Tuesday, April 26, 1966
Recording "And Your Bird Can Sing"
For The Beatles
Last updated on October 15, 2022
Tuesday, April 26, 1966
For The Beatles
Last updated on October 15, 2022
April 6 - June 22, 1966 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Revolver (UK Mono)
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Apr 22, 1966 • Recording "Taxman", "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Session Apr 25, 1966 • Mixing "Got to Get You Into My Life"
Session Apr 26, 1966 • Recording "And Your Bird Can Sing"
Session Apr 27, 1966 • Recording "I'm Only Sleeping" and mixing "And Your Bird Can Sing", "Taxman"...
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Revolver (UK Mono)" LP
This was the thirteenth day of the recording sessions for the “Revolver” album. This 12-hour long session (from 2:30 pm to 2:45 am) was focused on the remake of “And Your Bird Can Sing“.
The Beatles had recorded two takes of “And Your Bird Can Sing” on April 20, 1966, but decided to start from scratch on this day. Beatles specialists Robert Rodriguez and Richie Unterberger speculated that the remake was motivated by the Beatles’ realisation that the April 20 recording was overly derivative of the Byrds, and that this aspect had possibly come about through a pun on the word “bird”.
They recorded eleven takes of the new backing track (numbered from 3 to 13), with John Lennon and George Harrison on electric guitars, Paul McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on drums.
Take 1 started with a bit of nonsense from John, “Okay boys, quite brisk, moderato, foxtrot!”
Take 5 was released on the 2022 reissue of “Revolver”.
Take 10 was deemed the best, even if the bass notes that Paul had played at the end of Take 6 were judged better. The decision to make an edit of takes 10 and 6 was made this day, even if this edit would be made later during the mixing process.
Overdubs were added onto take 10 (some of them may have also been added onto take 6, to ease the editing process). George added a lead guitar part, as well as Paul or John. John added his lead vocals (with an ADT – artificial double-tracking – effect applied to them), and Paul and George some backing vocals (also with ADT applied) and handclaps. Ringo added some cymbals. A tambourine part was also added.
At the end of the session, the recording of “And Your Bird Can Sing” was completed.
Recording • Take 3
Recording • Take 4
Recording • Take 5
AlbumOfficially released on Revolver (Super Deluxe - 2022)
Recording • Take 6
Recording • Take 7
Recording • Take 8
Recording • Take 9
Recording • Take 10
Recording • Take 11
Recording • Take 12
Recording • Take 13
Recording • SI onto take 10
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 2 - Help! through Revolver (1965-1966)
The second book of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)-nominated series, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 2: Help! through Revolver (1965-1966)" follows the evolution of the band from the end of Beatlemania with "Help!" through the introspection of "Rubber Soul" up to the sonic revolution of "Revolver". 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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