Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening. Song of the Day. Penny Lane is a song by the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney. Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, Penny Lane was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with Strawberry Fields Forever. The single was the result of the record company wanting a new release after several months of no new Beatles releases. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Penny Lane at No. 456 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The songs title is derived from the name of a street near Lennons childhood home for his first 5 years (Newcastle Road, just off Church Road), in the bands hometown, Liverpool, England. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Princes Park area to catch a bus into the centre of the city. At the time, in the 1960s, this was a significant bus terminus for several routes, and buses with Penny Lane displayed were common throughout Liverpool. The name Penny Lane is also used for the area that surrounds its junction with Smithdown Road, Smithdown Place (where the terminus was located) and Allerton Road, including a busy shopping area. Penny Lane is sometimes said to be named after James Penny, an 18th-century slave trader. The street is an important landmark, sought out by many Beatles fans touring Liverpool. In the past, street signs saying Penny Lane were constant targets of tourist theft and had to be continually replaced. Eventually, city officials gave up and simply began painting the street name on the sides of buildings. This practice was stopped in 2007 and more theft-resistant Penny Lane street signs have since been installed, although some are still stolen. Beatles producer George Martin has stated he believes the pairing of Penny Lane with Strawberry Fields Forever resulted in probably the greatest single ever released by the band. Both songs were later included on the US Magical Mystery Tour album in November 1967. In the UK, the pairing famously failed to reach No. 1 in the singles charts, stalling one place below Engelbert Humperdincks Release Me. In the US the song became the bands 13th single to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, doing so for a week before being knocked off by the Turtles song Happy Together. The single was released following the success of the double A-side Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby, when Brian Epstein enquired if the band had any new material available. Since the Beatles usually did not include songs released as singles on their British albums, both songs were left off the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album, a decision Martin later regretted. This was also the first single by the Beatles to be sold with a picture sleeve in the UK, a practice rarely used there at that time, but common in the US and various other countries (such as Japan). Production began in Studio 2 at Abbey Road on 29 December 1966 with piano as the main instrument.[9] On 17 January 1967, trumpet player David Mason recorded the piccolo trumpet solo. The solo, inspired by a performance of Johann Sebastian Bachs second Brandenburg Concerto, is in a mock-Baroque style for which the piccolo trumpet (a small instrument built about one octave higher than the standard instrument) is particularly suited, having a clean and clear sound which penetrates well through thicker midrange textures. According to lead sound enginner Geoff Emerick, David Mason nailed it, at some point during the recording; Paul McCartney tried to get him to do another take but producer George Martin insisted it wasnt necessary, sensing Masons fatigue. This is known as one of the few times the producers decision overruled that of the already superstar Beatles. Geoff Emerick also notes in his book that prior to this recording, the high E was considered unobtainable by trumpet musicians and has been expected of them since said performance on the record. Mason was paid 27 pounds and 10 shillings for his performance on the recording. Penny Lane production effects include percussion effects, piano through a Vox guitar amplifier with added reverb.The original US promo single mix of Penny Lane had an additional flourish of piccolo trumpet notes at the end of the song. This mix was quickly superseded by one without the last trumpet passage, but not before a handful of copies had been pressed and sent to radio stations. These recordings are among the rarest and most valuable Beatles collectibles. A stereo mix of the song with the additional trumpet added back in was included on the US Rarities compilation and the UK album: The Beatles Box in 1980, and is included on an alternate take of the song released on Anthology 2 in 1996. youtube/watch?v=jd-oLhJQne0
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 10:56:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015