
NEMS II---Frequently Asked Questions for Graduates!
Last Update: 1 July 1993
----
This is a modest compendium of "advanced" questions that have appeared
in rec.music.beatles; some occur and are debated regularly. More will be
added in future editions, as the need warrants. This is not a substitute
for honest, thorough scholarship on your part! Don't expect to become
a Beatles Wizard right off the bat! :-)

Corrections and emendations are, of course, welcome.
------

1) What Beatles songs have drug references?

While it is undeniable that the Beatles took varieties of drugs during
their career, starting with "prellys" (uppers) in Hamburg, marijuana
during "Help", LSD and other hallucinogenics after 1965, there is not
a shred of evidence that any of their songs *promote* drug-taking or
drug use. Nevertheless, many first-generation Beatles fans recall being
inspired by what they found in the music and lifestyle of the Fabs to try
drugs themselves, almost as if the Beatles were giving them permission
to do so. The question is whether actual advocacy was an element of the
Beatles' musical message. As with most of their creative expression, the
Boys' use of drugs seems to have become an undeniable thread in the fabric
of their songs. In print and interviews, the Beatles were always careful
to say that drug usage was their personal decision, and that they weren't
suggesting the public at large imitate them (see Paul's LSD confession
of 1967.)

As a result, many songs were inspired by drug experiences, but few have
actual specific references. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was a reference
to a drawing by John's young son; the initials are an unfortunate
coincidence (though arguably the images in the lyrics were probably
based on drug-induced visions). Paul has said he meant the words "Found
my way upstairs and had a smoke/And somebody spoke and I went into a
dream" from "A Day in the Life" as a reference to nicotine. The "I'd love
to turn you on" was a multidimensional meaning---turn on to the potentials
of life rather than merely a drug user's wish to share the wealth. John said
he wrote "She Said, She Said" about an LSD experience he had with Peter
Fonda at a party in 1966. "Dr. Robert" is a "tribute" to a NY physician
who handed out pills and the like to important people and rock stars
(see question 2 below.) "With A Little Help Etc." has a reference to
getting high, of course.

2) Who was Dr. Robert?

A New York physician, Charles Roberts, during the middle-to-late
1960's, from whom it was easy (for celebrities, at least) to acquire
various prescription medications. Most of the drugs were, needless to
say, of a rather illegal variety. "If you're down he'll pick you up,
Dr. Robert..."

3) What films should I see related to the Beatles?

Their primary output was "A Hard Day's Night" (1964), superb, funny,
B&W film that evokes the best of the early hysteria; "Help" (1965),
a strange, ironic take-off on the James-Bond school of filmmaking;
"Magical Mystery Tour" (1967), properly a video, very much an in-joke
but quite charming; "Yellow Submarine" (1968), a happy accident of
witty writing, animation, and great music; "Let It Be" (1970), a
mournful, sometimes painful examination of the breakup of a super-
group.

For easy history (you can skip all that reading!) rent or buy
"The Compleat Beatles" (1981), which has basically excellent
research and great clips of the Fabs' development. Everyone who
reads r.m.b. regularly would do well to see this.

Also ask for Edward Chen's guide to Beatles video/film appearances.

4) What's the story behind the "butcher cover"?

In the UK the Beatles' release sequence included Rubber Soul (1965)
and Revolver (1966). In the US, Capitol decided to make extra money
by releasing an interim album called "Yesterday and Today", with
some songs from the "Help", "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" albums.
The Beatles were asked to provide a cover photo. The "story" goes that
they felt their work was being butchered, so they posed themselves
in white lab coats with meat cleavers, hunks of raw steak, and cut-up
dolls. This photo actually made it onto "Yesterday and Today" and
was shipped to some stores in 1966...until someone at Capitol decided
it was in rather poor taste. They recalled the album. Some were
"fixed" by pasting over a hastily-photographed picture of the Beatles
around a steamer trunk. These album covers provided many hours of
amusement for people who wanted to peel off the new cover--- a
delicate process, but a successful job would reveal the "butcher
cover" underneath. Needless to say, only the first printing of this
album had the pasted cover photo; "Yesterday and Today" has been
deleted from the Capitol album lineup. You can tell, usually, if the
album you have has a butcher cover underneath (though most of these
are long since peeled) by looking at the right-hand side of the "steamer
trunk" photo, in the white area. If you can see a dark inverted
triangle, that *may* be Ringo's turtleneck sweater in the photo
underneath.

Recent investigation suggests that the "urban-legend" version of the
butcher cover story might be impossible to confirm. The photo session
in question was actually completed months before, for the "Paperback Writer/
Rain" single, the concept being developed by John and photographer Robert
Whitaker; at the time they may have been completely unaware that Capitol
was planning to release "Yesterday and Today." In any case, there is
no evidence, either from the Beatles own words or any other traceable
source, that the Butcher Cover was photographed as a protest against
Capitol's marketing practices. However, the legend that it was engineered
for just this reason seems particularly tenacious.

(Thanks to snopes [David P. Mikkelson] for the above information.)

5) What's backwards masking?

The Beatles began to enjoy experimenting with bits of backwards tape,
as can be heard as early as their single "Rain". What "backwards
masking" refers to, however, is the alleged recording *forwards*
of a reverse message, comprehensible only by playing the song
*backwards* --- although this is not the audiophilic definition
of the term (which is a phenomenon perceived when a soft passage
is followed by a loud passage of music, talk, whatever...the loud
noise having a tendency to "mask" the last few seconds of what
preceded it.)

Some of the "Paul is Dead" clues focus on this phenomenon (in
the White Album track "Revolution No. 9", for instance). The Beatles
denied placing secret messages in their backwards recordings, and
said that these were only coincidences. (Although the "end bit"
from the Sgt. Pepper CD, played in reverse, sounds too deliberate
to be a coincindence).

6) Who was Stuart Sutcliffe?

John's best friend in Liverpool Art College, Stuart was a gifted
abstract painter. He played bass for the Silver Beatles only during
1959-1961, when (because of admitted lack of musical talent) he chose to
remain in Hamburg with his girlfriend Astrid Kirscherr, herself an
artist and first professional photographer for the Beatles. Stuart 
died in 1962 of a brain hemorrhage.

7) Did John and Paul write their songs together or separately?

The composition process was most often separate in the physical
sense, especially in the early stages of a song. But almost each
song underwent a metamorphosis in the recording studio, when John
and Paul would give each other "helpful" suggestions on completing
a tune. Sometimes one or the other was stuck for an eight-bar middle,
or a guitar riff, and the other would fill in. It is undeniable that
friendly competition between the two was operant almost from the 
beginning of their songwriting career (1957) and influenced their
songwriting talents. From an early stage, John and Paul had an
agreement about acknowleging joint songwriting credit, even if this
wasn't strictly fact. Until August 1963, these songs were known as
"McCartney-Lennon" tunes; after this point (as Paul remarks in the
introduction to "The Beatles Recording History") John "got his way"
and the credit became officially "Lennon & McCartney". A few songs
were, in fact, written jointly; "Flying", from Magical Mystery Tour,
is credited to all four Beatles.

8) Who was first to quit the Beatles?

Trick question. It was unofficial and well-concealed, but Ringo walked
out of the White Album sessions on August 22, 1968, in the middle of
recording the album, and proclaimed to the others he had definitely
quit. The three remaining Beatles covered for Ringo and apparently 
(from what can be gleaned from the recording info available) substituted
for him on drums on various famous tracks, probably "Back in the USSR"
among them. Ringo returned at the end of a week, finding a welcome-back
greeting of masses of flowers over his drumkit.

9) Who owns the right to the Beatles' songs?

During the great Apple debacle the Beatles experienced in the late '60's, the 
lads found themselves losing tremendous amounts of money and needed a lot of 
cash fast.  This and other contributing factors (like Dick James selling his 
stake in Northern Songs) led to the Beatles selling the publishing 
rights to their songs (except for some of the early ones like "Love Me Do" 
which were published by various companies and are now owned by MPL -- Macca's 
company).  The song rights were for sale again a few years back, and Paul 
mounted a joint effort with Yoko to buy them back -- but (as Paul tells it) 
Michael Jackson outrageously outbid everyone, offering a really unheard of and 
unanticipated price.  He walked away with the whole kit and kaboodle.

Consider the following scenario, if you will. If "Please Please Me"
was in a film and not sung by the Beatles, then Mr. Jackson did
license it. He owns the song, like a book copyright, while EMI owns
rights to the Beatles recordings.  Presumably EMI never licenses a Beatles
recording for use in such a case unless the Beatles think it's okay (this
may be an unofficial arrangement, probably because the Beatles are suing
Capitol-EMI for rights of the recordings in the US), which was what caused 
the uproar over the Nike commercial (apparently Yoko okayed it, but no one
asked the others, and, hey, Yoko wasn't a Beatle anyway.  :-) ).

(Thanks to Jay C. Smith for the answer to No. 9.)

10) What ever happened to Raymond Jones, the young man whom
Brian Epstein reported was his first link to the Beatles?

He was the lad who, we are led to believe, was the individual who
asked Brian Epstein for a copy of "My Bonnie", which in turn led
to Mr Epstein visiting The Cavern and discovering The Fabs.

("My Bonnie" was from the session the Beatles did with Tony Sheridan
in 1961, as a backup band. It was released to European markets on
the Polydor label; when the Beatles hit the States, "My Bonnie"
was rereleased here, but the original Polydor version acquired 
something of a "cult" status for collectors in 1964, who believed
they were on to the first inkling anybody had---as Brian told
it in his biography---of the Beatles' music.)

The evidence currently available---most convincingly from the pen
of Bill Harry, who published a Liverpool fanzine called "Mersey Beat",
and was a sharp observer of the Mersey music scene---suggests that
this story is a fabrication.
                   
It is almost inconceivable that Brian did not know about The Beatles
before that date.  Brian was running a very successful record store
(Nems), very close to The Cavern (maybe 100 metres), and it is
hard to believe could not have heard about the events there.

As Bill Harry remembers, the Boys were also regular customers in the
store, and if their record appetite was as wide-ranging as they have
indicated (the full spectrum of American pop, rhythm and blues, and
rock/rockabilly), Brian would surely have been busy ordering special 
titles for them.

More objectively convincing is the fact that Brian wrote in, and was a 
major distributor for, Mersey Beat - a newspaper that was at times
nothing more than a Beatles fanzine (and Bill Harry was their personal
friend, as well).

Finally - how come this guy has never been traced?

It seems likely that Raymond Jones was an attempt on Brian's part
(through his ghostwriter for "A Cellar Full of Noise", Derek Taylor)
to mythologize the Beatles' appearance on the musical horizon. As
if they needed mythology!

(Thanks to Stephen Carter for contributing to No. 10.)

11) Who plays the guitar solos at the end of the second side of "Abbey
Road," and in what order?

First off, you need to count the rhythm in 4/4 time:

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4....etc. (with each quadruplet
being one measure or "bar" of 4 beats) - 

So, begin counting where they go into the sequence immediately
following the drum solo, with the guitars crunching out the 
chords in unison, and the voices singing, "Love you. Love you...."

(Then the 1st guitar comes in.)

di-di-da-da-DAH.... (that "DAH" is count #1 of the first measure)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 
(4 bars, with some high notes by the 3rd bar - 
 some folks hear just one guitar here....if so, it's all George;
 I think maybe there are two guitars that sound pretty similar....
 the first 2 bars are Paul, but the 3rd & 4th [the high notes] are 
 definitely George; logic would suggest the latter possibility [2 bars each])

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4                                
(2 bars of dirty, crunchy, nasty fast chordal chomping - definitely John)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
(2 bars, steady 8th-note, whiny-tone, high notes in the 2nd - definitely Paul)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
(2 bars, low, growling notes, whipping up to mid-range notes - George)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
(2 bars, a few very, low, sustained notes - John)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
(2 bars, more staccato bursts of shrill, trebly single notes - Paul)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
(2 bars, quick looping run up to very high notes - George)

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
(2 final bars of slashing ugly chords - who else but John)

....crashing directly into Paul's little piano notes.

John is clearly identifiable in this sequence. He frequently used that
dirty, overmodulated tone, and his tendency was to play chordal, rhythm-
style guitar, rather than a lot of clear, high single notes. When he did
play single-note runs, he usually bent a few low notes into slightly 
out-of-tune or dissonant groans, like in "Happiness is a Warm Gun". 

Paul's style is also obvious where he uses that shrill, whiny, piercing
thin tone that he seems to like. You can hear it in a number of his other
recorded guitar solos, like on "Back in the USSR", and much of the stuff
on his 1st solo lp and "Ram".

George didn't have the most obvious guitar style back then, with his 
fingerstyle (he's absolutely unmistakable with his later slide style of 
playing). But you can tell it's him in this sequence by listening to
some of his other solos from various 1968-69 recordings ("Savoy Truffle",
"Let it Be", others).

(Thanks to Stuart Troutman for his contribution to No. 11.)

12) Isn't it true that there's a hidden sequence of morse code after
the lines "Let me take you down..." in "Strawberry Fields Forever"? And
doesn't this hidden code spell out John Lennon's initials (J. L.)?

Bob Clements, our resident amateur radio expert, answers:

The "code" is pretty clearly there if you listen for it.  It
appears from 0:16 to 0:20 on the official release (Magical
Mystery Tour CD) on the left channel.  It does sound a lot like
intentional hand-sent Morse.  As I read it, it says:
	-.-  .-  -.-  -  -  .  .-
where the last dash is considerably extended and there is too
long a space between the first dash and the first dot.  This
translates as "KAKTTEA" if you believe it's Morse.

But it isn't.

It gets interesting if you listen to the various outtakes.  We
know from Lewisohn and other evidence that the released SFF is
spliced together from a "slow" version (mixed from take 7) and a
"fast" version (mixed from take 25).  If you listen to take 7,
you find that the "code" appears after the same vocal phrase
three times, only the first of which appears in the official
release.  And the second and third occurrences sound much less
like Morse code.  They are certainly not the same patterns (or
"letters").  They also have a little dynamics, fading at the end
of some dashes rather than the on/off keying that makes it seem
like Morse.

The "code" as we hear it on the released version first appears at
take 6, which is where that vocal track first appears. (Take 5
was a false start.)

What is really fascinating, though, is take 4.  On that take, a
different vocal track appears AND a different "code" sound
appears.  It is shorter, less Morse-like, and less of a pure
tone.  It sounds like some kind of intermodulation distortion,
but I can't pick out what the source is.

My GUESS is that it's coming from the Mellotron (also on the left
channel) or something sitting on/near the Mellotron, vibrating in
response to that particular sustained minor chord.  I think that
chord is repeated every time the "take you down 'cause I'm going
to" line occurs, and it doesn't appear elsewhere. 

That's the end of my speculation.  Sources:  The outtakes on URT1,
the Condor "Srawberry Fields" CD, and the vinyl URT6 which has
takes 1 through 7.  And THE BOOK (i.e., Lewisohn's "...A Recording
History").

--Bob Clements, K1BC, clements@bbn.com

13) I heard that "meeting a man from the motor trade" in "She's
Leaving Home" really refers to an abortionist in Britain.

According to our linguistics expert, Harold Somers, there is no 
basis for this assertion. An abortionist is not "a man from the
motor trade." The man in question is Terry Doran, a friend and
later associate of the Beatles who used to be a car salesman before
he worked for Epstein and later for Apple Corps. The reference to
Doran was just a personal tribute by Paul. Most theories indicate
that the girl leaving home is, in fact, running away with a car
salesman because, presumably, he can make her happy.

14) What is the first chord of "A Hard Day's Night"?

Harold Somers says:

I'd call it D7sus4/G. 

Even if you had a 12-string, it would not sound perfect unless you were
lucky enough (rich enough) to have a *Rickenbacker* 12-string, which is
strung differently (the octave strings are above rather than below the
normal strings - that's why the Ricky sounds distinctive). 
----
Paul Schwotzer, pws@hp-lsd.COS.HP.COM, says:

This is one that was sent to me, it sounds pretty good:

 +---|---|-O-|---|---|---
N+---|---|-O-|---|---|---
E+---|---|-O-|---|-O-|---
C+---|---|-O-|---|---|---
K+---|---|-O-|---|-O-|---
 +---|---|-O-|---|---|---

----
Joe "Top Gear" Gogan, v086kzmq@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu, says:

 I posted this along time ago, that the chord is very possibly TWO guitars.

  The chord definitely has 'G7,9sus4etc...' characteristics to it, but when my
band played this live, we added a D ? on the other guitar played at the same
time.   It achieved astounding results.   The D ? that was played was the one
found on the fifth fret:



 8     7    6     5     4      3  
 |    |    |     |  x  |      |
 |    |    |     |  x  |      |
 |    | x  |     |  x  |      |
 |    |    |     |  x  |      |
 | x  |    |     |  x  |      |
 |    |    |     |  x  |      |

     Why not play the D? in first position, with the G bass on 6th string,
on my Ricky 360/12v64 no-less.   This one, if not two guitars is the closest
I've heard, but you be the judge.  It looks like this:

                     3      2      1       nut
 	 	     |   3  |      |       ||
		     |      |      |       ||
		     |      |      |       ||
		     |      |   2  |       ||
		     |      |      |   1   ||
		     |   4  |      |       ||

----
Dan Kozak, dbk@mimsy.umd.edu, responds to Joe Gogan:

>  I posted this along time ago, that the chord is very possibly TWO guitars.

Nope, tho' 12 strings _do_ sound that way sometimes (I should know,
I've got enough of them).

>   The chord definitely has 'G7,9sus4etc...' characteristics to it, but when my
> band played this live, we added a D ? on the other guitar played at the same
> time.   It achieved astounding results.   The D ? that was played was the one
> found on the fifth fret:

Almost right chord, wrong position . . . I don't know about anybody
else, but I find the difference between a bar chord and an open chord
(i.e. with open strings) to be like that between night and day.  The
HDN chord is an open chord, which I would describe as D7sus4/A.

>      Why not play the D? in first position, with the G bass on 6th string,
> on my Ricky 360/12v64 no-less.   This one, if not two guitars is the closest
> I've heard, but you be the judge.  It looks like this:

This is very close to what I posted when this started recently except
that I indicated that all three low strings (E, A, D) were open, but
now I'd like to revise that to say that if you hit the low E at all,
it should be very slightly, i.e. accidently.  There is no G in the
bass in this chord, the low note is the open A string.

> Please, someone who has tried these two please tell me what you think, but
> not before you try them.

I have . . . on a '67 366-12 through a pre-62 Vox AC-30, no less. :-)
And I played it with the record.  You might also note that the ending
(overdubbed) guitar pattern is based on this same form -- pick the top 3
strings and go between the D7sus4 and a Dm7 (i.e. G to F on the high
E).

15) What are the foreign lyrics in "Sun King"?

Note that the Beatles freely mixed dialects and languages here, and when this
is combined with less than perfect enunciation and accent, many uncertainties
arise, leading to many possible interpretations.

The lyrics are usually published as:

   Quando paramucho mi amore de felice corazon
   Mundo paparazzi mi amore chica ferdy parasol
   Cuesto obrigado tanta mucho que can eat it carousel

But that is NOT correct.  I believe the lyrics could be:

   Quando para mucho, mi amore de felice corazon
   Mundo paparazzi, mi amore, chicka/chica ferdy/verde para sole
   Cuesto a brigata, tanta mucho, que/cake and eat it, care of sun

NOTE CHANGES:  "chicka ferdy" is a Liverpool expresssion of
                 indeterminate meaning, but could also
                 be a combination Spanish/Liverpudlian pun
                 "chica verde" [green girl]

                "parasol"  could be "para sole" [for the sun],
                 or perhaps "pa re sole" [for sun king],

                "que can eat it" should be "que/cake and eat it", (see John's
                 comments below on this pun),

                "carousel"  could be "care of sun".

                "obrigado" could be "apre gabbo" [open deception]
                 or perhaps "obligado" [obgligation]
                 or "a brigata" [a party].
                 or "obbligado" [musical term - what is it?]
                 or "Abrigado" [raincoat].

So a rough literal translation would be:

  Quando  para mucho mi amore de felice corazon
  IF/WHEN FOR  MUCH, MY LOVE  OF HAPPY  HEART

  Mundo paparazzi  mi amore chicka/chica ferdy/verde  pa  re   sole
  WORLD PAPARAZZI, MY LOVE, CHICKA/GIRL  FERDY/GREEN  FOR KING SUN

[then choose one of these three]

  Cuesto a brigata,   tanta mucho, que/cake and eat it, care of sun
  THIS     PARTY  ,   VERY  MUCH,      CAKE AND EAT IT, CARE OF SUN

  Cuesto apre gabbo,        tanta mucho, que/cake and eat it, care of sun
  THIS   OPEN DECEPTION ,   VERY  MUCH,      CAKE AND EAT IT, CARE OF SUN

  Cuesto obligado,     tanta mucho, que/cake and eat it, care of sun
  THIS   OBLIGATION,   VERY  MUCH,      CAKE AND EAT IT, CARE OF SUN

(Thanks to Mario Giannella for the above.)

16) Did Pink Floyd and the Beatles ever record a song together?

Pink Floyd, when Syd Barrett was still a member, was involved
in recording at EMI Studios, Abbey Road (later Abbey Road Studios)
at the same time The Beatles were busy recording "Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band", but the two groups did not record
together, and may have met only briefly in their comings and
goings at the studio in March 1967.
----

More updates will be added as the need warrants. If you have
questions, suggestions, or complaints on any of the above, please
send to saki (dmac@math.ucla.edu).
