bassett...

You're the only one I've ever heard claim it was out of tune.

ontherocks...

Then you've never read when Derek accused Paul of destroying Hey Bulldog by
laughing "like a hyena" at the end of the song....
That was until when the video was released at we all could see(as we didn't
know) that was John who was laughing.
Derek never took his words back...(Surprise...?)

donz5...

I've been reading Derek's delusional fantasies for years, but I missed
that one. Thanks for the chuckles.

But their voices could often be like each other.
My "evidence" is intro to Lovely Rita. It's the same voice!
And it's Paul.

print anyway. Judge his efforts after you read..not before...

jt10824...

There's nothing ridiculous about my statement. Any researcher worth
his or her salt is dependent on not just documentation but the
recollections of people who were there. And it really doesn't matter
how much time is expended on a project -- it's quality that counts.
The fact of the matter is that, as good as Brian's book may or may not
be, neither you nor I nor anyone else is in a position to "judge his
efforts," because neither you nor I was actually there, nor do we have
access to the session documentation. You can choose to believe what
you read in Brian's book, or to disbelieve what you read in Geoff
Emerick's book: that is your prerogative. But you are not in a
position to judge anyone's efforts. To me, it makes far more sense to
trust firsthand sources over regurgitated second- or third-hand
accounts of ANY situation.

Personally, I put my money on books from people

who were actually there. If Geoff Emerick or George Martin (or one of
their assistants) or one of the four Beatles says that's the way things
happened, that to me is far more likely to be the truth than some other
research book written by a couple of guys who weren't there. At least

dlarsson...

Paul & John both laugh and Paul's laugh is the
high-voiced one (sorry if you don't like the hyena reference)
but what you also clearly hear is John saying
"quiet ... quiet..." to McCartney.

Do you think Lennon wanted Paul to keep going on
when he's saying "quiet ... quiet" -??

Think again!

Bill Bassett...

Good Lord, note John's voice when he says it. He is obviously goofing
around just as Paul is. If he wanted that stuff out he could have easily
dropped it out of his song.

You're really getting sad.

- Derek

inwood_1999...

It was John laughing like a hyena, your word, not mine. Check out the
video at youtube and see for yourself. Who cares which one said quiet
now.. quiet they were having a great time and you said Paul sabotaged
the song with the 'hyena' laughter, remember, now it's something else.
Go to the video and give us the spot where Paul tries to sabotage Hey
Bulldog. Is it 3:12 or is it 3:14? Where? Get a life Derek.

Mark Lewisohn was able to listen to the tapes firsthand, and view the
tape boxes and sessions sheets firsthand... yet even he made a few
mistakes.

tom...

Again, what is it...Geoff thinks "Blackbird" was recorded outside....or
something?? ;)

jt10824...

Again, let's see you offer some definitive proof that Emerick is wrong
about this... other than a nasty unsubstantiated allegation from a
clearly disgruntled Ken Scott.

Being there seems like it would be the ultimate answer
.....unfortunately, that's the whole point...it isn't always. George
could hardly remember anything when I would talk to him about guitar
sounds. And these were songs cut a year or so before. Not DECADES. And
you've seen all of them stumble around and try to remember whether "All
You Need Is Love" was written for the show, or was already hanging
around. They just don't know. Not always. Who does?

Ears.

It's Paul;)

(and we can agree to disagree and still not mean to offend)

jt10824...

Absolutely. No offense meant and no offense taken. But I would hope
that in future you would characterize your OPINIONS as OPINIONS, not
statements of FACT.

Paul actually told me that the guitar playing the lead in "Nowhere Man"
was a Gretsch (it wasn't)...and that was only a couple years after they
had done the record.

"Ears....now they're real important too..." ---James Caan,
"Rollerball."

Lookingglass...

...the voice of reason speaks! And these fine people are trying to remember
things that happened 40 years ago... with grey cells that are a little
shop-worn.

...I can't wait for THE BOOK to show up at my door.

8^)

dave (...indicate precisely what you mean to say...)

been mistaken all of these years.

In the book, it states that Paul had to sing "and I went into a dream" concisely and not go to long
on the word "dream" because it was a punch in vocal and if they didnt punch out quickly enough, it
would erase John's "ahhhhh" section.

ACankersore...

Why would that be? He had about 3 seconds before the "ahhhhh" began. No

tom...

He had exactly one beat.

Not three seconds...;)

ACankersore...

:) Ok, but the point is, Paul didn't need to worry about rushing his
line "Woke up in a dream"..and worry about enough breath. It was the
"Ahhhhs" he needed the breath for. Then 3 seconds later he began the
"Ahhhhs" LOL

weathermansays...

One thing no one has said (unless I missed it): The "ahhhhs" in "A Day
in the Life" are in Paul's higher vocal range, not John's lower one.
When John went high, he went falsetto which is not featured in the
break. It sounds like Paul to me, esp. after it gets going.

Brother Michael...

I just finished listening to the "ahhs" (about 25 times) with some good
headphones. For 39 years I believed this was John. The first part still
sounds like John - but I have to admit now that it is Paul.

tight punch in/out in that section.

donz5...

Listen to it again; the transition from "and I went into a dream" to
the "ahh" is immediate. No room for a required long breath.

ACankersore...

Actually, Paul wouldn't need any long breaths to sing "Woke up in a
dream." He would sing it
just as he sang it. On the 3rd beat he would need the long breath..for

ACankersore...

You're a musician Don. Just think about putting on a set of headphones
and singing "Woke up in a dream." Start counting at the end of the word
"dream." On the 3rd beat he would begin the "ahhhhhs." It was never
meant to be performed live, so if Paul didn't have enough breath..all
he'd have to do..is to take a short break, punch back in to the
studio..and then have the breath to sing it. There's plently of
room..but I think you're concentrating more on
the Breath he would need for the "ahhhhhh"...than the count in.

the "Ahhhhs"...where
he probably shut off the studio for a short break, to sing the
"ahhhhhs..and then punch in later..to finish off.

tom...

Note also that the tape machines they were using then did not "drop in"
as the British refer to it...like machines today. They could take a
second to go into record...it was not instant...

ontherocks...

The studer J37 4 track machine "drops in" almost as fast as modern
machines.
You can do it on the fly(while reels are running and with the track
triggered).
It's no problem
I have tried...

tom...

They were similar to the A-80, not nearly like an A-800...you needed
about an 1/8th note to get in and almost a 1/4 note to get out. Hardly
like a modern machine, and definitely not Pro Tools;)

ontherocks...

On a Studer J 37 you have to stop the machine in order to out of recording
but as long as there's no material after the "drop in/out" there's no
problem.
We're talking about a track with Paul's singing here,and there's nothing
after the "aahs"until John's back with "I saw a film today oh boy..."
Drop in on a Studer J-37 is no problem here.
The "drop-in" is in fact instant = The distance between the erase head and
the recording head(aprox one inch).
It gives a dropin speed at aprox 1/15 second.
The gap between "went into a dream" and "aaah" is aprox half a second. ;-)

tom...

The "Ahhs", when I listen to it closer, were not recorded at the same
time, the sound is far too different, and I don't mean the FX.

ACankersore...

I agree with you.

Regarding the singer, I just listened again...how anyone could listen
to the second phrase and hear John doing it....well..you just need to
listen again or with better gear...I don't know. It's so clearly Paul
that it's insane;)

ACankersore...

I don't own the "Pepper" album to be able to dispute that. I've heard
the song many thousands of times..and I'd have to have another listen.
:-)

abe slaney...

Agreed. John didn't slide up to notes like that. It's ornamented and
decorative in a manner that was not Lennon's. Whoever pointed to Lovely
Rita is correct�it's the same aesthetic, as well as the same voice.

Philip S....

You know, I was a skeptic when I first read this thread, but you all have

fattuchus...

fattuchus...

the

pretty much made a believer out of me. And if you want to compare the vocal
style in question with another song, perhaps a more apt example would be the
fadeout of "I Want To Tell You".

fattuchus...

You raise the fade out of I Want to Tell You. Wasn't that George
singing?

Are you saying George sang the aaahhhhsss?

So, who is single that part?

ACankersore...

Ringo announced he was single after the recording.

tom...

It's Paul's "Ahh" section. Geoff can be forgiven for misremembering. If
you watch Anthology The Beatles do their fare share of it too;)

fattuchus...

To my ears, it sounds like John doing the Aaahhhs. But I am not a
professional musician.

pepperman...

I think Emerick remembering this kind of thing (Paul stopping his
singing and then John starting his singing in ADITL) is much more
credible than him remembering some conversations.

To my ears Lovely Rita opening "aaah" is not similar. No doubt it
is Paul. A day in The Life is different to me. John sings all his
vocals in ADITL kind of "tenderly", and I think "aaah" section
too.

tom...

It's Paul. It misleads some people because it has the same tape slap on
it John's voice does in the verses. But it's Paul. Keep listening..