Oh! Darling
"Oh! Darling" is a song of The Beatles written by Paul McCartney[1] (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and is the fourth song on the Abbey Road album.
| "Oh! Darling" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | ||||
| from Abbey Road" | ||||
| Released | 26 September 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 20 April – 11 August 1969 | |||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | Apple Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |||
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |||
| Abbey Road track listing | ||||
| ||||
Background
McCartney later said, "When we were recording 'Oh! Darling' 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."[2]
In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon said, "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it."[1]
George Harrison described the song as "a typical 1950s–'60s-period song because of its chord structure."[3]
Let It Be session
After an early attempt at this song on 27 January 1969 during the Let It Be sessions, Lennon announced, "Just heard that Yoko's divorce has just gone through", after which he and the band burst into an improvised version of the song, singing "I'm free at last" instead of a part of the lyric.[4]
Covers
- Robin Gibb recorded "Oh! Darling" in 1977 for the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Released in 1978 as a single, it reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 in September.
- Huey Lewis recorded a version for the 1995 Beatles tribute Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles.
- George Benson also recorded a version for The Other Side of Abbey Road EP.
- London also recorded a version for the Don't Cry Wolf album.
- It also appears in the movie Across the Universe sung by the characters Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy).
- Etta Scollo recorded an Italian version in 1988
- Bela Fleck and the Flecktones recorded a version for Live Art, with John Cowan providing the vocals
- Sara Bareilles sang "Oh! Darling" in 2007 as the last song for her appearance on Channel 4's Live from Abbey Road. It featured only herself on lead vocals and her guitarist playing rhythm guitar.
- Florence + the Machine play a live version on the second CD of the special box set edition of Lungs
- Sum 41 did this song live during 2007/08.
- Katelyn Epperly sung this song live on American Idol during the Top 24.
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – vocal, backing vocals, bass, guitar
- John Lennon – backing vocals, piano
- George Harrison – backing vocals, guitar, synthesiser
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[5]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheff 2000, p. 203.
- ↑ The Beatles 2000, p. 339.
- ↑ Bernard 1993, p. 106.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, p. 168.
- ↑ MacDonald 2005, p. 350.
Other websites
- The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
- Bernard, Shane K. (1993). Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
- 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.
- Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.