99-746: Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios ) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road , St John's Wood , City of Westminster , London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company , a predecessor of British music company EMI , which owned it until Universal Music Group (UMG) took control of part of it in 2013. It is ultimately owned by UMG subsidiary Virgin Records Limited (until 2013 by EMI Records Limited, nowadays known as Parlophone Records and owned by UMG's competitor Warner Music Group ). The studio's most notable client
198-401: A structurally balanced coda . In response to the repeated A-major choruses of "love you", McCartney sings in realisation that there is as much self-gratifying love ("the love you take") as there is of the generous love ("the love you make"), in A major and C major, respectively. "Her Majesty" was recorded by McCartney on 2 July when he arrived before the rest of the group at Abbey Road. It
297-478: A Moog synthesiser part on 19 August, immediately before the final mix. Though not released as a single, the song attracted attention and critical praise, and was included on the compilation 1967–1970 . It has been featured several times on BBC Radio 4 's Desert Island Discs , having been chosen by Sandie Shaw , Jerry Springer , Boris Johnson and Elaine Paige . The Daily Telegraph 's Martin Chilton said it
396-640: A centre for rock and roll music when Cliff Richard and the Drifters (later Cliff Richard and the Shadows ) recorded " Move It " there, and later pop music material. EMI is closely associated with the Beatles, who recorded almost all of their albums and hits there between 1962 and 1970 using the four-track REDD mixing console designed by Peter K. Burkowitz. The Beatles named their 1969 album Abbey Road . Iain Macmillan took
495-474: A line in Chuck Berry 's " You Can't Catch Me ". A settlement was reached in 1973 in which Lennon promised to record three songs from Levy's publishing catalogue for his next album . "Come Together" was later released as a double A-side single with "Something". In the liner notes to the compilation album Love , Martin described the track as "a simple song but it stands out because of the sheer brilliance of
594-625: A long time," although he did not name them or include himself among them. "I have so many memories there with the Beatles," McCartney said, "It still is a great studio. So it would be lovely for someone to get a thing together to save it." In March 2015, Abbey Road Institute was founded as a school for music production and audio engineering. In addition to the London location, Abbey Road Institute offers education globally with schools in Amsterdam , Frankfurt , Johannesburg , Miami , Paris and Sydney . All of
693-463: A medley. Lennon ultimately said that he disliked Abbey Road as a whole and felt that it lacked authenticity, calling McCartney's contributions "[music] for the grannies to dig" and not "real songs", and describing the medley as "junk ... just bits of songs thrown together". Abbey Road was recorded on eight-track reel-to-reel tape machines rather than the four-track machines that were used for earlier Beatles albums such as Sgt Pepper , and
792-510: A piano-led ballad at the start to arpeggiated guitars at the end. Both Harrison and Lennon provided guitar solos, with Lennon playing the solos at the end of the track. This song transitions into Lennon's " Sun King " which, like "Because", showcases Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's triple-tracked harmonies. Following it are Lennon's " Mean Mr. Mustard " (written during the Beatles' 1968 trip to India) and " Polythene Pam ". These in turn are followed by four McCartney songs, " She Came In Through
891-470: A popular photo opportunity area, despite the road still being a busy thoroughfare for traffic. The crossing may have been relocated several metres as part of traffic management work in the 1970s, with a spokesperson for Westminster City Council saying in 2010 that "by comparing photographs with the Ordnance Survey maps, we believe that the crossing might have been further north nearer 3 Abbey Road, which
990-399: A small amount of work that month and a session for " You Never Give Me Your Money " on 6 May, the group took an eight-week break before recommencing on 2 July. Recording continued through July and August, and the last backing track, for " Because ", was taped on 1 August. Overdubs continued through the month, with the final sequencing of the album coming together on 20 August –
1089-615: A successful engineer and producer, most noteworthy for his success on the scores for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. "Come Together" was an expansion of "Let's Get It Together", a song Lennon originally wrote for Timothy Leary 's California gubernatorial campaign against Ronald Reagan . A rough version of the lyrics for "Come Together" was written at Lennon's and Ono's second bed-in event in Montreal. The biographer Jonathan Gould suggested that
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#17330862515211188-459: A suite by McCartney and Martin. Some songs were written (and originally recorded in demo form) during sessions for the White Album and Get Back / Let It Be , which later appeared on Anthology 3 . While the idea for the medley was McCartney's, Martin claims credit for some structure, adding he "wanted to get John and Paul to think more seriously about their music". The first track recorded for
1287-527: A year previously, and would possibly have been unsuitable without being integrated into the medley on side two. He did, however, praise the production, particularly the sound of Starr's bass drum. Abbey Road has received high rankings in several "greatest albums of all time" lists and polls by critics and publications. It was voted number 8 in the third edition of Colin Larkin 's book All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). Time included it in their 2006 list of
1386-426: A zebra crossing, based on ideas that McCartney sketched, and taken on 8 August 1969 outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road . At 11:35 that morning, photographer Iain Macmillan was given only ten minutes to take the photo while he stood on a step-ladder and a policeman held up traffic behind the camera. Macmillan took six photographs, which McCartney examined with a magnifying glass before deciding which would be used on
1485-568: Is his second and last solo composition released on any album by the band. It was inspired by a trip with his family to Sardinia aboard Peter Sellers 's yacht after Starr left the band for two weeks during the sessions for the White Album. Starr received a full songwriting credit and composed most of the lyrics, although the song's melodic structure was partly written in the studio by Harrison. The pair would later collaborate as writers on Starr's solo singles " It Don't Come Easy ", " Back Off Boogaloo " and " Photograph ". "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
1584-696: Is just a natural born gas, entirely free of pretension, deep meanings or symbolism ... While production is simple compared to past intricacies, it is still extremely sophisticated and inventive." Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times found the album "refreshingly terse and unpretentious", and although he lamented the band's "cod-1920s jokes (Maxwell's Silver Hammer) and ... Ringo's obligatory nursery arias (Octopus's Garden)", he considered that Abbey Road "touches higher peaks than did their last album". John Mendelsohn , writing for Rolling Stone , called it "breathtakingly recorded" and praised side two especially, equating it to "the whole of Sgt. Pepper " and stating, "That
1683-427: Is located at the southeastern end at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood. Rigo Tovar , The Beatles , Kanye West , Glenn Miller , Queen , Radiohead , Lady Gaga , Shirley Bassey , Aretha Franklin , ABBA , Cliff Richard , Kate Bush , Brockhampton , Kylie Minogue , Pink Floyd , and many other famous popular music performers have recorded at this studio. The Beatles named their last studio LP after this street, and
1782-462: Is now mounted high on the building on the corner to save the local council the expense of cleaning and replacing it. The council repaints the wall next to the zebra crossing every three months to cover fans' graffiti . Abbey Road is also an electoral ward in the City of Westminster. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 11,250. Abbey Road Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by
1881-565: Is part of the road B507. The road is best known for the Abbey Road Studios and for featuring on the cover of the Beatles ' album of the same name , which was released in September 1969. The northwestern end of Abbey Road begins in Kilburn at the junction with Quex Road and West End Lane . The road was once a track leading to Kilburn Priory and its associated Abbey Farm and was developed in
1980-558: The Abbey Road sessions. Nevertheless, there was a significant amount of tension in the group. According to Ian MacDonald , McCartney had an acrimonious argument with Lennon during the sessions. Lennon's wife Yoko Ono had become a permanent presence at Beatles recordings, and clashed with other members. Halfway through recording in June, Lennon and Ono were involved in a car accident. A doctor told Ono to rest in bed, so Lennon had one installed in
2079-510: The Get Back / Let It Be sessions with Billy Preston . This was subsequently combined with a second version made during the Abbey Road sessions proper in April. The two sections together ran to nearly eight minutes, making it the Beatles' second-longest released track. Lennon used Harrison's Moog synthesiser with a white noise setting to create a "wind" effect that was overdubbed on the second half of
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#17330862515212178-539: The TG12345 Mk I , as opposed to earlier tube ( thermionic valve )-based REDD desks. The TG console also allowed better support for eight-track recording , facilitating the Beatles' considerable use of overdubbing . Emerick recalls that the TG desk used to record the album had individual limiters and compressors on each audio channel and noted that the overall sound was "softer" than the earlier tube (valve) desks. In his study of
2277-460: The anvil sound in the chorus. This track also makes use of Harrison's Moog synthesiser , played by McCartney. "Oh! Darling" was written by McCartney in a doo-wop style, like contemporary work by Frank Zappa . It was tried at the Get Back sessions, and a version appears on Anthology 3 . It was subsequently re-recorded in April, with overdubs in July and August. McCartney attempted recording
2376-634: The Bathroom Window " (written after a fan entered McCartney's residence via his bathroom window), " Golden Slumbers " (based on Thomas Dekker 's 17th-century poem set to new music), " Carry That Weight " (reprising elements from "You Never Give Me Your Money", and featuring chorus vocals from all four Beatles), and closing with " The End ". "The End" features Starr's only drum solo in the Beatles' catalogue (the drums are mixed across two tracks in "true stereo", unlike most releases at that time where they were hard-panned left or right). Fifty-four seconds into
2475-469: The Beatles can unify seemingly countless musical fragments and lyrical doodlings into a uniformly wonderful suite ... seems potent testimony that no, they've far from lost it, and no, they haven't stopped trying." Don Heckman of Stereo Review named the album one of the "Best Recordings of the Month" of January 1970, remarking that it was "better than ' The Beatles ' or ' Magical Mystery Tour ,' and probably
2574-416: The Beatles had rejected his song " Cold Turkey ". While Harrison worked with such artists as Leon Russell , Doris Troy , Preston and Delaney & Bonnie through to the end of the year, McCartney took a hiatus from the group after his daughter Mary was born on 28 August. On 20 September, six days before Abbey Road was released, Lennon told McCartney, Starr, and business manager Allen Klein (Harrison
2673-634: The Beatles' great albums" and, despite some "lovely" phrases and "stirring" segues , side two's suite "seems symbolic of the Beatles' latest phase, which might be described as the round-the-clock production of disposable music effects". John Gabree of the magazine High Fidelity wrote, of the album, "what's to say? If you like the Beatles, you'll like the record. If you have your doubts, this will do nothing to allay them. Of course, as someone just said, they do have 'something.'" Conversely, Chris Welch wrote in Melody Maker : "the truth is, their latest LP
2772-604: The Beatles. Everyone is putting down Abbey Road ." Shortly afterwards, in Los Angeles, he wrote that his colleague Ellen Willis had grown to love the record, adding: "Damned if she isn't right – flawed but fine. Because the world is round it turns her on. Charlie Watts tells us he likes it too." Many critics have since cited Abbey Road as the Beatles' greatest album. In a retrospective review, Nicole Pensiero of PopMatters called it "an amazingly cohesive piece of music, innovative and timeless". Mark Kemp of Paste viewed
2871-520: The British government declared Abbey Road Studios a Grade II listed building which protected it from major alteration. The following December, the pedestrian crossing at Abbey Road was listed on the National Heritage List. Paul McCartney , speaking to BBC Newsnight on 16 February 2010, said there had been efforts to save Abbey Road by "a few people who have been associated with the studio for
2970-583: The DVD of Living in the Material World . "Because" was inspired by Lennon listening to Ono playing Ludwig van Beethoven 's " Moonlight Sonata " on the piano. He recalled he was "lying on the sofa in our house, listening to Yoko play ... Suddenly, I said, 'Can you play those chords backward?' She did, and I wrote 'Because' around them." The track features three-part harmonies by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, which were then triple-tracked to give nine voices in
3069-563: The English rock band the Beatles , released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records . It is the last album the group recorded, although Let It Be (1970) was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly recorded in April, July, and August 1969, and topped the record charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. A double A-side single from
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3168-483: The Moog synthesiser "disembodies and artificializes" the band's sound, adding that they "create a sound that could not possibly exist outside the studio". While he found the medley on side two to be their "most impressive music" since Rubber Soul , Nik Cohn of The New York Times said that, "individually", the album's songs are "nothing special". Albert Goldman of Life magazine wrote that Abbey Road "is not one of
3267-473: The Studio Two room, where the Beatles made most of their records. While a new mixing console was being installed in the control room, the studio was used to host a video presentation called The Beatles at Abbey Road . The soundtrack to the video had a number of recordings that were not made commercially available until the release of The Beatles Anthology project over a decade later. In September 2012, with
3366-595: The UK, the album debuted at number one, where it remained for 11 weeks before being displaced for one week by the Rolling Stones ' Let It Bleed . The following week (which was Christmas), Abbey Road returned to the top for another six weeks (completing a total of 17 weeks) before being displaced by Led Zeppelin 's Led Zeppelin II . Altogether, it spent 81 weeks on the UK albums chart. The album also performed strongly overseas. In
3465-462: The UK. Apple's Neil Aspinall filmed a promotional video, which combined separate footage of the Beatles and their wives. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", McCartney's first song on the album, was first performed by the Beatles during the Let It Be sessions (as seen in the film ). He wrote the song after the group's trip to India in 1968 and wanted to record it for the White Album, but it was rejected by
3564-658: The US, it spent 11 weeks at number one on the Billboard Top LPs chart. It was the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) best-selling album of 1969. In Japan, it was one of the longest-charting albums to date, remaining in the top 100 for 298 weeks during the 1970s. Abbey Road initially received mixed reviews from music critics , who criticised the production's artificial sounds and viewed its music as inauthentic. William Mann of The Times said that
3663-501: The album as being "among the Beatles' finest works, even if it foreshadows the cigarette-lighter-waving arena rock that technically skilled but critically maligned artists from Journey to Meatloaf would belabor throughout the '70s and '80s". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph dubbed it the Beatles' "last love letter to the world" and praised its "big, modern sound", calling it "lush, rich, smooth, epic, emotional and utterly gorgeous". AllMusic 's Richie Unterberger felt that
3762-418: The album cover. It is the only original UK Beatles album sleeve to show neither the artist name nor the album title on its front cover, which was Kosh's idea, despite EMI saying the record would not sell without this information. He later explained that "we didn't need to write the band's name on the cover [...] They were the most famous band in the world". The front cover was a photograph of the group walking on
3861-440: The album shared Sgt. Pepper ' s "faux-conceptual forms", but had "stronger compositions", and wrote of its standing in the band's catalogue: "Whether Abbey Road is the Beatles' best work is debatable, but it's certainly the most immaculately produced (with the possible exception of Sgt. Pepper ) and most tightly constructed." Ian MacDonald gave a mixed opinion of the album, noting that several tracks had been written at least
3960-441: The album sleeve. In the image selected by McCartney, the group walk across the street in single file from left to right, with Lennon leading, followed by Starr, McCartney and Harrison. McCartney is barefoot and out of step with the others. Except for Harrison, the group are wearing suits designed by Tommy Nutter . A white Volkswagen Beetle is to the left of the picture, parked next to the zebra crossing, which belonged to one of
4059-428: The album will "be called gimmicky by people who want a record to sound exactly like a live performance", although he considered it to be "teem[ing] with musical invention" and added: "Nice as 'Come Together' and Harrison's 'Something' are – they are minor pleasures in the context of the whole disc ... Side Two is marvellous ..." Ed Ward of Rolling Stone called the album "complicated instead of complex" and felt that
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4158-487: The album's cover nor on the record label, making it a hidden track . The song title appears on the inlay card and disc of the 1987 remastered CD reissue, as track 17. It also appears on the sleeve, booklet and disc of the 2009 remastered CD reissue, but not on the cover or record label of the 2012 vinyl reissue or the 2019 remix of the album. Three days after the session for "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", Harrison recorded solo demos of " All Things Must Pass " (which became
4257-419: The album's cover photograph outside the studios, with the result that the nearby zebra crossing has become a place of pilgrimage for Beatles fans . It has been a tradition for visitors to pay homage to the band by writing on the wall in front of the building even though it is painted over every three months. In December 2010, the zebra crossing at Abbey Road was given a Grade II listed status . After becoming
4356-476: The album's cover photograph shows the four group members walking across the zebra crossing just outside the studio entrance. As a result of its association with the Beatles, this part of Abbey Road has been featured on the London tourism circuit. The crossing was given the official status of Grade II Listed Building by English Heritage in December 2010. The zebra crossing featured on the Beatles cover has become
4455-551: The album, " Something " / " Come Together ", was released in October, which also topped the charts in the US. Abbey Road incorporates styles such as rock , pop , blues , and progressive rock , and makes prominent use of the Moog synthesiser and guitar played through a Leslie speaker unit. It is also notable for having a long medley of songs on side two that have subsequently been covered as one suite by other notable artists. The album
4554-458: The background), appears on the Anthology 3 album and the 2012 digital-only compilation album Tomorrow Never Knows . Musicologist Walter Everett interprets that most of the lyrics on side two's medley deal with "selfishness and self-gratification – the financial complaints in 'You Never Give Me Your Money,' the miserliness of Mr. Mustard, the holding back of the pillow in 'Carry That Weight,'
4653-603: The beginning of the nineteenth century. It continues southeast for roughly one mile crossing Priory Road , Belsize Road , Boundary Road (which forms the Camden/Westminster boundary) and Marlborough Place , ending at the junction of Grove End Road and Garden Road. It is joined from the west by Abercorn Place . The Abbey National Building Society (now Santander UK ) was founded in 1874 as The Abbey Road & St John's Wood Permanent Benefit Building Society in one Baptist Church on Abbey Road. EMI 's Abbey Road Studios
4752-436: The best he wrote for the group. The album's cover, featuring the Beatles walking across the zebra crossing outside of Abbey Road Studios (then officially named EMI Studios), is one of the most famous and imitated of all time. After the recording sessions for the proposed Get Back album, Paul McCartney suggested to producer George Martin that the group get together and make an album "the way we used to do it", free of
4851-412: The building from any major alterations. Originally a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse built in 1831 on the footpath leading to Kilburn Abbey , the building was later converted to flats where the best-known resident was Maundy Gregory , who was famous (or infamous) for selling political honours. In 1929, the Gramophone Company acquired the premises. The property benefited from a large garden behind
4950-572: The campuses offer the same course, the Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering, which has been developed in collaboration with industry leaders and the team at Abbey Road Studios. Some campuses offer additional short courses, including Portfolio Preparation, Song Production Masterclass, Music theory Fundamentals for Producers amongst others. In April 2021, Abbey Road Institute London announced it would be expanding and moving into
5049-531: The command of EMI head Fred Gaisberg . The recordings went on to spur a revolution among Bach aficionados and cellists alike. "Fats" Waller played the Compton organ there. Glenn Miller recorded at the Abbey Road studios during World War II , when he was based in the United Kingdom. In 1931 an echo chamber was built in the studios, in the early days of artificial reverberation. In 1958, Studio Two at EMI became
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#17330862515215148-430: The conflict that had begun during sessions for The Beatles (also known as the "White Album"). Martin agreed, but on the strict condition that all the group—particularly John Lennon—allow him to produce the record in the same manner as earlier albums and that discipline would be adhered to. No one was sure that the work would be the group's last, though George Harrison later recalled that "it felt as if we were reaching
5247-520: The currently closed Angel Recording Studios in the summer of 2021. 51°31′55″N 0°10′42″W / 51.53194°N 0.17833°W / 51.53194; -0.17833 Abbey Road, London Abbey Road is a thoroughfare in the borough of Camden and the City of Westminster in Greater London running roughly northwest to southeast through St John's Wood near Lord's Cricket Ground . It
5346-428: The desire that some second person will visit the singer's dreams – perhaps the 'one sweet dream' of 'You Never Give Me Your Money'? – in 'The End. ' " Everett adds that the medley's "selfish moments" are played in the context of the tonal centre of A , while "generosity" is expressed in songs where C major is central. The medley concludes with a "great compromise in the 'negotiations ' " in "The End", which serves as
5445-483: The end of the line". The first sessions for Abbey Road began on 22 February 1969, only three weeks after the Get Back sessions, in Trident Studios . There, the group recorded a backing track for " I Want You (She's So Heavy) " with Billy Preston accompanying them on Hammond organ . No further group recording occurred until April because of Ringo Starr 's commitments on the film The Magic Christian . After
5544-540: The equal of ' Sgt. Pepper '", adding, "I suppose I haven't really come up with any new compliments for the Beatles-not that they need them. But I hope I have at least persuaded you to hear 'Abbey Road.' You'll find it a happy experience." While covering the Rolling Stones' 1969 American tour for The Village Voice , Robert Christgau reported from a meeting with Greil Marcus in Berkeley that "opinion has shifted against
5643-441: The final mix. The group considered the vocals to be some of the hardest and most complex they attempted. Harrison played the Moog synthesiser, and Martin played the harpsichord that opens the track. The remainder of side two consists of a 16-minute medley of eight tracks consisting of a number of short songs and song fragments (known during the recording sessions as "The Long One"), recorded over July and August and blended into
5742-422: The final, crashing chord of "Mean Mr. Mustard", while the final note remained buried in the mix of "Polythene Pam", as a result of being snipped off the reel during a rough mix of the medley on 30 July. The medley was subsequently mixed again from scratch although the song was not touched again and still appears in its rough mix on the album. Original US and UK pressings of Abbey Road do not list "Her Majesty" on
5841-476: The following year. Although Abbey Road was an instant commercial success, it received mixed reviews upon release. Some critics found its music inauthentic and criticised the production's artificial effects. By contrast, critics today view the album as one of the Beatles' best and one of the greatest albums of all time. George Harrison 's two songs on the album, "Something" and " Here Comes the Sun ", are considered among
5940-421: The last time all four Beatles were present in a studio together. McCartney, Starr and Martin have reported positive recollections of the sessions, while Harrison said, "we did actually perform like musicians again". Lennon and McCartney had enjoyed working together on the non-album single " The Ballad of John and Yoko " in April, sharing friendly banter between takes, and some of this camaraderie carried over to
6039-414: The lead vocal only once a day. He said: "I came into the studios early every day for a week to sing it by myself because at first my voice was too clear. I wanted it to sound as though I'd been performing it on stage all week." Lennon thought he should have sung it, remarking that it was more his style. As was the case with most of the Beatles' albums, Starr sang lead vocal on one track. "Octopus's Garden"
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#17330862515216138-438: The medley was the opening number, " You Never Give Me Your Money ". McCartney has said the band's dispute over Allen Klein and what McCartney viewed as Klein's empty promises were the inspiration for the song's lyrics. However, MacDonald doubts this, given that the backing track, recorded on 6 May at Olympic Studios , predated the worst altercations between Klein and McCartney. The track is a suite of varying styles, ranging from
6237-449: The next two weeks with Ono and did not return to the studio until the backing track for "Come Together" was laid down on 21 July. Harrison was also tired of the song, saying "we had to play it over and over again until Paul liked it. It was a real drag". Starr was more sympathetic to the song. "It was granny music", he admitted, "but we needed stuff like that on our album so other people would listen to it". Longtime roadie Mal Evans played
6336-480: The opening of the studios in November 1931 when Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in recording sessions of his music. In 1934, the inventor of stereo sound , Alan Blumlein , recorded Mozart 's Jupiter Symphony which was conducted by Thomas Beecham at the studios. The neighbouring house is also owned by the studio and used to accommodate musicians. During the mid-20th century,
6435-405: The others as "too complicated". The recording was fraught with tension between band members, as McCartney annoyed others by insisting on a perfect performance. The track was the first Lennon was invited to work on following his car accident, but he hated it and declined to do so. According to engineer Geoff Emerick , Lennon said it was "more of Paul's granny music" and left the session. He spent
6534-467: The people living in the block of flats across from the recording studio. After the album was released, the number plate (LMW 281F) was repeatedly stolen from the car. In 2004, news sources published a claim made by retired American salesman Paul Cole that he was the man standing on the pavement to the right of the picture. In mid-1969, Lennon formed a new group, the Plastic Ono Band , in part because
6633-469: The performers". Harrison was inspired to write "Something" during sessions for the White Album by listening to his label-mate James Taylor 's " Something in the Way She Moves " from his album James Taylor . After the lyrics were refined during the Let It Be sessions (tapes reveal Lennon giving Harrison some songwriting advice during its composition), the song was initially given to Joe Cocker , but
6732-427: The piano chords of the final part of the song begin. The song ends with the memorable final line, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make". This section was taped separately from the first and required the piano to be re-recorded by McCartney, which was done on 18 August. An alternative version of the song, with Harrison's lead guitar solo played against McCartney's (and Starr's drum solo heard in
6831-441: The recording and while most of the part was removed, traces of it remain in the final cut, notably on the middle eight , before Harrison's guitar solo. The song was issued as a double A-side single with "Come Together" in October 1969 and topped the US charts for one week, becoming the Beatles' first number-one single that was not a Lennon–McCartney composition. It was also the first Beatles single from an album already released in
6930-541: The rest of their corpus, providing listeners with an abiding sense that the Beatles' final long-player was markedly different." Alan Parsons worked as an assistant engineer on the album. He later went on to engineer Pink Floyd 's landmark album The Dark Side of the Moon and produce many popular albums himself with the Alan Parsons Project . John Kurlander also assisted on many of the sessions, and went on to become
7029-483: The role of the TG12345 in the Beatles' sound on Abbey Road , the music historian Kenneth Womack observes that "the expansive sound palette and mixing capabilities of the TG12345 enabled George Martin and Geoff Emerick to imbue the Beatles' sound with greater definition and clarity. The warmth of solid-state recording also afforded their music with brighter tonalities and a deeper low end that distinguished Abbey Road from
7128-449: The sessions included The Mike Sammes Singers , who backed up The Beatles on "I Am the Walrus" and "Good Night." In 1979, EMI commissioned the British jazz fusion band Morrissey-Mullen to record Britain's first digitally recorded single record at Abbey Road Studios. Abbey Road Studios got its start in the film scoring business in 1980 when Anvil Post Production formed a partnership with
7227-488: The site into luxury flats. It had also been reported there was a possibility the studios could be purchased by the National Trust to preserve what was in effect a historical building. A Save Abbey Road Studios campaign attempted to ensure the premises remained a working studio. On 21 February 2010, EMI stated it planned to keep the studio and was looking for an investor to help finance a "revitalisation" project. Meanwhile,
7326-438: The song are 18 bars of lead guitar: the first two bars are played by McCartney, the second two by Harrison, and the third two by Lennon, and the sequence is repeated two more times. Harrison suggested the idea of a guitar solo in the track, Lennon decided they should trade solos and McCartney elected to go first. The solos were cut live against the existing backing track in one take. Immediately after Lennon's third and final solo,
7425-415: The song has only a single "pariah-like protagonist" and Lennon was "painting another sardonic self-portrait". MacDonald has suggested that the "juju eyeballs" has been claimed to refer to Dr John and "spinal cracker" to Ono. The song was later the subject of a lawsuit brought against Lennon by Morris Levy because the opening line in "Come Together" – "Here come old flat-top" – was admittedly lifted from
7524-540: The studio effect known as automatic double tracking (ADT). The chief mastering engineer at Abbey Road was Chris "Vinyl" Blair, who started his career as a tape deck operator. From 1966 to 1971, the Walt Disney Music Company recorded vocals, instrumentals and narration and dialogue for over a dozen albums at Abbey Road for U.S. and international release, including The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Doctor Dolittle, Heidi and The Wizard of Oz . Most of
7623-451: The studio so she could observe the recording process from there. During the sessions, Lennon expressed a desire to have all of his songs on one side of the album, and McCartney's on the other. The album's two halves represented a compromise: Lennon wanted a traditional release with distinct and unrelated songs, while McCartney and Martin wanted to continue their thematic approach from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by incorporating
7722-427: The studio was extensively used by British conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent , whose house was located near the studio building. The Gramophone Company merged with Columbia Graphophone Company to form Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) in 1931, and the studios later became known as EMI Recording Studios. In 1936 cellist Pablo Casals became the first to record Johann Sebastian Bach 's Cello Suites No. 1 & 2 at
7821-403: The studio's general manager in 1974, Ken Townsend began a rebranding effort to capitalise on the studio's connection with the Beatles. To emphasise the studio's independence, Townsend commissioned the artist Alan Brown to design a unique logo, and in 1976 the facility officially changed names from EMI Studios to Abbey Road Studios . Having previously been mostly restricted to UK-based EMI acts,
7920-658: The studio's name-change served the added purpose of encouraging non-EMI acts to record at the studio. Notable producers and sound engineers who have worked at Abbey Road include Fred Gaisberg (who had first recorded Enrico Caruso in Milan in 1902, and had set up the first recording studio in London at Maiden Lane in 1898), Walter Legge , George Martin , Tutti Camarata , Geoff Emerick , Norman "Hurricane" Smith , Ken Scott , Mike Stone , Alan Parsons , Peter Vince , Malcolm Addey, Peter Bown, Richard Langham, Phil McDonald, John Kurlander, Richard Lush and Ken Townsend , who invented
8019-416: The studio, called Anvil-Abbey Road Screen Sound. The partnership started when Anvil was left without a scoring stage when Denham Studios were demolished. It ended in 1984 when EMI merged with Thorn Electrical Industries to become Thorn EMI . Abbey Road's success in the scoring business continued after the partnership ended. From 18 July to 11 September 1983, the public had a rare opportunity to see inside
8118-599: The studio. "Here Comes the Sun" was written by Harrison in Eric Clapton 's garden in Surrey during a break from stressful band business meetings. The basic track was recorded on 7 July 1969. Harrison sang lead and played acoustic guitar, McCartney provided backing vocals and played bass, and Starr played the drums. Lennon was still recovering from his car accident and did not perform on the track. Martin provided an orchestral arrangement in collaboration with Harrison, who overdubbed
8217-474: The takeover of EMI, the studio became the property of Universal Music . It was not one of the entities that were sold to Warner Music as part of Parlophone and instead the control of Abbey Road Studios Ltd was transferred to Virgin Records . On 17 February 2010, it was reported that EMI had put the studios up for sale because of increasing debts. There was reported interest by property developers in redeveloping
8316-450: The title track of his 1970 triple album ), " Something " and " Old Brown Shoe ". The latter was re-recorded by the Beatles in April 1969 and issued as the B-side of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" the following month. All three of these Harrison demos were later featured on Anthology 3 . During the sessions for the medley, McCartney recorded " Come and Get It ", playing all the instruments. It
8415-488: The townhouse, which permitted a much larger building to be constructed to the rear; thus, the Georgian façade belies the true dimension of the building. The architectural partnership Wallis, Gilbert and Partners was hired to convert the property into a recording studio , an unusual request at the time. Three purpose-built studios were constructed and the existing house was adapted for use as administration offices. Pathé filmed
8514-431: The track to the end of the master tape after 20 seconds of silence. The tape box bore an instruction to leave "Her Majesty" off the final product, but the next day when mastering engineer Malcolm Davies received the tape, he (also trained not to throw anything away) cut a playback lacquer of the whole sequence, including "Her Majesty". The Beatles liked this effect and included it on the album. "Her Majesty" opens with
8613-399: The track. During the final edit, Lennon told Emerick to "cut it right there" at 7 minutes and 44 seconds, creating a sudden, jarring silence that concludes the first side of Abbey Road (the recording tape would have run out within 20 seconds as it was). The final mixing and editing of the track occurred on 20 August 1969, the last day on which all four Beatles were together in
8712-410: Was leaving the group in April 1970. By this time, the Get Back project (by now retitled Let It Be ) had been re-examined, with overdubs and mixing sessions continuing into 1970. Therefore, Let It Be became the last album to be finished and released by the Beatles, although its recording had begun before Abbey Road . Abbey Road sold four million copies in its first two months of release. In
8811-507: Was the Beatles , who used the studio – particularly its Studio Two room – as the venue for many of the innovative recording techniques that they adopted throughout the 1960s. In 1976, the studio was renamed from EMI to Abbey Road. In 2009, Abbey Road came under threat of sale to property developers. In response, the British Government protected the site, granting it English Heritage Grade II listed status in 2010, thereby preserving
8910-402: Was "almost impossible not to sing along to". Since digital downloads have become eligible to chart, it reached number 56 in 2010 after the Beatles' back catalogue was released on iTunes . Harrison recorded a guitar solo for this track that did not appear in the final mix. It was rediscovered in 2012, and footage of Martin and Harrison's son Dhani listening to it in the studio was released on
9009-485: Was assumed to be a demo recording for another artist but McCartney later said that he originally intended to put it on Abbey Road . It was instead covered by Badfinger , while McCartney's original recording appeared on Anthology 3 . The original backing track to "Something", featuring a piano-led coda, and "You Never Give Me Your Money", which leads into a fast rock-n-roll jam session , have appeared on bootlegs . Apple Records creative director Kosh designed
9108-399: Was introduced to the band by Harrison, who acquired one in November 1968 and used it to create his album Electronic Sound . Starr made more prominent use of the tom-toms on Abbey Road , later saying the album was "tom-tom madness ... I went nuts on the toms." Abbey Road was also the first and only Beatles album to be entirely recorded through a solid-state transistor mixing desk,
9207-483: Was not present) that he "wanted a divorce" from the group. Apple released "Something" backed with "Come Together" in the US on 6 October 1969. Release of the single in the UK followed on 31 October, while Lennon released the Plastic Ono Band's "Cold Turkey" the same month. The Beatles did little promotion of Abbey Road directly, and no public announcement was made of the band's split until McCartney announced he
9306-477: Was originally included in a rough mix of the side two medley (and officially available in this form for the first time on the album's 3CD Super Deluxe edition box set), appearing between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam". McCartney disliked the way the medley sounded when it included "Her Majesty", so he asked for it to be cut. The second engineer , John Kurlander, had been instructed by George Martin not to throw out anything, so after McCartney left, he attached
9405-424: Was recorded in a more collegial atmosphere than the Get Back / Let It Be sessions earlier in the year, but there were still significant confrontations within the band, particularly over Paul McCartney 's song " Maxwell's Silver Hammer ", and John Lennon did not perform on several tracks. By the time the album was released, Lennon had left the group, though this was not publicly announced until McCartney also quit
9504-437: Was subsequently recorded for Abbey Road . Cocker's version appeared on his album Joe Cocker! that November. "Something" was Lennon's favourite song on the album, and McCartney considered it the best song Harrison had written. Though the song was written by Harrison, Frank Sinatra once commented that it was his favourite Lennon–McCartney composition and "the greatest love song ever written". Lennon contributed piano to
9603-419: Was the first Beatles album not to be issued in mono anywhere in the world. The album makes prominent use of guitar played through a Leslie speaker , and of the Moog synthesiser . The Moog is not merely used as a background effect but sometimes plays a central role, as in "Because", where it is used for the middle eight . It is also prominent on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Here Comes the Sun". The synthesiser
9702-467: Was the front house of the EMI Studios, because the steps of Neville Court appear to the right of the crossing in original photographs of the crossing, whereas the present crossing is near the junction of Abbey Road and Grove End Road". The Beatles' album cover has been parodied many times over the years. The street sign on the corner of Grove End Road and Abbey Road, which was frequently defaced or stolen,
9801-570: Was written by Lennon about his relationship with Ono, and he made a deliberate choice to keep the lyrics simple and concise. Author Tom Maginnis writes that the song had a progressive rock influence, with its unusual length and structure, repeating guitar riff, and white noise effects, though he noted the "I Want You" section has a straightforward blues structure. The finished song is a combination of two different recording attempts. The first attempt occurred in February 1969, almost immediately after
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