Baby, You're a Rich Man
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| "Baby, You're a Rich Man" | ||||||||||||
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| Single by The Beatles | ||||||||||||
| A-side | "All You Need Is Love" | |||||||||||
| Released | 7 July 1967 | |||||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||||
| Recorded | 11 May 1967 Olympic Sound Studios |
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| Genre | Pop rock, psychedelic | |||||||||||
| Length | 3:03 | |||||||||||
| Label | Parlophone | |||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |||||||||||
| Producer | George Martin | |||||||||||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||||||||||
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"Baby, You're a Rich Man" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by The Beatles on 11 May 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios. This was the first song by the band recorded and mixed completely outside Abbey Road Studios.[1] The song was recorded during sessions for the Magical Mystery Tour EP, but was intended for the Yellow Submarine soundtrack. That plan changed when it was used as the B-side of the "All You Need Is Love" single.[1]
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[edit] Composition
Two song fragments were combined to create "Baby, You're a Rich Man". The verses from "One of the Beautiful People" by John Lennon were combined with Paul McCartney's previously unaccompanied "Baby, you're a rich man..." chorus. Two songs were combined in a similar fashion to make "A Day in the Life".[2] The song featured an unusual oboe-like sound, which was created with a clavioline, an early forerunner of the synthesiser.
[edit] Releases
"Baby, You're a Rich Man" was released (in mono) as the B-side of the single "All You Need Is Love" on 7 July 1967 in the United Kingdom and on 17 July 1967 in the United States. Later that year, it was included (in simulated stereo) on the US album Magical Mystery Tour.
The song was the first to be recorded for the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, but was not included on the original soundtrack album,[1] and only appears very briefly in the film itself.[3] It was included on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack CD released in 1999.
[edit] Stereo mixes
In 1971, producer George Martin and recording engineer Geoff Emerick created the first true stereo mix of the song (for the German release of the Magical Mystery Tour album), but an effect that had been created at the mixing stage in 1967 was omitted. In the original mix, after the lines 'Far as the eye can see' and 'Often enough to know', there is a spin-echo (feed back delay) effect that serves to fill from the end of one line of the verse to the start of the next. Its omission from the stereo mix explains why there is an instrumental break after these lines.
The song was remixed for a second time for the 1999 DVD release of the Yellow Submarine film (and the accompanying Yellow Submarine Songtrack album), but the spin-echo effect was again left out. The spin echo effect can be heard on the 2009 mono remaster of "Magical Mystery Tour".
[edit] Personnel
- John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, clavioline, piano
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, piano, bass
- George Harrison – harmony vocal, guitar, handclaps
- Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, maracas, handclaps
- Eddie Kramer – vibraphone
- George Martin – producer
- Keith Grant – engineer
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[4]
Mick Jagger was present during the recording session, and his name also appears on a session tape box, possibly indicating that Jagger sang backing vocals on the song.[1][2][4]
[edit] Cover versions
The Presidents of the United States of America covered this song live and The Fat Boys covered it in their movie Disorderlies.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Lewisohn 1988, p. 111.
- ^ a b Miles 1997, pp. 370–371.
- ^ Fontenot 2009.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2005, p. 257.
[edit] References
- Fontenot, Robert, Jr. "About.com Baby You're a Rich Man". About.com. http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/babyrichman.htm About.com. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
[edit] External links
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