Friday, March 31, 1967
For The Beatles
Last updated on January 17, 2024
Recording "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Nov 24, 1966 - Apr 20, 1967 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Article Mar 30, 1967 • Cover shoot for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Session Mar 30, 1967 • Recording "With A Little Help From My Friends"
Session Mar 31, 1967 • Recording and mixing "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!", mixing "With A Little Help From My Friends"
Session Apr 01, 1967 • Recording and mixing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)"
Session Apr 03, 1967 • Recording and mixing "Within You Without You"
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)" LP
This 7 pm – 3 am session saw the completion of “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!“
“With A Little Help From My Friends” was recorded during the two previous sessions, on March 29 and March 30. On this day, fifteen attempts at mixing Take 11 in mono were made, using Artificial Double Tracking (ADT). Remix Mono 15 was considered the best and was released on the mono version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
On February 17, 1967, The Beatles started recording “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!”, laying down its rhythm track along with the lead and backing vocals. On February 20, they created sound effects to evoke the vivid imagery of a bustling fairground or a whimsical circus. More than a month later, on March 28 and March 29, they added various overdubs onto Take 9.
On this day, George Martin enhanced the track coda, adding some more organ and a glockenspiel part, an instrument akin to a xylophone. Those final flourishes ended the recording of the track.
With the recording completed, the mixing process started. A series of mono mixes, named Remix Mono 1 to 7, were created from Take 9. John Lennon’s vocals were treated with ADT (artificial double tracking). Additionally, the sound effects pieced together on February 20 were once again integrated into the track. Of the various mixes created, RM4 was considered the best version and served as the mono release version of the song.
“Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!” was mixed in stereo on April 7.
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 2 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 3 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 4 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 5 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 6 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 7 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 8 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 9 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 10 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 11 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 12 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 13 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 14 from take 11
With A Little Help From My Friends
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 15 from take 11
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Recording • SI onto take 9
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 9
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 2 from take 9
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 3 from take 9
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 4 from take 9
AlbumOfficially released on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 5 from take 9
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 6 from take 9
Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 7 from take 9
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions • Mark Lewisohn
The definitive guide for every Beatles recording sessions from 1962 to 1970.
We owe a lot to Mark Lewisohn for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - the number of takes for each song, who contributed what, a description of the context and how each session went, various photographies... And an introductory interview with Paul McCartney!
The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)
The third book of this critically - acclaimed series, nominated for the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)" captures the band's most innovative era in its entirety. From the first take to the final remix, discover the making of the greatest recordings of all time. Through extensive, fully-documented research, these books fill an important gap left by all other Beatles books published to date and provide a unique view into the recordings of the world's most successful pop music act.
If we modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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